A Benign Conspiracy documentary series on YouTube

[Denise Hazelwood]

My (now award-winning, laurels at the beginning of the trailer) documentary series on the JFK assassination entitled A Benign Conspiracy is now publicly available on YouTube. I invite you to view the episodes, give a "thumbs up" if you felt it was of any value, leave a comment or ask a question, etc.

YouTube decided to age-restrict the trailer. Therefore you must sign in (to show that your over 18 years old) to view it. The individual episodes are not similarly restricted. Please watch the episodes in order, as information builds from one episode to the next.

 

A Benign Conspiracy:

 

Trailer (age-restricted, you have to sign in to YouTube to see it)   https://youtu.be/piSd64MxnKU

Part 1: "The Players"     https://youtu.be/kcLEDnamxyk

Part 2: "The Problems"     https://youtu.be/DjiOVZg-3mo

Part 3: "The Accident"     https://youtu.be/uqVebQ0vmRc

Part 4: "The Time-Clock"   https://youtu.be/-tWaT7KQSSw

Part 5: "The Images"     https://youtu.be/fdBUuC9Z1T8

Part 6: "The Kill Shot"   https://youtu.be/RFp9GhOLzao

Part 7: "The Four Shots"   https://youtu.be/aDuLCkm2vM8

Part 8: "The Five Shots"   https://youtu.be/nTTEIRFAwgM

Part 9: "The Acoustics"     https://youtu.be/evVWgMQmwJE

Part 10: "The Conspiracies"   https://youtu.be/DUqm0dLlmVU

 

At the end of the video but before YouTube adds its own algorithmic links to other videos, is my link to the Playlist, which might be the easiest way to navigate through the videos after the trailer or Part 1.

My thesis is a modification of Howard Donahue's "Hickey did it" theory. Basically, I fix the parts that Donahue got wrong, and account for the other evidence not adequately explained by Donahue's original theory. There is a lot of information contained within the documentary that may be new or surprising (e.g., the HSCA "flipped" X-ray, the location of the windshield bullet hole, others), so again, I recommend watching the whole thing, in order. I know it's lengthy (each episode is something like 45-55 minutes long) but I think you will find it worthwhile.

There are a number of criticisms of Donahue's original theory, many of which my scenario resolves. I did post the information below elsewhere on the education forum site, but here it is again to save you the trouble of looking it up.

 

The arguments against “Hickey did it” (and my responses)

 

1. “The Bronson film shows Hickey seated at the moment of the assassination.”     (It does no such thing.)

A. the AR-15 head shot was not concurrent with the Moorman photo as most researchers believe. The AR-15 shot happened farther down Elm Street.

B. The blurry Bronson image really doesn’t show a lot, but you CAN see a “black stick” that is probably the AR-15.

C. Since my “kill shot” is the FIRST shot (from the TSBD), Hickey actually WAS "seated at the moment of the assassination.”

 

2.  The lawsuit “proves” Hickey didn’t do it.    (Again, it does no such thing.)

A. The law suit (against St. Martin’s Press, not Donahue or Menninger) was filed AFTER the statute of limiitations had expired. In my view, it was done as a quasi-legal attempt to discredit Donahue.

B. It was settled for an “undisclosed amount”—possibly as little as $1. St. Martin’s Press may have settled as a matter of convenience rather than on the merits of the suit.

C. I communicated with Menninger and the St. Martin’s Press attorney, who both gave me different accounts of the Bronson film viewing than the lawsuit alleges, and the prevailing opinion was that the event was a “set up.”  

 

3.  “The autopsy doctors disavowed the cowlick entry in favor of the EOP, which means Donahue got his trajectory wrong. And if his trajectory is wrong, his whole theory falls apart.” (I agree that Donahue got his trajectory wrong, but see D below.)

A. There is a logical fallacy here. I disagree with Donahue’s cowlick in favor of the EOP. But the part to whole fallacy applies. Just because PART of the theory was wrong, doesn’t mean that OTHER PARTS are wrong, too.

B. If the Z-film is authentic, the EOP entry would mean an UPWARD trajectory—which is nonsense, of course. IMO, That’s why the Clark Panel & HSCA insisted on the cowlick.

C. There is also the matter of the slightly left-to-right travel through the skull, which doesn't fit either Warren Commission or Clark/HSCA trajectory.

D. Those who believe in BOTH the authenticity of the Zapruder film AND the EOP entry have a major trajectory problem themselves. Donahue resolved it by accepting the cowlick entry. I resolve it by accepting Zapruder film alteration.

 

4. “Accidents don’t get any freaker.” (weak argument)

A. Maybe not, but freak accidents CAN and DO happen. My own aunt was killed in a freak accident.

B. When guns are involved, accidental shootings happen quite frequently.

C. The too-heavy firing pin making the AR-15 prone to slam fire means that Hickey didn’t even have to pull the trigger.

 

Evidence in favor of the AR-15 accident:

 

• AR-15 immediately removed from Secret Service arsenal after the assassination.
• Shanklin memo noting that the “gun that apparently killed the President” was in the hands of the Secret Service on the same day as the assassination.
• 6.0mm entrance wound
• Smell of gun smoke at street level in Dealey Plaza, clinging to the motorcade on the way to Parkland Hospital, and even smelled INSIDE the hospital.
• Hickey’s “agitated” state of mind
• Some witnesses reporting the sound of a shot “from right there, in the car.”
• Fits accounts of an “accident” or “mis-hap"
• Fits the “Knoll Rider and acoustical perception.
• Fits accounts of a Secret Service man falling like he was killed, too.
• Fits the “double bang” reported by witnesses
• Fits the “puff of smoke” reported by witnesses
• Adequately explains the cover-up, including the immediacy of the cover-up. 

