The Crime Book

320

county jail. Nightclub operator Jack

Ruby shot him point-blank through

the abdomen, and Oswald died just

days after his world-famous victim,

by the same method.

Ruby alternately claimed that he

had assassinated Oswald: to spare

the former First Lady Jacqueline

Kennedy from having to attend a

harrowing trial; because he was

angry at Oswald; and to redeem the

city of Dallas. Ruby was convicted

of murder. The conviction was later

overturned, but Ruby died behind

bars of a pulmonary embolism

before his new trial began.

Aftermath

Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in

as president on board Air Force

One immediately after Kennedy’s

death. During his first days as

commander-in-chief, speculation

abounded about the events in

Dallas. Johnson quickly appointed

the Warren Commission to

investigate the assassination and

satisfy the public. After 10 months

of investigation, the Commission

concluded that Oswald acted alone,

using his Mannlicher-Carcano bolt-

action rifle to fire three shots in less

than eight seconds from the

Depository window. All three shots

had been fired from behind: the first

missed; the second entered the

president’s upper back and exiting

through his throat; and the third

struck him in the back of the head

and killed him. The public,

however, remained unsatisfied.

Conspiracy theories

Kennedy’s murder is arguably the

most widely and hotly contested

case of the 20th century – perhaps

of all time. A 2013 poll conducted

by the Associated Press found that

59 per cent of Americans believe

there was a conspiracy to murder

the president involving multiple

people, while 24 per cent are of the

opinion that Lee Harvey Oswald

was solely responsible. Ten years

earlier, a Gallup poll indicated that

75 per cent of the nation favoured a

THE ASSASSINATION OF JOHN F. KENNEDY

Jack Ruby steps out from the throng

of press reporters and photographers

waiting for Oswald in the Dallas car

park. One captured this shot of Ruby

moments before he killed Oswald.

conspiracy explanation. Even the

US government remains divided

on the issue.

In 1979, the US House of

Representatives Select Committee

on Assassinations (HSCA) – which

was assembled specifically to

investigate the murders of Kennedy

and Martin Luther King Jr –

reached a different conclusion to

the Warren Commission. Although

they agreed with much of the

Commission’s report, the HSCA

determined that a fourth shot had

been fired by somebody other than

Oswald – suggesting a wider plot.

Conspiracy theorists point to a

number of supposed flaws in official

accounts of the assassination. One

major theory casts doubt on the

government’s claims that all of the

shots were fired from behind by a

single gunman. To many, the

Zapruder film shows the president’s

head moving back and to the left,

indicating that the fatal shot came

from the front right-hand side.

The right rear portion of the

head was missing. It was lying

in the rear seat of the car. His

brain was exposed...

Clint Hill

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321

A police mugshot of Jack Ruby, who

gunned down Lee Harvey Oswald.

Theorists believe he shot Oswald to

prevent him from revealing information

about a larger conspiracy.

Some theorize that there was a

second shooter, on the “grassy

knoll” of Dealey Plaza. Theorists

also claim that the second bullet –

which hit Kennedy and Governor

Connally – would have been a

“magic bullet” because it seemed

to defy the laws of physics.

Theorists’ protestations are

supported by quotes from eight

doctors who opined that they had

observed an entry wound in the

lower front area of Kennedy’s throat

with an exit wound in the back of

his skull. This belief was affirmed

by an emergency room nurse, a

radiographer, and two autopsy

technicians, who worked at a

trauma centre in Texas where

gunshot victims were often treated

and would have been accustomed

to assessing bullet wounds.

Secret Service Agent Clint Hill,

who was riding in the motorcade

when Kennedy was shot, originally

reported to the Warren Commission

that: “There was so much blood you

could not tell if there had been any

other wound or not, except for the

one large gaping wound in the rear

portion of the head.” Hill later

changed his mind about the

possibility of a second wound.

Some theorists do believe that

Oswald was a lone shooter, but still

believe in a conspiracy. The CIA,

the Secret Service, and foreign

governments have all been accused

of orchestrating the murder. ■

ASSASSINATIONS AND POLITICAL PLOTS

The public must be

satisfied that Oswald

was the assassin.

Nicholas Katzenbach

The “magic bullet” took a seemingly

impossible path, striking Kennedy in

the neck and Connally in the wrist and

thigh. In spite of several theorist

diagrams suggesting otherwise, this

trajectory is explained by the fact that

Connally was actually sitting to the left

of Kennedy, with his body turned.

2. It penetrated the
   president’s neck,
   damaging a spinal
   vertebra and the top
   of his right lung.


3. After exiting
   Kennedy’s throat, it
   penetrated Connally’s
   back, just under his
   right armpit.
   4. The bullet passed
   through Connally’s
   body, shattered his
   right wrist, and finally
   stopped in his inner
   left thigh.


4. The bullet entered
   the president’s back,
   beneath his right
   shoulder blade.

Kennedy Connally

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