TULSA — Shirley Martin, an Oklahoma housewife and mother of four, conducted a self-funded investigation into the assassination of John F. Kennedy that involved mapping suspect movements and contacting federal agencies. Martin suspected that Lee Harvey Oswald was innocent of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Martin contacted newspapers, reporters, members of the Warren Commission, and the F.B.I. with tips and thoughts regarding the assassination. Her efforts drew the attention of J. Edgar Hoover, who complained in an internal memo in April 1964 about Shirley Martin’s attitude toward the FBI.

The investigation became a family endeavor that utilized the specific skills of Martin's four children. Her daughter Teresa read newspapers for the investigation, while her sons Mike and Steve cut out stories and examined photographs for the investigation. Martin's eldest child, Vickie, interviewed sources and transcribed recordings for the investigation. To facilitate this work, Martin told sources that her daughter Vickie was working on a children’s book about the assassination to gain access to buildings or interviews.

Martin drove approximately three hundred miles to Dallas to investigate the assassination. During this trip, she mapped out Lee Harvey Oswald’s alleged movements on the day of the assassination in Dallas. She also tracked down scores of sources in Dallas to gather information.

Beyond local fieldwork, Martin developed telephone friendships with other amateur investigators and with Lee Harvey Oswald’s mother. She sent money to Lee Harvey Oswald’s widow as part of her outreach.

Martin also directed resources toward professional legal critics of the official narrative. She sent funds and stacks of her research to attorney Mark Lane. Lane testified on behalf of Lee Harvey Oswald before the Warren Commission. He later published multiple books challenging the Warren Commission's judgment that Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby each acted alone.

Martin's personal life reflected her focus on the late president. She kept a bust of John F. Kennedy atop her television set. A replica of John F. Kennedy's rocking chair sat in her living room.

She also had a pet bird named PT-109. Martin converted to Catholicism during this period.

Journalists Richard Warren Lewis and Lawrence Schiller published the book The Scavengers and Critics of the Warren Report in 1967. The book The Scavengers and Critics of the Warren Report portrayed Shirley Martin and similar investigators as lonely, maladjusted, and pitiable. Shirley Martin is quoted at length in the book The Scavengers and Critics of the Warren Report. Kaitlyn Tiffany wrote the book The Housewives Underground: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the JFK Assassination Our Most Enduring Mystery.

Academic research has examined the social dynamics of such investigations. Studies from 2017 and 2020 found a link between social ostracism and the likelihood of endorsing conspiratorial beliefs. A paper published by two Yale researchers in 2023 noted that a person’s inclination toward conspiracy theorizing does not appear to correlate with having weaker social networks.

Martin's case illustrates the role of amateur investigators in challenging official historical accounts. Her methods included direct correspondence with federal authorities and the family of the accused assassin. The response from figures such as Hoover and later authors shows the tension between institutional findings and public skepticism. The portrayal of Martin in 1967 contrasts with recent academic inquiries into the social networks of individuals who question established narratives.

Why It Matters

Martin's case illustrates how amateur investigators utilized family networks and direct outreach to challenge official historical accounts, prompting internal complaints from FBI leadership. Her efforts supported legal critics who published works questioning the Warren Commission's findings that Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby acted alone. The shift from 1967 portrayals of such figures as maladjusted to recent academic inquiries shows evolving perspectives on the social dynamics surrounding public skepticism of institutional narratives.