Sirhan Sirhan may be released tomorrow

[Jon Banks]

Hi Jon, I enjoy reading your posts, and I regard you as a very level headed researcher.     

I do believe that Sirhan was set up.....and he did not shoot RFK.     However the empty gun in his hand in the close proximity to the victim is a very difficult piece of evidence to cast aside.     If the conspirators had hypnotized or drugged Sirhan and set him up as the patsy  they would have made certain that there would have been another .22 caliber weapon disguised as some innocuous item , like a camera, to be certain that the deed would be done. ...but it would appear that sirhan was holding the murder weapon.       

I agree that Sirhan was caught with a hot gun in his hand. That’s why I admit that it’s difficult if not impossible to exonerate him. If there was a conspiracy, it can’t be argued that he wasn’t involved.

The problem since the 1970s has been that none of the bullets from the victims or crime scene have been positively identified to have come from his gun.

So not only was there evidence that more than 8 shots were fired, the experts who examined the ballistic evidence could never match Sirhan’s gun to the bullets:


The lead crime-scene investigator testified at trial that bullets from the wounded victims matched a bullet from Kennedy, but presented no photos or evidence to support that. When two ballistics experts examined the bullets after the trial, they found the bullets didn’t match. Subsequent investigations couldn’t match any of the bullets to Sirhan’s gun. The crime-scene investigator was subsequently criticized even by prosecutors for sloppy work in the case, by a judge for seeming perjury in another high-profile murder, and later suspended by his own police chief.
….
Wolfer testified that a bullet removed from Kennedy’s neck and a bullet removed from a wounded victim had come from Sirhan’s gun. But he did not submit any photos comparing the two bullets or keep any notes documenting his comparison, and the defense accepted his testimony without challenge. In 1970, when ballistics expert William Harper examined the bullets with a newly invented comparison camera, he found the bullets had not been fired from the same gun.

Soon two other ballistics experts also said the two bullets came from different guns. In 1975, a commission of seven experts was empaneled to review the ballistics, including refiring Sirhan’s gun. But Sirhan’s gun had deteriorated, and it couldn’t be determined whether it had fired either the Kennedy bullet or the wounded victim’s bullet. Later, it was determined that the bullet police submitted for the 1975 test as the Kennedy bullet was from another victim, not Kennedy.

If police had followed a trail of bullets from behind Kennedy’s right side, the person who was standing closest to him was an armed private-security guard, Thane Eugene Cesar. Cesar said he fell down as the shooting began, then pulled his .38-caliber gun but didn’t fire because Sirhan had already been captured. A news assistant for a local TV station, Don Schulman, gave a radio interview moments after the shooting and described Cesar firing back at Sirhan.

https://aarclibrary.org/did-l-a-police-and-prosecutors-bungle-the-bobby-kennedy-assassination-probe/

The RFK assassination hasn’t gotten as much attention as the JFK assassination but the evidence of conspiracy in RFK’s case seems overwhelming.

[Walt Cakebread]

I agree that Sirhan was caught with a hot gun in his hand. That’s why I admit that it’s difficult if not impossible to exonerate him. If there was a conspiracy, it can’t be argued that he wasn’t involved.

The problem since the 1970s has been that none of the bullets from the victims or crime scene have been positively identified to have come from his gun.

So not only was there evidence that more than 8 shots were fired, the experts who examined the ballistic evidence could never match Sirhan’s gun to the bullets:


The lead crime-scene investigator testified at trial that bullets from the wounded victims matched a bullet from Kennedy, but presented no photos or evidence to support that. When two ballistics experts examined the bullets after the trial, they found the bullets didn’t match. Subsequent investigations couldn’t match any of the bullets to Sirhan’s gun. The crime-scene investigator was subsequently criticized even by prosecutors for sloppy work in the case, by a judge for seeming perjury in another high-profile murder, and later suspended by his own police chief.
….
Wolfer testified that a bullet removed from Kennedy’s neck and a bullet removed from a wounded victim had come from Sirhan’s gun. But he did not submit any photos comparing the two bullets or keep any notes documenting his comparison, and the defense accepted his testimony without challenge. In 1970, when ballistics expert William Harper examined the bullets with a newly invented comparison camera, he found the bullets had not been fired from the same gun.

