</s>OFFICIAL RECORD FD-1057 (Rev. 5-8-10) UNCLASSIFIED OFFICIALL RECORD FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION electronic communication Electronic Communication Title: (U) Migration to Sentinel and Serial Date: 12/10/2012 Numbering Issue. From: Los ANGELES LA-C-1 Contact: Approved By: Drafted By: SSA Case ID #: (U) KENSALT Synopsis: ( U) To document purpose of migrating case to Sentinell and to address case management issues. Full Investigation Initiated: 12 /07/2012 Details: On October 9, 2012, FBI Los Angeles was advised of a request to re-examine evidence in the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy by his son, Robert F, Kennedy, Jr. The basis of the request was a claim by Forensic Scientist and Electrical Engineer Philip Van Prag that his examination of an audio recording of the event revealed thirteen shots, not eight, were fired during Senator Kennedy's assassination. If true, this would necessitate a second gunman as convicted assassin Sirhan Sihan used an eight-shot, 22 caliber Ivar Johnson revolver and was unable to reload during the incident. The tape reviewed by Van Pragg was a tape made by Stus Pruszynski, a reporter for Harper and Van Limited, Publishers, London, Van Praag obtained a copy of this tape from the State of California Archives in Sacramento, California. Van Praaga used a scientific procedure for gun shot analysis, Frequency Selective Integrated Loudness Envelope Analysis, which he developed. Van Praga claims this method has undergone peer review and satisfies the Daubert Rule regarding the admissionability of scientific evidence in court proceedings. Based on UNCLASSIFIED

Summary:  
The document outlines an FBI internal record regarding the migration of case file LA 56-156 to the Sentinel system and adjustments to serial numbering. It notes that on October 9, 2012, FBI Los Angeles was informed of a request by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, to re-examine evidence related to his father's assassination. The request was based on claims by forensic scientist Philip Van Prag, who analyzed an audio recording and asserted that thirteen shots were fired during the assassination, implying a second shooter. Van Prag’s analysis used Frequency Selective Integrated Loudness Envelope Analysis, a method he developed and claimed met Daubert Rule standards for scientific evidence. The tape in question was obtained from the State of California Archives by Van Prag and provided to the FBI by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The FBI case file LA 56-156, opened on June 5, 1968, contained a magnetic tape recording from Stus Pruszynski, along with filtered copies made by the FBI Laboratory in 1969. The document states that the tape reviewed by Van Prag was unclear whether it was the filtered copy provided to LAPD or another version. On October 10, 2012, evidence items from LA 56-156 were sent to the FBI Laboratory for analysis. The case file was closed on December 7, 1977, but retained for historical purposes. Due to system upgrades, the case was migrated to Sentinel on December 6, 2012, under the new case number 89A-LA-156, with serial numbering starting at 1 to avoid confusion with previous records.  

Key People:  
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (requestor)  
- Philip Van Prag (forensic scientist and electrical engineer)  
- Sirhan Sihan (convicted assassin of RFK)  
- Stus Pruszynski (reporter for Harper and Van Limited, Publishers, London)  
- Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)  

Key Locations:  
- Sacramento, California (State of California Archives)  
- Los Angeles, California (FBI office, LAPD)  
- Ottawa, Canada (Royal Canadian Mounted Police [RCMP])  

Key Events:  
- Request by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to re-examine RFK assassination evidence (October 9, 2012)  
- Philip Van Prag’s analysis of audio tape claiming thirteen shots were fired  
- FBI case file LA 56-156 opened in 1968 and closed in 1977  
- Migration of LA 56-156 to Sentinel system under new case number 89A-LA-156 (December 2012)  

Key Organizations:  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)  
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)  
- State of California Archives

RFK Declassified Files

089a-la-156_0000002.pdf

Document Summary

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