Auction item offends brother of Oswald.

Last week the coffin that once held the body of Lee Harvey Oswald was sold to an anonymous bidder for the sum of $87,469.00.

Robert Oswald, older brother of the man accused of assassinating President John F. Kennedy, say's he bought the wooden coffin himself upon Lee's death in 1963. He believes the object legally belongs to him and that he does not want the coffin to be sold for monetary gain. He would rather see the item destroyed than be regarded as some kind of morbid souvenir with shameful historical significance. Robert attempted to stop the coffin from being sold by contacting the auctioneer, but his calls were never returned.

Lee Oswald's body was exhumed in 1981 to prove to conspiracy theorists once and for all that without a doubt it is his body in the coffin. Testing proved conclusive; DNA samples were a match for Oswald. His remains were then put into a new coffin and once again laid to rest.

Note: Although it is generally accepted that Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK, technicially he is still only a suspect because he was never convicted of the crime. He never got the chance to stand trial because he was fatally wounded by Jack Ruby as he was being transfered by police to a new location.

During a quick jail visit Lee told Robert not to believe all the "so-called" evidence against him, but never got to the chance to clarify what he meant by that. Robert beleives that Lee is guilty and acted alone, but to this day is not sure of the motive.

Fast Fact: Robert Oswald claimed he never considered changing his last name because he is proud of his heritage. He went on to say that he and his brother Lee shared names with famous distant relative Confederate General Robert E. Lee. No, he is not ashamed of their names.