A Conspiracy Still in the Making

I wrote about the day of President John F. Kennedy's assassination from the perspective of Mary Ann Moorman yesterday. But what happened after the assassination? Who was the assassin or was accused of being the assassin? Why did he kill JFK? What happened to the accused assassin afterward?

President Kennedy and the First Lady before the assassination

Lee Harvey Oswald was considered a "disturbed" young man. He was raised by a single mother and at a young age diagnosed as "schizoid". He joined the Marines in 1956 but by 1959 moved to the Soviet Union. Growing weary of the novelty of being an American in the Soviet Union, Oswald and his Russian bride, moved to the United States. Oswald has always been considered the person who pulled the trigger of the gun that killed President Kennedy on November 22, 1963. After the assassination he was confronted by a police officer by the name of J. D. Tippit whom he shot to death, four times. Later he was arrested when a witness told the police he was in a movie theater. Oswald resisted arrested and was intensely interrogated on the assassination of the President.

He denied everything.

Oswald declared, "They're taking me in because of the fact I lived in the Soviet Union. I'm just a patsy!" This statement has made people wonder if there is a lot more to the picture than what we have been lead to believe.

Lee Harvey Oswald

It was November 24th when Oswald was being transferred to a different location. Television was broadcasting live the move, and what should happen on live TV? Jack Ruby walked up and shot Oswald in the abdomen. Oswald was rushed to the same hospital Kennedy had died in two days before. Lee Harvey Oswald died at approximately 1:07 PM that day.

Jack Ruby assassinating Oswald

The Warren Commission was put together by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination. They concluded that Oswald had acted alone in killing both President Kennedy and Office Tippit.

Setting that aside for just a moment we're going to go back to Jack Ruby. When asked why he had killed Oswald he said it was because he didn't want Mrs. Kennedy to have to suffer going through trials with Oswald there. Later he said that a lawyer put him up to it. He was sentenced to death for the murder of Oswald in 1964.

Mug shot of Jack Ruby

Ever since the assassination a thousand different conspiracy theories have arisen. Was it really Oswald who killed Kennedy? Was he really just a patsy? Were there more deep seated reasons to the murder than a disturbed individual? Was he hired by someone who wanted revenge on the President? Question after question. Will the mystery ever be fully solved? or has it already been?

President John Fitzgerald Kennedy