The scan was not good, crooked for one thing, but this is RFK signing a poster in the pantry. The man with the poster does bear some resemblance to the accused in the case. He has black, somewhat bushy hair, and he is shorter than Kennedy (5' 9" as I recall). Ethel Kennedy and Rosie Grier are obviously at the extreme left of the photo and my guess is it's Frank Mankiewicz at Ethel's immediate left. It might be Jean Smith whose face is in dark silhouette just behind Mankiewicz on the left side; if that's the case, it would likely be Stephen Smith at her immediate left (all obscured except for striped tie seen beyond RFK). I have no idea who any of the other people might be.



From Bill Eppridge and Hays Gorey. Robert Kennedy: The Last Campaign. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1993, p. 90. The caption for the photo in the book reads, "On the way through the kitchen to the ballroom, RFK signs a rolled-up poster for a campaign volunteer."

Daniel,

Could the guy with the poster be Michael Wayne?

Great image, thanks for posting.

Cheers,

James

Thanks for posting that image, Daniel. The man with the poster is Michael Wayne. I attach another image taken by Steve Fontanini of Wayne being handcuffed by Ace security guard Augustus Mallard after the shooting. Wayne ran out of the pantry through the Colonial Room into the main lobby, ostensibly looking for a phone to call emergency services. Alarmed by his behavior, several people gave chase, including Fontanini and Mallard.

Wayne collected campaign literature for political candidates and you can see a handful of this and the rolled-up poster in the photo. While Wayne's behaviour was certainly "fishy", the fact that Fontanini, Mallard and others apprehended him so quickly and didn't find a gun suggests to me he was not a shooter, as has been claimed. So I only briefly mention him in my book. Lisa Pease goes into great detail about Khaibar Khan and Michael Wayne in one of her articles. While their stories and points of connection are intriguing, there's no proof Khan was even at the hotel that night and it seems from this photo that Wayne was not armed.

Click to view attachment

Thanks, James and Shane. Shane's posted photo is interesting, as the man looks much more "Anglo-looking" in that image than in the Eppridge photo. As I understand it, there are a few reasons for having suspicions about Michael Wayne/Wien, some of which Shane's mentioned. Another is the apparent position he had in the pantry at the time of the attack: according to the grid diagram prepared by Rose Lynn Mangan for criminalist William Harper (from the Sirhan trial transcripts), Wayne was several feet in back of Sirhan on the opposite side of the pantry from Sirhan's original position at the tray stacker.

FWIW,
Dan

Daniel:
If Wayne/Wien were a shooter, that position (behind Sirhan) would not have allowed for the fatal kill shot at close range, behind RFK. Speculating a bit, I wonder if Wayne were another potential patsy (hence his prompt exit from the pantry)? if he's part of a kill team, what would be his role? Holding up RFK for a few moments, to get Sirhan (and Cesar) in place... like the epileptic seizure in Dealey Plaza.? I assume this picture is before RFK's speech, and not just seconds before the shooting... otherwise, where's Cesar? I note that he does have 'sleepy' eyes, for whatever that's worth... kind of spooky looking. Also, pretty close quarters in that pantry... nowhere to run or hide. I think one of the very best and practical arguments for Sirhan's "innocence" and obvious behavior control is the fact that a shooter would have to otherwise know that -once the act was consummated - he wasn't going to escape or slip away in the chaos.

Gene

Gene, that would only be true if we assume Wayne/Wien remained in that position (instead of being able to move forward from it and into the immediate area of the attack). Without more evidence I wouldn't argue Wayne was a shooter, but only that since there are other reasons to think of him as a person of interest, one of the more interesting is his position behind the eventual accused assailant at the time the attack began. That might suggest some contingency planning along the route. (That is, Robert Kennedy had Sirhan as well as Wayne "in his path.") But in any event Wayne's own role (if there was any) could have been to help in creating confusion in the midst of the attack, since he bore some resemblance to Sirhan (a short man with black, bushy hair), had hung out upstairs in the RFK suite, and then made himself further noticeable by interrupting the candidate in the pantry just prior to his speech and asking him to autograph a poster.


Another possibility is that Sirhan was deluded (either as such or in thinking he might escape somehow -- for instance, led to believe such), and yet another is that he believed he was performing an "act of a martyr" -- for the good of some cause -- and so had no expectations of escape. To be the one to take the fall doesn't necessitate the man's innocence or his mind being under control by others -- all that's required is for him to lie and/or be silent about the truth of what happened.

Daniel:
My instincts tell me that most shooters or killers would also want to escape afterwards... the selection of an ambush location or killing zone (if indeed he had a hand in the pre-selection) would also dictate a good escape route. I agree the matyr role would mean escape is unimportant. The close-quarters in that pantry were not conducive to escape. Somebody must've (somehow) convinced Sirhan that taking the shots in that pantry were most important... and that escape wasn't an important consideration. It just appears so irrational.

Gene

Gene,
I agree it seems irrational. Sirhan made himself quite noticeable by stepping out in the middle of a crowded room and firing off every bullet in his piddling little pistol. The situation was not conducive for Sirhan to escape........but might've been ideal for anyone else involved to escape (that is, in all the confusion).

Take care,
Dan

Here's another image showing Michael Wayne under arrest.

James