$3 Mllion EBay Bid For Oswald's Reputed Sniper's Perch Falls Through

DALLAS (AP) _ The auction of a window advertised as Lee Harvey Oswald's sniper perch in the killing of President John F. Kennedy brought a bid of about $3 million, but the sale quickly fell through.

Saturday, February 17th 2007, 2:36 pm

By: News On 6

DALLAS (AP) _ The auction of a window advertised as Lee Harvey Oswald's sniper perch in the killing of President John F. Kennedy brought a bid of about $3 million, but the sale quickly fell through.

The window was up for auction Friday on eBay with a starting price of $100,000, and bidding quickly rose to seven figures. But 32 bids were either retracted by the bidders_ normally because a wrong price had been entered, including one for $17 million _ or canceled by the seller because a bidder didn't meet qualifications.

Then, it turned out that the winning bidder ``didn't have the cash,'' said Fred McLane, a business representative for owner Caruth Byrd. ``This guy slipped into the bidding in the last minute,'' he told The Dallas Morning News.

Byrd's father, D. Harold Byrd, owned the Texas School Book Depository building when Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963. Weeks after the assassination, the elder Byrd ordered employees to remove the window and he kept it in his home until his death in 1986.

Caruth Byrd later lent it to The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, where it was displayed for 12 years.

The winning bidder for the window was from the Netherlands and entered his bid 22 seconds before the auction ended, not allowing time for a check of his qualifications.

``Unfortunately, on certain high-profile items, this can happen,'' said Hani Durzy, a spokesman for eBay. ``It's unfortunate. It's also illegal and considered fraud.''

Byrd said qualified bidders will be asked if they still want to purchase the window. That could take a day or two.