Jun 5, 2008 5:33 pm US/Eastern
Did Sirhan Sirhan Act Alone?
Forensic Scientists: More Than 1 Gunman Involved In RFK Killing
(CBS)
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Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated after winning the California primary on June 5, 1968.
AP
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Sirhan Sirhan was captured immediately after the shooting and is serving life in prison for Kennedy's murder.
AP
Forty years ago Thursday, Robert Kennedy was assassinated while trying to follow his brother John's footsteps to the White House.
A gunman was caught at the scene. But some say they have new evidence that he didn't act alone.
Kennedy had just won the California primary when the shots rang out on June 5, 1968.
Sirhan Sirhan was caught at the scene. He was convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence in a California prison.
Since the assassination, there has been little talk of a conspiracy. Until now.
A forensic scientist with a high-tech crime lab in Tuscon, Ariz., says he's found proof there was more than one gun.
"I believe *(Sirhan) was definitely not the only gunman," Phil von Pragg says.
In a six-second audio recording made by a reporter at the scene, we can hear only screams.
But Phil von Praag says he can identify 13 shots being fired on the tape. Sirhan's gun held only eight bullets -- and some of the shots were just milliseconds apart.
"That tells us that there had to have been a second gun firing in that pantry, because it's impossible for any individual to shoot an Iver Johnson that rapidly," von Pragg says.
Von Praag teamed up with forensic expert Bob Joling on "An Open and Shut Case" -- a book about their findings. Joling has studied RFK's death for 30 years and claims Sirhan fired shots -- but not the fatal ones.
"He did not commit the murder of Robert Kennedy," Joling says. "He did commit a crime, but not the assassination of Robert Kennedy. He was in no position to fire his gun to inflict a fatal wound to Senator Kennedy from behind."
So who do conspiracy theorists believe fired the fatal shot? Some have talked about a security guard.
Von Pragg says he doesn't have that answer. He's just focused on proving that Dirhan didn't act alone.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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