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The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: Unanswered Questions

Received: 27 October 2025     Accepted: 5 November 2025     Published: 24 December 2025
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Abstract

The article analyzes the reasons and facts that caused distrust in the results of the investigation into the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy by the Warren Commission. The Warren Commission and the FBI's leadership at the time were fixated on the "single (magical) bullet theory" and the "lone shooter theory" (it was only Lee Harvey Oswald, who fired from the 6th floor window of the Texas School Book Depository Building), which ultimately resulted in a notable decrease in the quality of the investigation into President Kennedy's assassination. Although 21 witnesses stated that they heard shots fired from the direction of the grassy knoll, the Warren Commission refused to take that into account. However, analysis of the footage from the Zapruder witness film clearly showed that at least one shot at the president was not fired from the window of the Book Depository, i.e., it could not have been fired by Oswald. There was also an unacceptable confusion regarding the entry and exit holes of the bullets in President Kennedy's body. The issue of disproportionate and unauthorized control and interference by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover in the work of the Warren Commission is discussed. The article features many important photographs taken at the crime scene, as well as a number of declassified FBI documents.

Published in International Journal of Law and Society (Volume 8, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijls.20250804.22
Page(s) 391-402
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

JFK Assassination, Warren Commission, Single Bullet, Lone Shooter, Poor Investigation

References
[1] Warren Commission Report, Chapter 3: The Shots from the Texas School Book Depository.
[2] Gillon SM. (2025) Why the Public Stopped Believing the Government about JFK’s Murder – History,
[3] The Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Performance of the Intelligence Agencies, Book V, Final Report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, United States Senate, p. 6,
[4] Report of the United States Select House Committee on Assassinations, Wayback Machine,
[5] Hoover vs. The Kennedys: The Second Civil War. - Television mini-series, 1987, produced by Operation Prime Time and directed by Michael O'Herlihy,
[6] Jonson A. (2017) JFK Files: J. Edgar Hoover Said Public Must Believe Lee Harvey Oswald Acted Alone. – NBC News,
[7] Skillman N. J. (2012) Nicholas Katzenbach, JFK and LBJ aide, dead at 90". - Politico,
[8] Zapruder film.
[9] Hidashi I. (2024) Where did Lee Harvey Oswald get his ammunition for his Carcano rifle? – Quora,
[10] Guinn V. P. (1979) JFK (John F Kennedy) Assassination - Bullet Analyses. - Analytical Chemistry Volume: 51 Issue: 4,
[11] Aguilar G., Thompson J. (1992) The Magic Bullet: Even More Magical Than We Knew? History-Matters,
[12] Warren Commission Hearings, Volume IV, Page 133, Wayback Machine,
[13] Connally, N., Herskowitz M. (2003) From Love Field: Our Final Hours with President John F. Kennedy. Rugged Land Publisher, 256 pages.
[14] Analysis of Earwitness Reports Relating to the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. - Report No. 4034, 8 HSCA, pp.
[15] Testimony of Dr. James Barger. 5 HSCA 650 Archived 2011-05-15, Wayback Machine,
[16] An Introduction to the JFK Assassination. The Sibert and O’Neill Report,
[17] The President’s Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy – Report. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1964, 6H p. 130-131,
[18] Declassified FBI AIRTEL 6/20/64 memorandum, June 20, 1964, page 9,
[19] Declassified FBI 6/17/64 memorandum, June 17, 1964, page 12,
[20] Randich E., Grant P. M. Proper Assessment of the JFK Assassination Bullet Lead Evidence from Metallurgical and Statistical Perspectives. J Forensic Sci, July 2006, Vol. 51, No. 4, p 723,
[21] Spiegelman C. et al. (2007) Chemical and forensic analysis of JFK assassination bullet lots: Is a second shooter possible? - Annals of Applied Statistics,
[22] Goggings W. M. (2008) James Tague: Unintended Victim in Dealey Plaza. - Marquette University,
[23] Daley B. (2016) The JFK assassination and other ‘truths’ lost forever out there. – The Conversation,
[24] Smits J. (2013) Mary Moorman Recalls Witnessing JFK's Assassination. - NBC,
[25] Crenshaw C. A. JFK: conspiracy of silence. 1992, NY, Signet, 205 pages.
[26] HSCA Appendix to Hearings, Vol. 7, p. 246,
[27] HSCA interview of Francis O’Neill by D. Andy Purdy and Mark Flanagan, HSCA Record # 006185, page 10,
[28] Hodge M. Surgeon’s sketch suggests 2 gunmen killed JFK. – New York Post, June 21, 2017,
[29] Nalli N. R. (2018) Gunshot-wound dynamics model for John F. Kennedy assassination. – PubMed Central,
[30] Branch T. (1988) Kennedys and Hoover: How Their Battles Affected King. – Los Angeles Times, Dec. 18,
[31] Senate Select Committee, Book III: Supplementary Detailed Staff Reports, 94th Cong., 2d sess., 1976, p. 85.
[32] Robert F. Kennedy. "On the Mindless Menace of Violence." (1968) Speech of the US Senator and presidential candidate on April 5, 1968, the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.,
[33] Kornbluh P. (2025) JFK wanted to splinter CIA ‘into a thousand pieces.’ Why didn't he? – Responsible Statecraft, March, 27,
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Krasnyanskyy, M. (2025). The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: Unanswered Questions. International Journal of Law and Society, 8(4), 391-402. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20250804.22

