May 21, 1969 - Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan is sentenced to death for the assassination of Robert Kennedy.
Minutes after midnight on June 5, 1968, Robert Kennedy thanked his supporters with a speech at the "Ambassador" Hotel in Los Angeles. At 12:15 a.m. he steps off the platform and heads for the kitchen, shaking hands with people on his way. A minute later, 24-year-old Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan stands in front of him. He has a .22 caliber pistol in his hand.
The assassin shoots Kennedy and his security guards. Bobby collapses to the floor, the men around him rush to disarm the attacker. The busboy Juan Romero lifts Robert's head and places a prayer bead in his hand. The scene is captured by photographers from "Life" magazine and the "Los Angeles Times". The footage travels around the world and becomes a symbol of the senator's assassination.
The autopsy shows that two bullets hit Kennedy in the back, and one behind his right ear. A fourth only lightly grazed his clothing. Five other people were injured in the attack. All eyewitnesses claim that Sirhan was about two meters away from Bobby when he shot, and that he was standing in front of him.
In his report, the pathologist wrote that he never claimed that Sirhan was the killer, since the probability of a second shooter was very high. Later it became clear that several CIA agents were present in the hotel. This fact is disturbing because according to their assignments, these men should be in Southeast Asia.
Decades after the attack, an audio recording of the shooting in the kitchen was released, made by Stanisław Przyszynski, a Polish reporter, using a portable cassette recorder and a microphone attached to it. This is the only audio recording of the actual assassination of Robert Kennedy. According to investigators of the incident, Sirhan was not alone, and from the Pole's recording, first broadcast on June 6, 2007, it can be said with great certainty that there was a second gun. Forensic scientists have established that at least 12 shots were fired at the crime scene.
According to investigators, the bomber Sirhan was under hypnosis at the time of the crime. The Palestinian had "head problems" from his previous work as a jockey. His treatment included hypnosis and participation in mind control groups.