The 'magic bullet' theory:
Oswald fired just three bullets in Dallas. But he killed JFK and badly wounded Governor John Connally who was sitting in the front seat of the limousine. The Warren Commission - the investigation into JFK's killing set up in 1963 - came up with the 'single-bullet theory' to explain how Oswald did so much damage with just three rounds. It posits that both men were hit by a single bullet which "entered JFK's upper back, exited his throat, and then struck Connally, breaking a rib and shattering his wrist, and finally coming to rest in his thigh," says the Mary Ferrell Foundation. Sceptics say the trajectory was fanciful and re-named it the 'magic bullet theory'. It's just one reason why conspiracy theorists think more than one shooter was involved.
The grassy knoll:
Most JFK conspiracy theories pivot around the idea that Oswald wasn't acting alone. When the president was hit by the bullet that killed him, the motorcade was passing a grassy knoll on the north side of Elm Street. Newspaper photographs record that shortly after the shooting, police arrested three tramps found in a railroad car behind the knoll. Because the men were clean-shaven and well dressed there was speculation that they were CIA assassins rather than hobos.
The long list of culprits:
If Oswald was a paid assassin rather than a disaffected loner, who was writing his pay cheques? The list of candidates is long, but some names are put forward more than most. They are:
The CIA
The idea that the assassination was a CIA plot sounds bizarre, but conspiracy theorists suggest the president's alleged comment that he wanted to "splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds" made him an agency target. Other theories suggest that one of the tramps (see above) was E Howard Hunt, a former CIA operative who was involved in the ill-fated Bay of Pigs operation to oust Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
The Mafia
Why would the mafia want JFK dead? Because his brother, Robert, was turning up the heat on organised crime. Robert was the US attorney general at the time and his "anti-mafia crusade" had lead to a sharp increase in the number of prosecutions of senior mafia figures.
The KGB
"The Soviets had a palpable, powerful motive [to kill JFK]: to gain revenge for the humiliation of the USSR in the 1962 Cuban missile crisis," says Scienta Press. Oswald was a communist and had spent time in the USSR. His "Russian odyssey" afforded the KGB "many opportunities to interact with him".
Lyndon B Johnson
In 2003, a Gallup poll revealed that 20 per cent of Americans believed Johnson had something to do with JFK's death. Theories include the vice president's "desire to become president, his need to cover up scandals, and his involvement with the FBI", says the Environmental Graffiti website.
The Little Green Men
Another theory suggests JFK was killed for showing too much interest in "alien activity". There are two "crucial" pieces of evidence backing this up. The first is a letter written by JFK to the CIA in which he demands to see secret UFO files. The second is a note from a senior CIA official that says "we cannot allow" the president to see the classified material.
The Illuminati
The secretive powerbrokers who control the world are obvious candidates for a JFK conspiracy theory. The president fell foul of the Illuminati, it has been suggested, because he wanted to end the Vietnam War, a conflict that was paying the "shadowy bankers" handsome dividends. The Illuminati were also "angered" by JFK's attempts to "rein in" the power of the US Federal Reserve, triggering a deadly backlash.
Jackie Kennedy
One of the more farfetched theories alleges that JFK's wife killed him herself. Could the president's wife have been a secret assassin? Some theorists claim that Jackie Kennedy hid a pistol in a nearby flower pot after the assassination. But, as the Daily Mirror notes, "many of those who make the claim seem to overlook the fact that she was being watched in an open limousine by thousands of onlookers".
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