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    ACS Style

    Krasnyanskyy, M. The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: Unanswered Questions. Int. J. Law Soc. 2025, 8(4), 391-402. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20250804.22

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    AMA Style

    Krasnyanskyy M. The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: Unanswered Questions. Int J Law Soc. 2025;8(4):391-402. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20250804.22

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijls.20250804.22,
      author = {Mykhaylo Krasnyanskyy},
      title = {The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: Unanswered Questions},
      journal = {International Journal of Law and Society},
      volume = {8},
      number = {4},
      pages = {391-402},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijls.20250804.22},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20250804.22},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijls.20250804.22},
      abstract = {The article analyzes the reasons and facts that caused distrust in the results of the investigation into the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy by the Warren Commission. The Warren Commission and the FBI's leadership at the time were fixated on the "single (magical) bullet theory" and the "lone shooter theory" (it was only Lee Harvey Oswald, who fired from the 6th floor window of the Texas School Book Depository Building), which ultimately resulted in a notable decrease in the quality of the investigation into President Kennedy's assassination. Although 21 witnesses stated that they heard shots fired from the direction of the grassy knoll, the Warren Commission refused to take that into account. However, analysis of the footage from the Zapruder witness film clearly showed that at least one shot at the president was not fired from the window of the Book Depository, i.e., it could not have been fired by Oswald. There was also an unacceptable confusion regarding the entry and exit holes of the bullets in President Kennedy's body. The issue of disproportionate and unauthorized control and interference by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover in the work of the Warren Commission is discussed. The article features many important photographs taken at the crime scene, as well as a number of declassified FBI documents.},
     year = {2025}
    }
    

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    AB  - The article analyzes the reasons and facts that caused distrust in the results of the investigation into the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy by the Warren Commission. The Warren Commission and the FBI's leadership at the time were fixated on the "single (magical) bullet theory" and the "lone shooter theory" (it was only Lee Harvey Oswald, who fired from the 6th floor window of the Texas School Book Depository Building), which ultimately resulted in a notable decrease in the quality of the investigation into President Kennedy's assassination. Although 21 witnesses stated that they heard shots fired from the direction of the grassy knoll, the Warren Commission refused to take that into account. However, analysis of the footage from the Zapruder witness film clearly showed that at least one shot at the president was not fired from the window of the Book Depository, i.e., it could not have been fired by Oswald. There was also an unacceptable confusion regarding the entry and exit holes of the bullets in President Kennedy's body. The issue of disproportionate and unauthorized control and interference by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover in the work of the Warren Commission is discussed. The article features many important photographs taken at the crime scene, as well as a number of declassified FBI documents.
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