Marina Oswald Porter
Encyclopedia
Marina Oswald Porter, is the widow of Lee Harvey Oswald
, the assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
to live with her uncle Ilya Prusakov and to study pharmacology.
She met Oswald, a former U.S. Marine who had defected to the Soviet Union, at a dance on March 17, 1961. They married on April 30, 1961, and had a daughter, June Lee, on February 15, 1962. In June they returned to the United States and settled in Dallas, Texas. In February 1963, Marina and Lee were introduced to Ruth Paine, a Quaker and part-time Russian language teacher, by George de Mohrenschildt
, at a party.
In January 1963, Lee is believed to have ordered a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver, and in March, a Mannlicher Carcano rifle. Later that month, Marina is believed to have photographed a series of controversial "backyard photos" of Lee, posing with his weapons and communist newspapers. These photographs were later found in the garage of the Paine household, with the exception of one, which was given to George De Mohrenschildt. The photograph given to De Mohrenschildt has a quote attributed to Lee's handwriting written in Russian, the translation of which reads "Hunter of Fascists, Ha-Ha-Ha !!!".
In April 1963, Marina and her daughter moved in with Ruth Paine (who had recently separated from her husband, Michael). Lee rented a separate room in Dallas, and briefly moved to New Orleans during the summer of 1963. Lee returned to Dallas in early October, eventually renting a room in a boarding house in the Oak Cliff district of Dallas.
Lee obtained work at the Texas School Book Depository
when Ruth Paine learned they were hiring from a neighbor, and Lee commenced work on the 16th of October 1963, and on the 20th of October 1963, Marina gave birth to a second daughter, Audrey Marina Rachel Oswald. Lee continued to live in Oak Cliff, but stayed with Marina at the Paine household in Irving on weekends, an arrangement that continued up until the assassination of President Kennedy.
Lee had been hitching rides to and from the Paine household on Friday afternoons and Monday mornings with fellow TSBD employee, Buell Wesley Frazier, when staying with Marina over the weekends. On the 21st of November, Lee asked Frazier to give him a lift to visit Marina, and to pick up some curtain rods for his boarding house in Oak Cliff. Lee was also attempting to reconcile with Marina after an argument, but having not succeeded in a reconciliation that evening, he left the Paine household that morning, leaving behind his wedding ring and some money, before hitching a ride with Frazier to work. According to Frazier, Lee carried with him a package that he claimed contained the curtain rods he mentioned the evening before.
Marina learned of the assassination of President Kennedy following the massive media coverage that commenced within minutes of the event, and later, the arrest of her husband. That afternoon, Dallas Police Department detectives arrived at the Paine Household, and when asked if Lee owned a rifle, Marina gestured to the garage, where Lee allegedly stored his Mannlicher Carcano rifle rolled up in a blanket. When detectives unfurled the blanket, no rifle was found. Marina was subsequently questioned both at the Paine household, and later at Dallas PD headquarters in relation to her husband's involvement in the assassination of the President, and the shooting of a Dallas PD officer, J.D. Tippit.
After the Kennedy assassination and arrest of Oswald, Marina was under Secret Service protection until completion of her testimony before the Warren Commission
, making a total of four appearances before the commission. Questions about her reliability as a witness against her deceased husband were expressed within the commission, particularly in regards to her claims about an assassination attempt on General Edwin Walker
, and an allegation by Marina that Lee had intended to assassinate Richard Nixon
.
The Warren Commission reported that Jack Crichton
, the 1964 Republican candidate for governor of Texas, arranged for a member of the local Russian community to act as translator in the police's questioning of Marina, during which she implicated Oswald in the assassination.
In her Warren Commission testimony, she stated a belief that her husband was guilty, an opinion she reiterated in testimony before the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978.
She has resided in Dallas, Texas, for many years, and has appeared in numerous documentaries on the Kennedy assassination. In 1989, Porter became a naturalized United States citizen. She now contends that Oswald was innocent in the assassination, though she has not formally recanted any of her Warren Commission testimony.
Marina Oswald was portrayed by Beata Pozniak
in Oliver Stone
's JFK
and on television by Helena Bonham Carter
in Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald
.
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
, the assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
Life with Oswald
Marina Prusakova lived with her mother and stepfather until 1957, when she moved to MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
to live with her uncle Ilya Prusakov and to study pharmacology.
She met Oswald, a former U.S. Marine who had defected to the Soviet Union, at a dance on March 17, 1961. They married on April 30, 1961, and had a daughter, June Lee, on February 15, 1962. In June they returned to the United States and settled in Dallas, Texas. In February 1963, Marina and Lee were introduced to Ruth Paine, a Quaker and part-time Russian language teacher, by George de Mohrenschildt
George de Mohrenschildt
George de Mohrenschildt was a petroleum geologist and professor who befriended Lee Harvey Oswald in the summer of 1962 and maintained that friendship until Oswald's death two days after the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. He had personal acquaintance with the Bush family,...