Soon two other ballistics experts also said the two bullets came from different guns. In 1975, a commission of seven experts was empaneled to review the ballistics, including refiring Sirhan’s gun. But Sirhan’s gun had deteriorated, and it couldn’t be determined whether it had fired either the Kennedy bullet or the wounded victim’s bullet. Later, it was determined that the bullet police submitted for the 1975 test as the Kennedy bullet was from another victim, not Kennedy.

If police had followed a trail of bullets from behind Kennedy’s right side, the person who was standing closest to him was an armed private-security guard, Thane Eugene Cesar. Cesar said he fell down as the shooting began, then pulled his .38-caliber gun but didn’t fire because Sirhan had already been captured. A news assistant for a local TV station, Don Schulman, gave a radio interview moments after the shooting and described Cesar firing back at Sirhan.

https://aarclibrary.org/did-l-a-police-and-prosecutors-bungle-the-bobby-kennedy-assassination-probe/

The RFK assassination hasn’t gotten as much attention as the JFK assassination but the evidence of conspiracy in RFK’s case seems overwhelming.

If Cesar had only the .38 caliber revolver then he couldn't possibly have shot RFK..... Because not only is the caliber wrong ( the wounds were created by a .22) but a .38 would have killed RFK instantly and a ,38 would have caused massive damage to his head.   

Incidentally the .22 caliber cartridge is a favored assassination  weapon....  Trained killers are taught to fire two quick shots into the victim's head from from behind an ear at close range....which is exactly how RFK was murdered...   IOW.....  The hit was not the work of someone like Siran, but the work of a professional killer. 

[Jon Banks]

If Cesar had only the .38 caliber revolver then he couldn't possibly have shot RFK..... Because not only is the caliber wrong ( the wounds were created by a .22) but a .38 would have killed RFK instantly and a ,38 would have caused massive damage to his head.   

Incidentally the .22 caliber cartridge is a favored assassination  weapon....  Trained killers are taught to fire two quick shots into the victim's head from from behind an ear at close range....which is exactly how RFK was murdered...   IOW.....  The hit was not the work of someone like Siran, but the work of a professional killer.

Cesar is viewed as a suspect because he was armed and closest to the location of Kennedy’s wounds (directly behind RFK). I don’t think the police ever checked to see if his gun matched any of the bullets collected from the crime scene or the victims.

But Cesar also lied about his ownership of a .22 caliber gun. He claimed to have sold it before RFK’s assassination but it turned out that he sold it months later. There have been inconsistencies in his account of his actions. RFK Jr believes Cesar is who killed his Dad.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7456521/Robert-F-Kennedy-assassinated-Thane-Eugene-Cesar-Sirhan-Sirhan-says-RFK-Jr.html

Michael Wayne is the other person who’s name frequently comes  up as a potential suspect. Not because he was seen with a gun but because he was behaving strangely before and after the assassination and it’s suspected that he collected Press passes and gave them to other suspects so they could get close to RFK.

[Richard Smith]

Not sure what role partisan politics plays in this case.

The issue for LA officials is that the key person on the LAPD who was in charge of the evidence, DeWayne Wolfer, was involved in lots of cases. If it were confirmed that Wolfer lied or tampered with evidence, it would affect dozens of cases. That’s the sort of thing that discourages the LA officials from coming clean about his handling of the evidence even though it’s widely acknowledged today that Wolfer was corrupt. A judge stopped short of accusing Wolfer of perjury.

The corruption of the LAPD, especially the Ramparts precinct that handled the RFK investigation, has been well documented since the 1990s.

Most witnesses were focused on Sirhan who was in front of Kennedy or they were taking cover.

There ARE a few witnesses who saw the security guard who was behind Kennedy with a gun drawn (all shots that hit Kennedy came from behind). At least one witness said he saw the security guard fire the gun.

At Sirhan’s trial, one witness said he saw a gunman and could identify him if he saw him again but didn’t identify Sirhan as the gunman.

So yes, some witnesses DID see other potential shooters but they were either ignored or dismissed as wrong about their recollection.

