Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. And the International Hunt for His Assassin

CHAPTER 24

LIKE A MAN ON A CROSS

³⁶² "His arms went out": Frady, Martin Luther King Jr., p. 205.

³⁶³ "Oh my God, Martin's been shot!": My account of the shot and its immediate aftermath is drawn from dozens of sources, including photographs, newspaper accounts, oral histories, and official records. I especially relied on Abernathy's testimony in House Select Committee on Assassinations (hereafter HSCA), Appendix Reports, vol. 1, p. 20; Abernathy's memoir, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, pp. 440-42; Young's memoir Easy Burden, pp. 464-65; and Memphis Police Department statements and FBI interviews gathered from witnesses at the Lorraine Motel, Hughes Collection. I also consulted "The Last Moments: Memphis, Tenn., April 4, 1968," in HSCA, Final Assassinations Report, pp. 282-85.

³⁶⁴ "It's all right": Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 441.

³⁶⁵ made a solid thunk: FBI interview with Canipe, April 5, 1968, Hughes Collection.

³⁶⁶ "The understanding": Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 441.

³⁶⁷ "crimson molasses": Frank, American Death, p. 82.

³⁶⁸ Kyles discreetly slipped it out of his grip: Interview with Kyles on CNN, Special Investigations Unit, that aired on April 4, 2009. Kyles says, "I took a crushed cigarette out of his hand. He didn't want kids to see him smoke." See also Frady, Martin Luther King Jr., p. 205.

³⁶⁹ Louw trembled with a manic rage: The story of how Louw photographed his world-famous image on the balcony is best captured in Frank, American Death, pp. 77-80.

³⁷⁰ "shaking like a leaf": Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 442.

³⁷¹ "We have information": Memphis Police Department radio dispatcher recordings from April 4, 1968, Hughes Collection.

³⁷² "Where's he been hit?": Frank, American Death, pp. 85-86.

³⁷³ "Murder! Murder!": Ibid., p. 83.