 

If I'm missing anything, please comment under my YouTube video, so I can address it.

 

-Denise

 

[Stu Wexler]

It is one thing to say that witnesses can be unreliable. But for basically every single witness in the immediate area to fail to notice it is a problem anything pointing to Hickey is a problem.

As per the rear entry wound in the EOP. I do not dismiss it. But the issue is if it is in the EOP you not only have the 6.5mm fragment up near the cowlick but you have radiating fracture lines right near it.  Curious how you explain that without X-ray tampering. 

Side note. I once explored in a lot of depth an account, given by Donahue's daughter, that he had been given access to a film, from a different vantage point than Zapruder, in Germany. Donahue had passed by that time. No luck despite considerable effort on my part to verify. Did you ever explore this?

[Micah Mileto]

EOP wound is king.

[Lawrence Schnapf]

I will repeat again until you Hickey-did it advocates get it right. The publisher settled the defamation suit. when defending a defamation suit, the publisher does not have to prove the accuracy of its book but simply that it was not published with malice. a fairly easy standard. No publisher would settle if it claimed to have discovered the truth to the crime of the century much less to remove the book from circulation.

Donaghue's mistake was to stop with Hickey/ take his trajectory back and it leads to the Dal-Tex building floor where many believe a second rear gunman was  located. Using modern 3D animation technology shows this was a very viable- if not the best- angle for a gunman.

anyone who advocates the Hickey theory should be ashamed of themselves. 

[Micah Mileto]

So are these guys saying that CE567 and CE569 were planted?

[Lawrence Schnapf]

and the fact that they settled AFTER the SOL was blown is further proof that the publisher did not believe in the truth of his book. This book was published to take advantage of the renewed interest in the assassination. it was a blatant exploitation at the expense of an honorable secret service agent. I know the attorney who represented the Hickey family, the claim that the publisher settled out of convenience is baloney. 

[Denny Zartman]

Hi Denise, thanks for sharing your work. You've obviously put a lot of effort into it.

I'll try to watch some of your documentary when I can. I appreciate your summary.

It's not exactly clear from your summary where in the firing sequence you think the AR-15 shot took place. I am sure your documentary covers this. If it was the final head shot, there are significant questions outstanding. If it was not the final head shot, then it was not a fatal shot, and therefore difficult to understand why this would be urgent focus of an extensive multi-decade cover-up. Either way, the Hickey scenario does not explain the evidence indicating that shots were fired from in front of JFK's limo, nor the myriad other mysteries that exist in this case.

The documentary "JFK: The Smoking Gun", which advocates the Hickey theory, relies primarily on Senator Ralph Yarborough's testimony of smelling gunsmoke at street level and Jean Hill's testimony that she initially believed the Secret Service was shooting back. Hickey was in front of Yarborough. Yarborough placed the gunfire he heard as coming from behind. Hill placed the source of the shots she heard as coming from the grassy knoll. Neither Hill nor Yarborough placed the sound of shots as coming from Hickey's position relative to themselves.

Dave Powers and Kenny O'Donnell, riding in the limo with Hickey, told former speaker of the House Tip O'Neill that they (Powers and O'Donnell) believed the gunfire was coming from in front of them. Hickey was in the seat behind Powers and O'Donnell at the time.

If you have other witnesses who stated that they thought the gunfire was coming from inside one of the cars, I'd be interested in reading what they had to say. I haven't ever heard of them, and from what I recall, they were not highlighted in "JFK: The Smoking Gun".

If the alleged AR-15 shot was not the final head shot, then it was not a fatal shot. Therefore it is very hard to believe that an immediate cover-up would take place just to save the feelings of a Secret Service man who had an accident and didn't even fire a fatal shot. 

More importantly, the remaining documents that were scheduled for release this year were delayed again until December 2022 because they felt there was a potential for endangering national security. I am genuinely curious: how could Hickey's accident and a benign cover up to save him the shame of being branded by history as the killer of a president in 1963 possibly endanger US national security in 2021?

If the alleged AR-15 shot was the final head shot, then it does not explain the doctors and nurses at Parkland who report that there was a large exit wound in the right rear of Kennedy's skull. An exit wound in the rear of the head would not have occurred if the shot had also been fired from behind. A shot from Hickey would also not explain JFK's head and body being driven backward and to the left, toward Hickey and not away from him.

And then there's Jackie's behavior to consider. Either she was going back to 1. retrieve a piece of JFK's skull which had been driven backwards from JFK's head, or 2. she was trying to escape from a shooter. Either one is inconsistent with a headshot shooter behind JFK.