You suggested that the shot to RFK's head was fired from one inch away.  Do you think someone could get within one inch of RFK and get away in that crowd?  Why would everyone focus on Sirhan if someone else with a gun was only one inch from RFK?  It makes no sense.  And even if a security guard had mistakenly shot RFK in an attempt to defend him from Sirhan that makes no difference as to Sirhan's culpability.

[Jon Banks]

You suggested that the shot to RFK's head was fired from one inch away.

I didn't suggest that, the medical examiner who conducted RFK's autopsy did. He has kept the same story for 50+ years even though it conflicts with the conclusion that Sirhan alone killed RFK.

 

Do you think someone could get within one inch of RFK and get away in that crowd?  Why would everyone focus on Sirhan if someone else with a gun was only one inch from RFK?  It makes no sense. 

I noted earlier that some witnesses described other gunmen who weren't or couldn't have been Sirhan.

Tactically, it makes sense to use Sirhan as a decoy in front of Kennedy while someone else shot him from behind. Kennedy's entourage understandably went after Sirhan and weren't paying attention to what was going on elsewhere in the room.

Researcher, Lisa Pease, has suggested that Sirhan's gun had Blanks, which seems far-fetched but could explain why none of the bullets from the crime scene were matched to his gun.

And even if a security guard had mistakenly shot RFK in an attempt to defend him from Sirhan that makes no difference as to Sirhan's culpability.

That's possible. The security guard might've shot RFK accidentally. I'm not sure if the accidental killing thing was ever explored by investigators.

However, based on dozens of witnesses, Sirhan wasn't alone at the Ambassador hotel that evening. He was seen by several witnesses with other Latino or Middle Eastern looking men and a woman in a polka-dot dress. They stood out because they were dressed down while most people at the party were well dressed.

And I don't see how Sirhan alone could've figured out where to wait for Kennedy after the victory speech. There had to be some coordination to get Sirhan past security and in the position he was in to shoot RFK.
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Waiter Vincent DiPierro, 19, said in a statement: “When I first saw him there was a girl behind him, too.”

He said she was 21-24, shapely and wore a white dress with black or violet polka dots.

Another witness, Darnell Johnson, saw a woman in a polka dot dress near Kennedy, as did George Green, who said she fled the scene with a man after the shooting.

Sergeant Paul Sharaga, the first police officer to arrive, said he interviewed an elderly couple who were on the balcony outside the hotel’s Embassy Room, “when a young couple, early 20s, came running from the direction of the Embassy Room shouting, ‘We shot him, we shot him’.”

Sandy Serrano, 20, spoke of seeing a woman in a polka dot dress run past her on a stairwell with a young man in a gold sweater and heard the woman say: “We’ve shot him.”

In all, 25 witnesses saw a woman in a polka dot dress. Thirteen saw her with Sirhan.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/968886/bobby-kennedy-assassination-shots-killed-president-losangeles-hotel-jfk

[Mitch Todd]

The point is, she didn’t dismiss the new evidence or argue that “the case is solved.”

Sirhan’s new trial was denied due to it being considered a waste of time due to the fact that a conspiracy finding wouldn’t exonerate him. It wasn’t rejected due to a lack of legitimacy of the evidence of a second shooter.

You've just made my point for me. Stop that! The State of California didn't try to rebut or dismiss the "new evidence" (was there anything really new, other than the  Pruszynski tape anyway?) because the State had no need to.

[Tom Scully]

The uber liberals running California today are protecting the conservative LAPD from five decades ago in the cover up of the murder of a liberal icon?  And you think someone got their gun within one inch of RFK's head amidst a large crowd of people and escaped unnoticed?  None of that adds up.

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/california-population-change-between-census-decade.html


Who should "run" California "today"?

...the extremists supporting this misogynist "mess" because he reassures them their white supremacist sympathies are just fine with him?

Column: Larry Elder is the Black face of white supremacy ...
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-08-20/recall-candidate-larry-elder-is-a-threat-to-black-californians
Column: "Larry Elder is the Black face of white supremacy. You've been warned Conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder speaks to supporters during a campaign stop in Norwalk."