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Marrion Baker’s run towards the TSBD
This is a work in progress.
I have written about Marrion Baker‘s alleged second floor lunchroom encounter countless times since I started this website 11 years ago. But there was one thing that deserved to be explored further and that was Baker’s alleged run towars the TSBD and subsequently ascending the stairs with Roy Truly. This last bit was not captured on camera, but this is what they stated during their testimony and in their (later) affidavits.
Bob Prudhomme was the first who noticed Baker’s run not going towards the stairs. It was a hunch, but a good one.
Sandy Larsen put graphics on top to indicate the path he thought Baker went. It was guess work at best. But during my research for the Anatomy of the Second Floor Lunchroom Encounter paper (starting on page 26) I already wrote in depth about Baker’s run.
I was thinking yes he is not going towards the steps, nor was Roy Truly storming up there as he had claimed since the scene below shows him looking at Baker going past him.
Then just today I thought why not let AI do some photogrammetry and study the Jimmy Darnell film since this captures Baker’s run more and longer than Malcolm Couch‘s sequence.
This time I started with Claude.
I asked: Can you do photogrammetry by watching a video?
Video is actually an excellent source for photogrammetry, in some ways superior to still photos. Here’s how it works and what’s involved:
How It Works
Photogrammetry reconstructs 3D geometry by finding the same physical point across multiple images taken from different angles, then triangulating its position in space. Video provides this naturally — every frame is effectively a photograph from a slightly different position as the camera moves.
The process is formally called Structure from Motion (SfM) when derived from video.
The Pipeline
Step 1 — Frame Extraction Extract individual frames from the video. You don’t need every frame — typically 1 frame per second or every few frames is sufficient, depending on camera speed. Too many redundant frames just slow processing.
Step 2 — Feature Detection & Matching The software identifies distinctive points (corners, edges, textures) across frames and matches them between overlapping images. Algorithms like SIFT, SURF, or ORB do this automatically.
Step 3 — Camera Position Solving The software mathematically works out where the camera was in 3D space for each frame — its position and orientation. This produces a sparse point cloud.
Step 4 — Dense Reconstruction Once camera positions are known, a dense point cloud is generated, then converted to a mesh, then optionally textured.
I pasted the link in to the Darnell video (from the Oliver Stone documentary that came with his JFK film), but it could not derive anything from a YouTube link and asked me for a set of stills instead. It did state:
However, based on the URL context and our conversation, this appears to be footage related to the TSBD entrance area after the assassination. Here’s how I’d suggest we approach the analysis:
How to Analyze the Officer’s Direction Yourself
Using the architectural geometry we discussed:
The TSBD entrance steps have a very specific layout:
The main entrance doors are recessed at the top of the steps
The steps run perpendicular to Elm Street
An officer running toward the stairs would show increasing elevation in frame as he approaches
An officer running past them would maintain roughly the same elevation plane
Key things to look for in the footage:
His head/shoulder trajectory — is it angling upward (ascending steps) or staying level (passing by)?
His foot placement — can you see whether feet are lifting for step height?
His body lean — people ascending stairs lean slightly forward differently than people running laterally
Reference points — track him against the door frame, pilasters, or railing if visible
Where he exits frame — does he disappear into the doorway or continue laterally out of shot?
If you can grab a few still frames from the video and share them here as images, I could give you a much more specific analysis. What does the officer appear to be doing from your viewing of it?
Furthermore it stated that:
Relevance to Archival Footage (like the Wiegman/Darnell Films)
This is where it gets very interesting for JFK research. In principle, if you have film footage of the TSBD entrance from a moving camera, you could attempt photogrammetric reconstruction of the scene to:
- Determine the precise camera position and angle at each frame
- Reconstruct the 3D geometry of the steps and entrance area
- Calculate the height and position of figures in the frame relative to known architectural features
This has actually been attempted in the Prayer Man research community. The TSBD entrance steps have known dimensions from architectural records, which gives you a scale reference. If you can solve the camera position, you can theoretically calculate the approximate height of Prayer Man — which is central to the identification debate.
