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068 / THE RFK ASSASSINATION
CASE FILE 068DEATHS & DISAPPEARANCESPAGE 1 OF 7
FILE NO. 068

Who Shot
RFK?

Case open
Victim:Senator Robert F. Kennedy
Place:Ambassador Hotel pantry, Los Angeles
Date:June 5, 1968, just after midnight
Convicted:Sirhan Sirhan, 1969

Minutes after winning the California primary, Robert Kennedy took a shortcut through a hotel kitchen pantry. A young man stepped forward and fired a revolver. Sirhan Sirhan was caught with the gun in his hand. But the coroner found that the fatal bullet had been fired from , and witnesses put Sirhan in front of him.1

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Exhibit A
Rumor or record?0 of 6 answered

Six things people say about the night Robert Kennedy was shot. Some are on the record. Some are rumor, and one is a bit of both. Sort them, then see what the record says.

CASE FILE 068PAGE 3 OF 7
CHAPTER 1

The pantry

On the night of June 4, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy won the California Democratic presidential primary. He thanked his supporters in the Ambassador Hotel's ballroom, telling them the country was ready to end its divisions.3

A black-and-white 1968 campaign photo of a smiling Robert F. Kennedy, with his printed signature below.
Exhibit 068-A A 1968 Kennedy for President campaign handoutKennedy for President, public domain

Just after midnight, he was led through the hotel's kitchen pantry. A 24-year-old man named Sirhan Sirhan stepped forward with a .22 revolver he had hidden in a rolled-up campaign poster, and opened fire.3

8rounds Sirhan's revolver held. A federal ruling says he fired all eight. Kennedy was hit three times, and five others were wounded.

All five bystanders recovered. Kennedy died about 26 hours later, on June 6.2

CASE FILE 068PAGE 4 OF 7
CHAPTER 2

The man with the gun

Sirhan was born in Jerusalem in 1944. Right after his arrest he said, "I can explain it. I did it for my country."2

Investigators found a notebook entry dated May 18, 1968: "Kennedy must die before June 5th." June 5 was the first anniversary of the 1967 war between Israel and its neighbors. Sirhan later said Kennedy's support for Israel was his "only connection" to him.2

A black-and-white police photo of the Ambassador Hotel's narrow kitchen pantry: a long steel counter, a cart of plates and a low paneled ceiling, with an evidence number written along the bottom.
Exhibit 068-B The Ambassador Hotel pantry, in a Los Angeles Police Department photoLos Angeles Police Department, public domain

He was convicted of first-degree murder on April 17, 1969, and sentenced to death. In 1972, when California's Supreme Court struck down the death penalty, his sentence became life in prison.2

CASE FILE 068PAGE 5 OF 7
CHAPTER 3

The bullet behind the ear

The doubts start with the autopsy. Coroner Thomas Noguchi found that the fatal shot entered behind Kennedy's right ear, fired from about one inch away. The wounds suggested the shooter stood behind him.1

But witnesses said Sirhan was in front of Kennedy, about a yard away. Others said Kennedy had turned to his left to shake hands, which would have exposed his right side.1

In 1975, a judge brought in seven firearms experts. They found the bullets that hit Kennedy came from one gun, but couldn't match them to Sirhan's revolver. One internal police document stated: "Kennedy bullet not fired from Sirhan's revolver."1

Theorists point to a part-time security guard hired for the night, who stood behind Kennedy and drew his own gun. He said it was a .38, not a .22, and denied any role. A receipt later showed he sold a .22 pistol three months after the shooting, not before, as he had said.1

CASE FILE 068PAGE 6 OF 7
CHAPTER 4

The family split

In August 2021, at Sirhan's 16th parole hearing, a board panel recommended his release, citing his age and the support of two of Kennedy's sons.4

Governor Gavin Newsom blocked it in January 2022, writing that "Sirhan has not developed the accountability and insight required to support his safe release into the community." A board denied parole again in March 2023.4

The Kennedy family is divided. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. believes a second gunman killed his father. Other Kennedy children, and Kennedy's widow Ethel, opposed Sirhan's release.1

The front of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, a large pale building with palm trees, in 2004.
Exhibit 068-C The Ambassador Hotel in 2004. It was demolished in 2009.Photo: Subsven, public domain

In 2025, the National Archives began releasing records under a presidential order covering the assassinations of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.5

Illustrated portrait of Rex Marlowe, host of the believer case: a weathered man in a canvas field jacket.Host
Personnel file / Statement ARex MarloweThe believer caseHosted an overnight radio show about the unexplained for 20 years. Now he goes to the places in the files.

"The gun was in front. The wound was behind."

The coroner said the fatal shot came from about an inch behind Kennedy's right ear.1 Witnesses put Sirhan in front of him, a yard away.1 Then seven firearms experts couldn't match the bullets to Sirhan's gun, and one police document flatly says the Kennedy bullet wasn't fired from it.1

A guard with a gun was standing right behind Kennedy. An expert who studied a reporter's tape heard more shots than Sirhan's revolver could fire.1 And Kennedy's own son believes another man killed his father.1 Sirhan may have fired. That doesn't mean he fired the shot that killed him.

Illustrated portrait of June Okafor, host of the skeptic case: a woman in a blue work shirt holding manila folders.Host
Personnel file / Statement BJune OkaforThe skeptic caseSpent ten years as an insurance fraud investigator. Now she reads the original records so you don't have to.

"Caught with the gun, and his own words"

Sirhan was tackled in the pantry holding the revolver. He wrote "Kennedy must die before June 5th" weeks earlier, and right after his arrest he said, "I did it for my country."2 A federal court found he fired all eight rounds, and he didn't dispute it.2

The rest doesn't hold up as well as it sounds. Witnesses said Kennedy turned to shake hands, exposing the side of his head where he was hit.1 Other audio experts heard eight shots on the tape, not 13.1 And the guard always denied any role, including under a polygraph exam.1 A crowded room and a fast struggle explain the angles better than a second assassin nobody saw shoot.

Rex and June are characters written for this site and appear in every file. They are not real people. Their arguments come from the sources listed below.

THE STRANGEST PART

The killer who says he doesn't remember

Sirhan has said for decades that he has no memory of the shooting or what came right after it.1

That gap became its own theory. In 2010, his lawyers argued that he had been hypnotized and made "an involuntary participant," and accused the CIA.1 He remains in prison, convicted of the murder.2

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Who killed Robert Kennedy?

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The file

ShotJune 5, 1968, Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles
DiedJune 6, 1968
ConvictedSirhan Sirhan, first-degree murder, 1969
StatusConviction stands. A second gunman is still argued.

Common questions

Who killed Robert F. Kennedy?

Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of first-degree murder in 1969. Some researchers, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., believe a second gunman fired the fatal shot.

Why do people think there was a second gunman?

The coroner found the fatal shot was fired from about an inch behind Kennedy's right ear, while witnesses placed Sirhan in front of him. A 1975 panel also couldn't match the bullets to Sirhan's gun.

Is Sirhan Sirhan still in prison?

Yes. A parole panel recommended his release in 2021, but Governor Gavin Newsom blocked it in 2022, and parole was denied again in 2023.

Where was Robert Kennedy shot?

In the kitchen pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, just after he won the 1968 California primary. The hotel was demolished in 2009.

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Photo credits: Kennedy campaign handout (public domain); Ambassador Hotel pantry, LAPD (public domain); Ambassador Hotel, 2004 (public domain). Full list on the credits page.