This is a high-profile political story involving the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. It was found to be the fault of Sirhan Bishara Sirhan. Although this occurred on June 5, 1968, the circumstances surrounding the attack sparked various conspiracy theories. Find out more details at layes.info.
Robert Kennedy and his political views
He was a U.S. senator and the leading Democratic presidential candidate. He was shot and killed by Sirhan Bishara just minutes after his speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
The day following the assault, Robert Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital.
We’d like to tell you more about Robert Kennedy as a politician. Most Americans saw him as someone who knew how to bring people together. He was admired by minority communities for his honesty and commitment to civil rights. For this reason, it was evident that he had won the Democratic nomination in the California primary elections and opposed Richard Nixon in the general election.
Kennedy’s wife, Ethel, wasn’t around when the shooting occurred. The woman was three months pregnant. Robert Kennedy was shot several times, but a fatal shot went behind the right ear, and another hit the right armpit. One bullet came through the chest, while the other got stuck in the neck. 25 hours after the shooting, he died.
The senator’s younger brother, Ted Kennedy, delivered a speech in which he stated that while it is not necessary to idealize his brother, though, he should be remembered as a kind and decent person. He was buried next to his older brother at his own request. It was the first burial to take place in Arlington National Cemetery at night.
What do we know about the killer?
Our decisions have long-term consequences. Unfortunately, Sirhan Bishara Sirhan became known for assassinating Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the younger brother of US President John F. Kennedy.
It is worth learning more about his motives and ultimate fate. The Palestinian-Jordanian man was convicted on April 17, 1969, over a year after the crime was committed. He was sentenced to death in a gas chamber. However, following the high-profile case Furman v. Georgia, the sentence was converted to life imprisonment. The defendant was ordered to complete his time in Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, near San Diego.
In August 2021, Sirhan was granted parole, but on January 13, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom reversed this decision. On March 1, 2023, the 79-year-old prisoner was denied parole.
Also, Sirhan talked about his connection with Robert Kennedy in an interview. He stated that he felt betrayed because Robert Kennedy supported Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war (we are talking about the attempt to deliver 50 bombers to Israel). Therefore, the decision to kill the US senator was motivated by concern for Palestinians.
It is worth noting that throughout the entire term of his imprisonment, Sirhan repeatedly apologized for the murder, even calling Robert Kennedy his hero, and was denied release nine times.
Different versions and conspiracy theories
Even though the killer of Robert F. Kennedy was found and convicted, there are still various conspiracy theories, such as versions about the existence of the second shooter. The placement of Kennedy’s wounds indicated that the attacker was standing behind him, although witnesses saw Sirhan facing west. As a result, the theory that there had been a second shooter, who fired the fatal shot, emerged. This possibility was confirmed by Thomas Noguchi, the Chief Medical Examiner and Coroner for the County of Los Angeles. Despite the popularity of this version, experts concluded that there was little or no evidence to support it.
In 2007, an audio recording of the shooting, taken by freelance reporter Stanisław Pruszyński, revealed that there were at least 13 shots fired. Further investigation proved that there was still more than one shooter. However, different experts have their own theories about the number of shots.
The results of forensic analysis are likewise striking. In 1975, a Los Angeles judge convened a commission consisting of seven forensic experts. They were examining ballistic evidence. Three bullets were discovered that hit Kennedy and were fired from one pistol. The biggest mystery is that experts were unable to match these bullets to Sirhan’s revolver. In 2011, his lawyers claimed that the bullets used as evidence against Sirhan had been swapped at the crime scene. This evidence pointed to Sirhan’s innocence.
The second theory involves Robert Kennedy’s security guard. He is regarded as a probable second shooter. Cesar was hired to guard Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel. Interestingly, he was open about his extremist far-right views, which were completely opposite to those of Robert Kennedy.
Following the shooting, the Los Angeles police interviewed him but did not consider him a suspect and didn’t ask to see his gun. When the authorities contacted Cesar again three years after the murder, he stated that he had sold the pistol before the tragic event. Further investigations revealed that the man sold the Harrington & Richardson 22 pistol three months after Kennedy’s assassination. This indicated false testimony and deliberate lies.
Many years later, Cesar passed a polygraph test, denying any involvement in the murder.
Other theories. Hypnosis and a woman in a polka-dot dress
The theory about hypnosis was supported by prison psychologist Edward Simpson-Callas. The fact is that Sirhan claims that he has no memory of the murder or what happened after. According to the theory, Sirhan was hypnotized to commit murder, thus he was unconscious of his actions and unable to control them. So, following the incident, the instigators “removed” these memories from the shooter’s mind.
Another theory involves a mysterious woman wearing a polka-dot dress. She was seen in various locations at the Ambassador Hotel before and after the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Witnesses spotted her with two men (one of whom was Sirhan). According to witnesses, the woman shouted “We will shoot Senator Kennedy.”
The involvement of three high-ranking CIA officials, including David Sánchez Morales, Gordon Campbell and George Joannides, was also considered. They were identified in video and photographs taken at the Ambassador Hotel.
Conspiracy
According to Kennedy’s son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his father was killed as part of a conspiracy. He also stated that the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy (unofficially called the Warren Commission) was “a low-quality work of art.”
Which version is correct?
Therefore, there is an official version and a convicted criminal, as well as unofficial theories, each of which raises even more questions and theories. Everyone can choose which one to believe, but we want to point out that Kennedy’s assassination was one of the four biggest murders in the United States in the 1960s (including the assassinations of John F. Kennedy (1963), Malcolm X (1965) and Martin Luther King (1968)).
The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy was one of the first major acts of political violence in the United States, and it surely went down in history.