JFK Lancer Productions & Publications

Scientific Audio Evidence

Reveals Second Gunman in RFK Assassination

 

In 2004 the only known audio tape of the RFK assassination was discovered stored in the California State Archives in Sacramento, CA by an investigative journalist. Recorded by independent journalist Stanislaw Pruszynski, it is the only known audio recording that contains the actual shots fired during the shooting on June 5, 1968 in Los Angeles.

 

Three years ago, Philip Van Praag, an expert in the forensic analysis of magnetic media recordings, began studying the audio tape with startling results; the tape revealed between 10 and 13 shots fired. The presence of 10 shots is highly significant because Sirhan's handgun could fire no more than eight shots without reloading.  Additionally, two of the shots occured so close together that they could not have been fired by the same gunman; strong evidence of a second gun being fired by someone other than Sirhan.

 

Van Praag will present his unique scientific testing methods and results at 4:00pm on February 21st at the American Academy of Forensic Scientists (AAFS) meeting in Washington DC. His presentation is entitled "Acoustic Analysis of Gunshot Recordings Utilizing Frequency Selective Integrated Loudness Envelope Evaluation". AAFS is the world's most prestigious forensic science organization. As a professional society dedicated to the application of science to the law, the AAFS is committed to the promotion of education and the elevation of accuracy, precision, and specificity in the forensic sciences.

 

Phil Van Praag's involvement in the audio field has spanned the past 45 years, with forensic analysis of magnetic media recordings included over 35 of those years. The context of his involvement in the field has been embodied both within his professional career and as a result of ongoing independent study. In that regard, he has maintained a substantial laboratory facility with considerable scientific instrumentation with which to conduct his research.

 
Possessing a Master of Science degree in Engineering (Electrical), Van Praag's professional employment background has included, most recently, a position of Vice President of Information Technology (IT) for the American Heart Association. Prior to that, he was the Chief Information Officer & Vice President of IT for Applied Power, Inc. He had previously worked as a Director of Information Systems at R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., and the Technical Head of Automated Data Management at Hughes Aircraft Co. He has also held engineering related positions at Ampex Corporation as a Senior Instructor in their Professional Audio/Video Systems division, and in technical laboratory work at Bell Telephone Laboratories, Sandia National Laboratories, and IBM.

Discovery Channel Documentary on RFK Audio Evidence

A documentary produced in June 2007 by the Discovery Television Channel addressing the audio research of Van Praag is being shown on February 29th at 1PM eastern time. The program, titled Conspiracy Test: the RFK Assassination, touches on various aspects of the RFK assassination investigation with special emphasis on the audio research of Van Praag. Stanislav Pruszynski is interviewed and tells the views how the tape came to be located in the archives. The journalist who discoverd the tape relates how he had it tested by Van Praag with alarming results.

The filmmakers decided to take the tape to Audio Engineering Associates, headed by a man named Wes Dooley for a second opinion.  He came to a similar conclusion: there were too many shots on the tape for just Sirhan as the assailant. And the spacing sounded too close for one man to be firing. A firearms expert named Phil Spongenberger then tested the alleged weapon, an Iver Johnson Cadet and determined that the technicians were correct.  The gun cannot be fired as quickly as the spacing indicated on the tape. This forensic discovery echoes the earlier testing done by Dr. Michael Hecker of Stanford in 1982.

See http://investigation.discovery.com for other showings.