In this article, we will delve deeper into the dark and hideous facts of the assassination of former president John F. Kennedy. After 40 years, the case was still unsolved and the controversies are stronger than ever. In the next few paragraphs, we will look at the hard facts that will hopefully help the reader develop his or her own judgment, and be able to answer the most important questions:
- Is the murder performed by a single deranged assassin, or was it a conspiracy?
- Was Lee Harvey Oswald innocent, partially involved, or the lone criminal?
- Are institutions of the US government part of the plot against JFK?
- Did the Warren Commission ignore and cover up the true evidence?
The photo above shows JFK and and his brother, Robert. Both were mysteriously assassinated at separate times!
These questions have been going on for four decades, and to gain a clearer view and more logical idea of what really happened on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas, perhaps we should start at examining the famous Zapruder film...
The Abraham Zapruder footage - this live video was perhaps the most important piece of evidence that exists about the JFK assassination. Abraham Zapruder, a cinematographer, was one of the bystanders waiting for the President's motorcade to pass by the Dealey Plaza on Elms Street. Eager to get a full glimpse of the President's motorcade, Zapruder stationed himself on the Grassy Knoll area, upon a sort of 3 feet high stone platform, using an 8 mm video recorder. Zapruder's footage was able to record the entire assassination sequence, including Kennedy's fatal head shot wound.
Here's a picture of a tourist who stood on the spot where Zapruder once stood:
Why Was The Zapruder Film So Important? There are many reasons and here are some of them:
- The Zapruder film became the basis for almost every investigation related to the crime scene.
- It showed the exact moment when Governor Connally was hit, and when JFK received the shot on his head that blew his brains out
- Thanks to the Zapruder film, the experts were able to estimate the time frame that elapsed between the first, second and third gun shot..(and fourth shot, if any)
Frame 313 of The Zapruder Film Shows Kennedy's Fatal Head Shot:
But...and this is a big BUT! There are some problems about the Zapruder film! First, the original copy of this film was sold to Time/Life magazine in 1963, and Abraham Zapruder himself got $25,000 in exchange for it. Ever since this happened, the Zapruder footage was never released or shown to the public. Yes, it remained as a top secret document for 12 long years. This means, for 12 long years, the public had basically NO IDEA of what really happened on November 22, 1963! At the same time, the government has been popularizing the idea of the "single bullet theory", which as many people believe, an effort to cover up the entire thing (see my previous article, "Unsolved Mysteries: The JFK Assassination")! Is it possible that the Zapruder film we see today is NOT the original, but was altered?
Second problem, there are many inconsistencies between the testimonies of witnesses and the events seen on the Zapruder footage. For example, Jackie Kennedy, the limousine driver, and a bystander, all attest to the fact that the limousine STOPPED just before JFK received the fatal head shot. But if you watch the Zapruder film (c'mon, watch it right now on Youtube), the limousine did not stop at all! Instead, it kept running on a seemingly faster speed than usual. Even if the video camera used was running faster than usual, the car halt should have been obvious. Again, this could be another indication that the Zapruder footage has been slightly edited or altered, and the ones who did it had 12 years to do it.
Zapruder used this 8 mm camera, now a museum exhibit:
Third problem, the government and the Warren Commission concluded that ALL the shots fired were from BEHIND the president, made by a sniper (Lee Harvey Oswald) from the Texas Book Depository. But take note of this, Abraham Zapruder, who was standing on the Grassy Knoll, testified that he HEARD SHOTS FROM BEHIND HIM. This means that there are shooters on the President's front RIGHT side, hiding behind the fences of the Grassy Knoll! There are other witnesses that say they smelled gun smoke from the Grassy Knoll. But guess what, the Warren Commission simply ignored them and some of these witnesses even DIED mysteriously a few months later...
If there were indeed shots fired from the Grassy Knoll, as Zapruder testifies, it would establish the fact that there is more than ONE shooter, and it would strengthen the conspiracy theory. But, as expected, the Warren Commission and the government clung to the unbelievable "single bullet theory" and there was just a lone gunman -- Lee Harvey Oswald. Coincidence? Or Conspiracy?
Zapruder video frame 375. Jackie shouts, "THEY'VE killed my husband!!"
There is really so much to say about this topic, but let me cut it short and give you some facts that will help you form your opinion:
Some facts worth thinking about - Lee Harvey Oswald, who had no proper lawyer representation and adequate evidence, was picked up by the police and instantly charged him of murdering the President. He (Oswald) was killed by a Jack Ruby even before he had a chance to testify in court. Was Lee Oswald a scapegoat? Or in other words, a patsy?
Countless witnesses gave testimonies that opposed the Warren Commission's lone gunman, single bullet conclusion. Many of these witnesses were either silenced, forced to alter their testimonies, or died mysteriously:
A toll operator claimed that he saw people in uniform with rifles, who took up positions at the Grassy Knoll during noontime, November 22, 1963. This person died a few months later on a "car accident", and he had a mysterious gun shot wound that the autopsy simply missed or ignored...
A lady who came near the President's limousine just seconds before the fatal gunshot, testified that she heard four to six shots..from the Grassy Knoll. She was later forced to alter her testimony and the shots became three, instead of four to six.
In later investigations...David Ferrie, a man who had a strong testimony that the CIA was linked to the JFK assassination, suddenly died of "suicide" even before he can testify in court.
The list of untimely deaths go on and on
So think about it, was the JFK assassination performed solely by a deranged nut named Lee Harvey Oswald, or did professional gunmen pull the trigger at the order of people who belong to the higher echelons of government?
It's something worth considering. (Don't forget to also read: "Unsolved Mysteries: The JFK Assassination")