The challenges with archival footage specifically:
- Very low resolution limits feature detection
- Film instability (frame jitter, shrinkage) introduces errors
- Unknown lens characteristics of the original camera
- Single-pass footage with limited angular coverage
The Most Powerful Application
Combined with the deblurring/sharpening pipeline discussed earlier, the ideal workflow for something like Prayer Man would be:
- AI-enhance the footage for clarity
- Use photogrammetry to solve camera geometry
- Map known architectural measurements onto the reconstruction
- Use that to derive subject dimensions and position
This wouldn’t definitively identify someone, but it could constrain the possibilities — ruling out people of certain heights or positions, which is exactly the elimination methodology Kamp uses in his research.
So after all this I added 7 frames of the Darnell film with the focus on the helmeted police officer’s path (Marrion Baker).
Claude’s findings:
Frame-by-Frame Analysis
Images 5 & 6 (earliest in sequence — wider shot from Elm/Houston corner) The helmeted officer is visible in the middle ground, moving at pace. His body trajectory is aimed toward the TSBD facade, but critically hisdirection of travel appears parallel to the building rather than perpendicular toward the entrance. His momentum reads as lateral — left to right across frame.
Images 4 & 1 (mid sequence) This is the key moment. The officer is clearly moving with purpose and speed. Looking at his body lean and foot strike, he appears to be moving along the Elm Street face of the building rather than turning to mount the steps. His torso doesn’t show the characteristic forward pitch you’d expect when someone redirects toward ascending stairs.
Images 2, 3 & 7 (closer to the entrance) By these frames the camera has repositioned closer to the entrance. The crowd on the steps is visible. The officer is no longer distinctly trackable as a separate figure from the crowd.
Your Assessment vs. the Official Account
This is significant because the official Baker account places him:
- Parking his motorcycle at the curb
- Running immediately toward and up the TSBD entrance steps
- Encountering Roy Truly and proceeding inside
But if these frames show Baker moving along the building toward the corner rather than directly into the entrance, that raises genuine questions about:
- Timing — going past the corner and doubling back would add seconds to his trajectory
- Entry point — did he enter via the front steps or another route initially?
- His position relative to Prayer Man on the steps — if he passed rather than ascended, the encounter geometry changes
What Supports Your Reading
- His shadow in the clearer frames suggests movement roughly parallel to the building face
- There is no visible deceleration or pivot toward the steps that you’d expect
- The crowd on the steps appears stationary/milling — Baker doesn’t appear to be cutting through them
- His helmet keeps him trackable — and the helmet doesn’t appear to rise in elevation as it would if he were climbing steps
Caveat
The resolution and camera angle make certainty impossible. The camera itself is moving, which complicates trajectory reading. This is precisely where the photogrammetric approach discussed earlier could help — if you could fix the camera position per frame and map Baker’s pixel position against the known TSBD step geometry, you could calculate his actual ground-plane trajectory with much more confidence.
Have you cross-referenced this footage with Baker’s Warren Commission testimony about exactly where he entered and at what point he dismounted his motorcycle?
I pasted this shot in.
Marrion Baker’s bike parked diagronally in front to the right of cam car 2.
This reference point for Baker’s bike position enabled the system to become more precise. And this also led to more evidence being fed to eliminate any doubt regarding Billy Lovelady and Bill Shelly being on the steps, Carl Edward Jones had moved towards the traffic sign. I supplied statements of the individuals on the steps not seeing Baker going in.
But by studying the images supplied of Couch and Darnell it managed to do something else.
It did not change its original analysis at all, it cemented it more.
In the end (for now):
From the frames we analyzed:
- Baker dismounts on Elm Street at the traffic signal
- Runs east along the Elm facade from the Houston corner (confirmed by Jones cross-reference)
- Veers to the right of the steps rather than directly up them
This actually sharpens the question considerably: Baker approaching from the west along the facade, toward the left/west side of the steps where Prayer Man stands, makes Baker’s failure to mention anyone in that position even harder to explain — not easier.
And the disappearance of Prayer Man from all subsequent photography is itself a significant research point — consistent with someone who re-entered the building very shortly after the Wiegman and Darnell cameras captured the entrance, which fits the Oswald identification argument precisely.
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Update March 10 2026.
Today I added Baker’s WC testimony and Claude said:
Baker’s WC Testimony — Critical Analysis
His Motorcycle Parking Position
Baker is remarkably precise on this point: “Somewhere at this position here, which is approximately 10 feet from this signal light here on the northwest corner of Elm and Houston.”