, at a party.
In January 1963, Lee is believed to have ordered a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver, and in March, a Mannlicher Carcano rifle. Later that month, Marina is believed to have photographed a series of controversial "backyard photos" of Lee, posing with his weapons and communist newspapers. These photographs were later found in the garage of the Paine household, with the exception of one, which was given to George De Mohrenschildt. The photograph given to De Mohrenschildt has a quote attributed to Lee's handwriting written in Russian, the translation of which reads "Hunter of Fascists, Ha-Ha-Ha !!!".
In April 1963, Marina and her daughter moved in with Ruth Paine (who had recently separated from her husband, Michael). Lee rented a separate room in Dallas, and briefly moved to New Orleans during the summer of 1963. Lee returned to Dallas in early October, eventually renting a room in a boarding house in the Oak Cliff district of Dallas.
Lee obtained work at the Texas School Book Depository
Texas School Book Depository
The Texas School Book Depository is the former name of a seven-floor building facing Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas . Located on the northwest corner of Elm and North Houston Streets, at the western end of downtown Dallas, its address is 411 Elm Street. The building is notable for its connection to...
when Ruth Paine learned they were hiring from a neighbor, and Lee commenced work on the 16th of October 1963, and on the 20th of October 1963, Marina gave birth to a second daughter, Audrey Marina Rachel Oswald. Lee continued to live in Oak Cliff, but stayed with Marina at the Paine household in Irving on weekends, an arrangement that continued up until the assassination of President Kennedy.
Lee had been hitching rides to and from the Paine household on Friday afternoons and Monday mornings with fellow TSBD employee, Buell Wesley Frazier, when staying with Marina over the weekends. On the 21st of November, Lee asked Frazier to give him a lift to visit Marina, and to pick up some curtain rods for his boarding house in Oak Cliff. Lee was also attempting to reconcile with Marina after an argument, but having not succeeded in a reconciliation that evening, he left the Paine household that morning, leaving behind his wedding ring and some money, before hitching a ride with Frazier to work. According to Frazier, Lee carried with him a package that he claimed contained the curtain rods he mentioned the evening before.
Marina learned of the assassination of President Kennedy following the massive media coverage that commenced within minutes of the event, and later, the arrest of her husband. That afternoon, Dallas Police Department detectives arrived at the Paine Household, and when asked if Lee owned a rifle, Marina gestured to the garage, where Lee allegedly stored his Mannlicher Carcano rifle rolled up in a blanket. When detectives unfurled the blanket, no rifle was found. Marina was subsequently questioned both at the Paine household, and later at Dallas PD headquarters in relation to her husband's involvement in the assassination of the President, and the shooting of a Dallas PD officer, J.D. Tippit.
After the Kennedy assassination and arrest of Oswald, Marina was under Secret Service protection until completion of her testimony before the Warren Commission
Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established on November 27, 1963, by Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963...
, making a total of four appearances before the commission. Questions about her reliability as a witness against her deceased husband were expressed within the commission, particularly in regards to her claims about an assassination attempt on General Edwin Walker
Edwin Walker
Major General Edwin Anderson Walker was a United States Army officer known for his conservative political views and for being an attempted assassination target of Lee Harvey Oswald.-Early life and military career:...
, and an allegation by Marina that Lee had intended to assassinate Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
.
The Warren Commission reported that Jack Crichton
Jack Crichton (Texas businessman)
John Alston Crichton, known as Jack Crichton , was an oil and natural gas industrialist from Dallas, Texas, who was among the first of his ranks to recognize the importance of petroleum reserves in the Middle East. In 1964, he carried the Republican banner in a fruitless campaign against the...
, the 1964 Republican candidate for governor of Texas, arranged for a member of the local Russian community to act as translator in the police's questioning of Marina, during which she implicated Oswald in the assassination.
In her Warren Commission testimony, she stated a belief that her husband was guilty, an opinion she reiterated in testimony before the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978.
After death of Oswald
In 1965 she married Kenneth Jess Porter, with whom she has a grown son; they divorced on October 11, 1974.She has resided in Dallas, Texas, for many years, and has appeared in numerous documentaries on the Kennedy assassination. In 1989, Porter became a naturalized United States citizen. She now contends that Oswald was innocent in the assassination, though she has not formally recanted any of her Warren Commission testimony.
Marina Oswald was portrayed by Beata Pozniak
Beata Pozniak
Beata Poźniak is a Polish-American actress, film director, painter, fashion model and activist who is now based out of the United States.-Biography:...
in Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
's JFK
JFK (film)
JFK is a 1991 American film directed by Oliver Stone. It examines the events leading to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and alleged subsequent cover-up, through the eyes of former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison .Garrison filed charges against New Orleans businessman Clay...
and on television by Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
in Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald
Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald
Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald is a 1993 television film directed by Robert Dornhelm and starring Helena Bonham Carter and Frank Whaley .-Plot:...
.