Bill Hunter
 Bill Hunter     (journalist, JFK/Assassination/Premature death) | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Bradley Hunter November 2, 1928 Wichita Falls, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | April 23, 1964 (Age 35) Long Beach, California, U.S. |
Cause of death | gunshot |
| Nationality | American |
| Victim of | assassination |
| Interests | JFK Assassination |
A reported who investigated the JFK assassination. Shot dead by a policeman, reportedly accidentally. | |
William Bradley Hunter[1] was an American crime reporter for the Long Beach, California Independent Press-Telegram. Hunter's 16-page special on the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby, "Three Days in Dallas", was awarded the 1964 "Spot News Reporting" award of the California Newspaper Publishers Association's "Better Newspaper Contest".[2]
A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Hunter had previously worked as a court reporter there for five years before becoming a crime reporter.[3] On March 22, 1964, Hunter wrote a story for the Press-Telegram saying that Oswald had "assuredly" killed Kennedy.[1]
Death
On April 23, 1964 at around 2 am, Hunter was fatally shot while sitting at his desk in the press room at the Long Beach police headquarters by police officer, Creighton Wiggins. Wiggins initially claimed that his gun accidentally discharged when he dropped it on the ground, hitting Hunter in the heart as he sat reading a book.[4] Hunter was killed instantly. After investigators concluded that the trajectory of the bullet was not consistent with a gun that was at ground level, Wiggins changed his story and said he had been playing "quick draw" with a fellow officer, Errol Greenleaf, and had fired his gun accidentally. Wiggins and Greenleaf, who said his back was turned at the time, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and received three-year probation sentences.[1][5] Hunter is interred at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas.
References
- ↑ a b c Tim Grobarty, Press-Telegram, November 16, 2013, What’s Hot: Long Beach reporter Bill Hunter was in the midst of the JFK conspiracy
- ↑ Independent Press-Telegram, February 9, 1964, TOP HONOR FOR '3 DAYS IN DALLAS'
- ↑ Independent Press-Telegram, February 28, 1964, Ace Reporter Hunter at Ruby's Trial
- ↑ Belzer, Richard; Wayne, David (2016). Hit List: An In-Depth Investigation into the Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination. Skyhorse Publishing. pp. 73–74
- ↑ Dave Reitzes, mcadams.posc.mu.edu, Dead in the Wake of the Kennedy Assassination: The Men Who Gathered in Ruby's Apartment
