</s>FD-38 (Rev. 3-22-64) FBI Date: Transmit the following in (Type in planestor or code) Via (Priority) KC 44-760 PAGE TWO REPORTEDLY WOULD BE ON PAROLE UNTIL NINETEEN SEVENTY TWO. CHICAGO AT BELLWOOD, ILLINOIS. INTERVIEW WILLIAM F. SCHOOL FOR ANY INFORMATION HE MAY HAVE REGARDING SUBJECT. P Approved: Sent M Per Special Agent in Charge 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

The documents detail an FBI investigation into the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was killed on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. The primary suspect identified is James Earl Ray (J.E.R.), whose movements were tracked via flight records, hotel stays, and transportation services. Delta Airlines Flight 157 transported Ray from Memphis to Houston, Texas, with passengers including Vincent Walker and Lawrence Rand. The FBI examined potential accomplices linked to Memphis hotels, limousine services, and laundry operations. Records of J.D. Daily, a Missouri parolee, and other individuals were reviewed as part of the investigation. Efforts included fingerprint comparisons, hotel registries, and airline manifests to verify identities.  

The investigation also explored connections to Eric Starvo Galz (also known as James Earl Way), whose travel to Mexico and associations with Hertz Rent-A-Car were scrutinized. Other suspects included Tom Rosell, who resembled Ray, Graham Robert Smith (a British student at Rice University), and John Willard, linked to NASA and dance studios in Texas. The FBI conducted interviews across Texas, including Kemah, League City, and Houston, focusing on individuals like Taska Weinstein (dance instructor), James Ellis (NASA employee), and William Thomas Jacobs, who was investigated for alleged plots against MLK and the President. Negative results from most interviews indicated no confirmed links to the assassination.  

Key locations include Memphis, Tennessee (site of the assassination); Houston, Texas (destination of Delta Flight 157; hotels such as Rice Hotel and Sheraton Lincoln Hotel); Vera Cruz, Mexico (linked to Henry Richard Giles’ travel); and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (Hotel Rio, where Eric Stavo Galt stayed in October 1967). The investigation also referenced telephone call records from December 17, 1967, involving Ray near Houston’s U.S. Interstate Highway 10, with reports of calls made from a pay telephone. Efforts to locate a waitress named "Lou" across Texas locations were unsuccessful.  

Key events include the April 4, 1968, assassination; FBI tracking of Ray’s movements via Delta Flight 157 and Houston hotel stays (April 5–6); examination of limousine records, laundry tags, and fingerprint comparisons (April 8–10); and review of Eastern Airlines records for John A. Gaulti (April 12). The investigation also involved labor union checks on Ray, including contacts with the Seafarers International Union and other organizations.  

Key people include James Earl Ray (primary suspect), Vincent Walker and Lawrence Rand (Delta Flight 157 passengers), J.D. Daily (Missouri parolee), John Willard (NASA employee), William Thomas Jacobs (alleged plotter), Eric Starvo Galz (linked to Hertz Rent-A-Car), Graham Robert Smith (Rice University student), Tom Rosell (resembling Ray), and Taska Weinstein (dance instructor).  

Key organizations include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Delta Airlines, Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Hertz Rent-A-Car, Rice University, and Southwest Bell Telephone Company. The Texas State Mental Hospital and Texas Department of Corrections records were also referenced for JACOBS’ sister THELMA POWERS and William Thomas Jacos’ incarceration history.  

Key locations include 8125 Lamar Drive, Houston (unverified address), Hotel Rio in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, U.S. Interstate Highway 10 near Houston, and Laredo, Texas (Grand Jury location for subpoenaed records). The investigation also involved the Houston Chronicle’s reporters Louis Lomax and Charles Stein, who attempted to locate a phone booth linked to Ray’s alleged calls.

MLK Declassified Files

44-kc-760_404058_171-03-part_4_of_9.pdf

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