</s>62- HQ-587 Sec. 38 Serials 1070-1105 82-HQ-357-39 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FBI - CENTRAL RECORDS CENTER - - - - - BUREAU - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . - - - - - - - - - <loc_85><loc_631><loc_84><loc_643><loc_82><loc_644><loc_81><loc_632>- . - - . - - - - - . - . - - <loc_86><loc_634>- - - - - <loc_86><loc_635><loc_85><loc_644><loc_85><loc_644><loc_86><loc_635>- - . - - <loc_86><loc_636><loc_85><loc_646><loc_86><loc_646>- - - - - - . - <loc_88><loc_636><loc_86><loc_644><loc_85><loc_645><loc_86><loc_637>- . - <loc_86><loc_637><loc_88><loc_637><loc_86><loc_638><loc_85><loc_638>- . <loc_86><loc_638>- <loc_88><loc_638><loc_86><loc_638><loc_88><loc_638>- - <loc_86><loc_645>-<loc_89><loc_645><loc_88><loc_637><loc_89><loc_637>- <loc_89><loc_640><loc_88><loc_648><loc_88><loc_648>- -<loc_89><loc_648><loc_88><loc_655><loc_86><loc_655>- - <loc_85><loc_638><loc_88><loc_640><loc_86><loc_635><loc_88><loc_635>-

**Key Figures:**

* Sirhan B. Sirhan: Accused assassin of Senator Robert F. Kennedy
* Grant B. Cooper: One of Sirhan's three attorneys
* David N. Pitts: Deputy District Attorney
* Evella J. Younger: District Attorney
* Mrs. Rosa Molina: Potential juror and nurse
* Miss Carolyn L. Freeman: Potential juror and clerk for Pacific Telephone
* Mrs. Alicia Duke: Potential juror and accountant for the State Lands Division
* Mrs. Barbara L. Collins: Potential juror and service representative for Pacific Telephone

**Important Events and Activities:**

* Jury selection began on January 7, 1969, and continued throughout the month
* Press conferences were hosted by Sheriff Peter J. Pitchess and conducted by William Morris, sheriff of Shelby County, Tenn.
* Security arrangements were described as excellent by Sheriff Morris
* The trial was highly publicized with numerous news articles and press conferences being held throughout January 1969

**Key Issues and Topics:**

* Effect of pretrial publicity on jurors' opinions
* Death penalty: A topic extensively discussed during the trial
* Psychiatry: A subject explored during the trial

**Notable Individuals and Events:**

* Mrs. Victor Wantuck was interviewed by an FBI Special Agent regarding a letter she wrote to Mrs. Ethel Kennedy stating she possessed information concerning the shooting of Senator Robert P. Kennedy
* Mrs. Wantuck advised that there might be more persons involved in the shooting than just Sirhan B. Sirhan
* Ethel May Arens, manager of an apartment house and active in the Republican Party, was interviewed by an FBI Special Agent on January 13, 1969, and denied any knowledge of a plot to kill Senator Robert Kennedy

**Security Arrangements:**

* The FBI provided information to the Bureau through telegrams and memorandums
* James Earl Ray, accused assassin of Rev. Martin Luther King, was mentioned in comparison to Sirhan B. Sirhan's situation

**Trial Proceedings:**

* Cooper stated that the defense would not deny that Sirhan killed Sen. Kennedy but would show that obsessive thinking and an emotional frame of mind affected his capacity to formulate the specific intent to commit first-degree murder
* Sirhan's demeanor in court was described as "markedly lighthearted" on January 16, in contrast to earlier days
* Three more jurors were tentatively seated on January 16, bringing the total to 10 persons, five men and five women

RFK Declassified Files

62-hq-587_sec_038_ser_1070-1105-part_1_of_4.pdf

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