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The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy: The Conspiracy and Coverup

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I, like many people who grew up as a child of the sixties, knew of the controversy of JFK's assasination. But I knew very little in regards to the assasination of RFK. All I knew was that Sirhan Sirhan was the person's name who killed him. At least that's what I thought before I read this excellant account of events by the authors. If you enjoy American history, the sixties or the Kennedy's, this is a must read. If you're like me, you won't believe what you read. A true patriot, RFK, was murdered and history continues to paint an incorrect picture of one assailant. Sound familiar? You won't be able to put the book down. Oliver Stone, you must make this you're next project, please!

Turner and Christian present a well documented, convincing story of why the RFK assassination needed independent review in 1970s or 80s. This book places a lot of questions at the feet of the LAPD, and perhaps also with the CIA. But the major question is why there was not more public outcry for a review of the investigation back in 1968 and the following ten years.

One wonders, now in 2003, what relevance is left to this book. After reading it, any reader should better understand how too blind a faith in our government and its agencies might lead to a loss of control over these agencies, with disasterous results. Will we allow history to repeat itself? At a time when significant diminishing of our individual freedoms is occurring, the histories of RFK and JFK might make us rethink how far we might want to go to battle terrorism. Even if you don't really buy-in to any of the conspiracy theories, the clumsiness of the investigations should provide plenty of reasons to want _more_ oversight of these agencies, not less.

With all the "JFK Killed by Elvis" books on the market, one might overlook this wonderful book by Christiann and Turner. Like "All The President's Men", the book tells the story of a politician and journalist who dared to search for the truth in a maze of cover-ups and bold-faced lies. The authors provide convincing, simple evidence that RFK could not have been shot by only one man, let alone the feeble Sirhan Sirhan. Anyone interested in the RFK assassination, or in the political turmoil of the late '60's, doesn't know the whole story until they've read this fine book.

This book raises the issue yet again of a possible conspiracy regarding the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy. The authors, to their credit treat the late Senator with respect; they do a good job of providing information about the Senator's professional and political career. In reading this particular work one comes away with a sense of the man who was killed in 1968; Robert Kennedy was considered by many to be Everyman's Advocate. He certainly was a man of strong convictions who appeared to be quite committed to his visions of a "more gentle" world; he was a man with whom many, particularly the disenfranchised could identify with.

The issue this work is concentrated on is the identity and motives of the assassin or assassins. The authors present a very strong and convincing argument of why they feel Sirhan did not act alone nor did he fire the fatal shot; the mysterious "girl in the polka dot dress" allegedly seen with Sirhan, and later allegedly seen fleeing the hotel minutes after the assassination, shouting "We shot him!" Did such a girl exist? If so, who was she and what was her involvement? As for Sirhan, there appears to be little doubt that he was involved to a certain extent in the death of Robert Kennedy; just how great that extent was and who else was involved remain open questions.

The biggest open question of all never knowing what Robert Kennedy would have accomplished had he not died. His untimely death in 1968 has left a painful void in history.

The Assassination of Robert Kennedy by William Turner and Jonn Christian is a fascinating report of their investigation into the RFK assassination.

The story begins with the strange tale of Jerry Owen. Owen, who called himself the "Walking Bible" because he claimed he had all 31,173 verses of the Bible memorized, went to the Los Angeles Police on 5 June 1968, the day after Robert Kennedy was shot. He told a captivating if unbelievable story of how he had met Sirhan Sirhan a few days earlier.

Owen told the LAPD he had picked up a hitchhiker a few days before the assassination. The hitchhiker was Sirhan. Owen claimed Sirhan asked him to meet him at the Ambassador Hotel around 11pm or 12am the night before the assassination. The purpose of this meeting: Owen had a horse to sell Sirhan.

Sirhan changed his mind on the day and asked Owen to meet him at the hotel the following night (the night of the assassination). Owen said he couldn't make it that evening because he had other business to attend to. When Owen saw Sirhan on the television the next day, he got scared and went to the police.

The police reviewed Owen's checkered past and decided he had made up the story as a publicity stunt. The LAPD dropped Owen like a hot potato. This is where Turner and Christian pick up the trail.

While Turner and Christian find Owen's testimony about Sirhan to be improbable, they still are intrigued by Owen's knowledge about the crime, including details only available to the police. For example, Owen claimed Sirhan was going to buy a horse from him for $300; Sirhan was arrested with three $100 bills on him. Sirhan had had over $1,000 due to a recent insurance claim. He withdrew the last $300 from his account right before the assassination. The police asked his brother and mother what he was going to use the $300 for; Adel said, "to buy a horse." Sirhan was a part time stable hand and horse racing junkie. How could Owen know these details if he was making up the story?

The story Turner and Christian follow is compelling. Credible witnesses who can place Owen and Sirhan together in the weeks leading up to the assassination are found and their testimony taken. This leads the authors to conclude that Owen, while lying to cover his involvment, is scared for his life.

Turner and Christian delve into the forensic evidence. Sirhan was apprended with an Ivers Johnson .22 hand gun. This is a 8 shot weapon without a clip. Sirhan was apprehended while he was still firing shots. No witness saw Sirhan reload. Thus, when Turner and Christian uncover more than eight bullet holes in the pantry area of the Ambassador Hotel, they are forced to conclude there was more than one gunman--and by definition a conspiracy.

In his notebooks, Sirhan makes several strange ramblings. Among these are references to "De Salvo" or "Di Salvo". The idea of Sirhan being hypnoprogrammed was raised by the authors early on. The reference to De Salvo, they reason, may have referred to Dr. William J. Bryan, a prominent hypnotist in LA at the time. Dr. Bryan gained fame for cracking Albert De Salvo, the notorious Boston Strangler. Turner and Christian raise the issue of Bryan being involved in hypnoprogramming Sirhan but concede the evidence is only suggestive not compelling. To their credit, they do get the testimony of Bryan's secretary who said Bryan received a call moments after Wallace was shot; the call, the secretary said, pertained to the Wallace shooting.

Several strange coincidence crop up. The authors, to their credit, report these but do not make the mistake other writers sometimes make: drawing conclusions when the evidence is suggestive but not compelling. Among the weird coincidences are Owen's connections to Edgar Eugene Bradley and to Gail Aiken.

Turner and Christian took a statement from Owen in July of 1968 (when it became clear the LAPD was not interested). In this statement, Turner and Christian broach the subject of Edgar Eugene Bradley. Bradley was indicted by Jim Garrison during his case against New Orleans business man Clay Shaw for the JFK assassination. Bradley, it was reported, was impersonating a Secret Service officer on the famed Grassy Knoll. And Owen knew Bradley and was friends with Bradley's supervisor.

The second strange coincidence was Owen's close friendship with Gail Aiken. Owen, who had a televangelist show on a local station, had cultivated a flock of believers including Ms. Aiken. When Owen sued the station for defamation, he brought Aiken to court to testify as a character witness. Turner and Christian discovered that Aiken was the full-blooded sister of Arthur Bremer, the would-be assassin of George Wallace.

Turner and Christian have compiled a captivating read which is both informative, entertaining but not embellished. This is my definition of excellent investigative reporting.