Inside information from Robert F. Kennedy’s autopsy may reveal the horrifying truth about the brutal killing of the US senator.
Despite Kennedy’s family’s first plea to take control of his remains and stop any further investigations, a new biography on Dr. Thomas Noguchi says the Hollywood coroner found conclusive forensic evidence suggesting a second gunman was behind the 1968 killing, according to Knewz.com.
Through the eyes of the guy who saw Kennedy’s body shortly after the assassination, author Anne Soon Choi reveals the long-running conspiracy surrounding the real murderer of the president in her shocking new book.
It has long been known that on June 5, 1968, Sirhan Sirhan shot Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
The following day, the 42-year-old lawmaker was pronounced dead.
A power struggle between Dr. Noguchi and the Secret Service immediately following the killing resulted in a faulty autopsy of Kennedy, with important details being misreported and the body being treated incorrectly.
Despite the fact that the senator was still alive and receiving treatment at Good Samaritan Hospital at the time, Dr. Noguchi learned from this and realized he needed to keep control of RFK’s case in order to prevent similar problems and conspiracy theories.
Along with the LAPD, Dr. Noguchi insisted on inspecting the crime scene at the Ambassador Hotel right away, noting particular gunshot holes and blood splatters.
“He wanted to be involved at every stage,” Choi wrote. Noguchi started looking around the kitchen where the senator had been shot dead, accompanied by the LAPD.
“He observed the bullet holes in the walls and the patterns of blood splatters in the enclosed area. He ensured that the crime scene was processed such that there would be no opportunity to contest the evidence gathered. He went to his office because it was now a waiting game.
Choi described how Kennedy’s family first asked to have custody of his body after he was later pronounced dead at 1:44 a.m. on June 6 and how Dr. Noguchi had to persuade them that an autopsy was necessary.
She wrote: “The family claimed custody of the body an hour after the senator’s death. However, Noguchi was in charge, and he and his team initially X-rayed the Senator’s body after setting up an autopsy room in the hospital’s basement morgue.
He had to persuade the family to allow the autopsy to proceed while the AFIP doctors were on their way. At first, they were against it since it was obvious that Kennedy had been shot in the head and died.
Choi went on: “However, Noguchi persisted in his argument until a deputy district attorney brought up the fact that a crime had been committed and that the results of the autopsy would be required to prosecute Sirhan Sirhan, who was arrested at the site.
“There was quiet. Noguchi turned to Ethel, Kennedy’s widow, who was four months pregnant and appeared to be overcome with fatigue and sadness, and said, ‘Trust me.’
“After receiving approval from the Kennedy family, Noguchi and his team set to work. Time was running out.
Kennedy had two major wounds, according to Dr. Noguchi: a “through-and-through” gunshot wound to his right armpit and another bullet that went through his back and lodged in his spine. He gathered the bullet as proof.
It was challenging to track down the weapon because the fatal wound that penetrated Kennedy’s skull close to his ear broke on contact.
Choi pointed out that “more evidence would be needed to establish Sirhan as the killer” because it was impossible to “definitively match the weapon.”
Dr. Noguchi discovered gunshot residue on Kennedy’s suit and had his team redress the body to recreate the senator’s position at the time of the shooting in order to obtain additional evidence.
Dr. Noguchi was informed later that week by an LAPD criminalist that soot and gunpowder residue had been discovered in Kennedy’s hair, supporting his suspicions regarding the shot’s proximity.
In contrast to witness accounts that put Sirhan at least three feet away, the soot showed the gun had been fired just inches from the senator’s head.
At the Police Academy range, the chief coroner used muslin skulls and pig ears to simulate different gunshot distances in his own ballistics testing.
He discovered that the soot in Kennedy’s hair might be explained by a shot fired three inches distant, which also matched the entrance wound.
Since no witnesses observed Sirhan shoot at close range, this further cast doubt on his culpability.
Twelve bullet tracks were also discovered at the scene, although Sirhan’s gun could only hold eight rounds, raising the possibility of a second shooter. This idea is still supported, despite claims that some bullets might have bounced around in the small area.
Choi stated that Dr. Noguchi’s forensic findings demonstrated that all three bullets entered from the back, even though witnesses claimed Sirhan shot Kennedy from the front.
He clarified that witness reports of Sirhan’s distance may differ since Kennedy was probably turning when he was shot. Dr. Noguchi added that the witnesses may not have seen Sirhan well since they were concentrating on Kennedy, particularly as he moved.
Because of his uncertainty, Dr. Noguchi was eventually linked for years to the second-gunman conspiracy idea.
Noguchi never stated, ‘Sirhan Sirhan killed Robert Kennedy,’ which raised the possibility of a second shooter, Choi clarified.
“Little did the coroner know at the time that this fact would tie him to the conspiracy theories and the accompanying publicity for years to come.”
Dr. Noguchi later told reporters that Kennedy’s brain injury was so bad that he would have been a “mental and physical cripple” even if he had lived.
Choi claimed that although Dr. Noguchi avoided conjecture, his “perfect autopsy” of Kennedy surely raised the bar for forensic science and catapulted him to national stardom.