And: “You stopped your motorcycle 10 feet to the east of that stoplight, is that correct? — That is correct, sir.”
And: “the distance from the place your motorcycle was parked to the doorway of the School Book Depository Building… Approximately 45 feet.”
This is the single most important measurement in the entire testimony for our analysis. Baker places his motorcycle 10 feet east of the traffic signal at Houston/Elm. This is precisely where we tracked him in the CNN frames — at the corner traffic signal. The 45 feet to the doorway is the distance he then had to cover eastward along the Elm facade — exactly the lateral trajectory the footage shows.
“Ran Right Straight to It”
Representative Boggs asked: “You were parked right in front of the Building?”
Baker replied: “Yes, sir; ran right straight to it.”
This is the key claim our frame analysis directly contradicts. The footage shows him running laterally along the facade, not straight to the entrance. Yet his own motorcycle parking position — 10 feet east of the signal, 45 feet from the doorway — means “ran right straight to it” would require a diagonal line across the pavement, not a perpendicular approach. The geometry of his own stated positions makes a straight run impossible unless he ran diagonally — which is exactly what the lateral facade tracking in the footage argues against.
The Vestibule Entry Contradiction
Baker states: “As I entered this building, there was, it seems to me like there was outside doors and then there is a little lobby… As I entered this lobby there were people going in as I entered.”
Yet his first DPD affidavit states: “As I entered the door I saw several people standing around. I asked these people where the stairs were.”
These two versions are subtly different. The WC version has people going in with him. The first affidavit has people standing around already inside. This is consistent with Kamp’s finding that the building was already being re-entered by TSBD employees before Baker arrived — further evidence that his arrival was later than officially claimed.
Nobody Challenged Baker on the Steps
Senator Cooper asked: “Were there any officers that you saw near the School Book Depository when you went in?”
Baker: “There was an officer working traffic on that corner… J. W. Williams… but as I ran in this building, I found out that I was by myself. I didn’t know where anybody went.”
This is remarkable. Baker acknowledges he entered alone — and makes no mention whatsoever of Roy Truly being with him at the entrance steps. Truly supposedly met him there and led him in. Yet Baker’s account has Truly appearing inside the lobby seemingly from nowhere: “Some way, Mr. Truly got from my back to my front.”
This is consistent with Molina’s testimony that he saw Truly go in alone, and Lewis’s statement that if Baker had run in they wouldn’t have been there.
The Second Floor Encounter — Clothes Discrepancy
Baker describes the man in the lunchroom as wearing “a light brown jacket” — “hanging out to his side” in a “dim” room.
Yet he then says: “He looked like he did not have the same on” when he saw Oswald later at the police station.
This is a significant admission. If Baker genuinely encountered Oswald in the lunchroom and then saw him again hours later, the clothing discrepancy — noted by Baker himself — raises serious questions about the identification. Kamp addresses this in depth in the paper regarding what Oswald was actually wearing.
The Timing Admission
Baker states the re-enactment timings were “the minimum” and that on November 22nd “it took me a little longer.”
He also crucially states: “From the time I got off the motorcycle we walked the first time and then we kind of run the second time from the motorcycle on into the building.”
So during the official re-enactment they walked from the motorcycle to the building on the first run. Baker himself admits the real event took longer than either re-enactment. Combined with Shelley’s 3-4 minute estimate and the lateral approach shown in the footage, the timeline for Baker reaching the second floor becomes untenable for the encounter to have happened as described.
The Testimony Goes Off the Record Five Times
Kamp noted Baker’s testimony went off the record five times. Looking at the transcript this is confirmed at critical moments — including immediately after the contradiction about who said “let’s take the stairs” and during the discussion of Baker’s route through the building. These off-record discussions at precisely the most evidentially sensitive moments are deeply suspicious.
What Is Completely Absent
Most tellingly — in the entire testimony Baker makes absolutely no mention of anyone standing at the top of the TSBD entrance steps as he approached. No mention of the group of employees. No mention of Prayer Man. No mention of anyone in the recessed doorway area.
Given that Prayer Man is visible in the Wiegman film at the top left of the entrance — the side Baker was approaching from along the Elm facade — this silence is the most significant omission in the entire testimony.
