JFK Murder Minute by Minute: true story of President John F. Kennedy assassination and Paramount+ release date

New Paramount+ documentary, JFK Murder Minute by Minute, explores the historic killing of the American president
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On the 59th anniversary of JFK’s death, a new two-part documentary has landed on Paramount+, offering an in-depth examination of the much-contested assassination.

The series follows three people who became embroiled with Kennedy’s death and hopes to untangle the web of conspiracies that has grown in the years since the president was killed. The series features newly released information which head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover held on Lee Harvey Owald prior to the shooting.

John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy in March 1963John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy in March 1963
John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy in March 1963

What happened to JFK?

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John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States - the Democrat narrowly beat his Republican opponent (and future president) Richard Nixon with a 0.17% lead in the popular vote in the 1960 election.

The president visited Texas to begin his re-election campaign and to help raise campaign contributions for the Democratic Party. He rode in an open-top limousine - he had asked for the roof to be left down whenever the weather permitted.

Kennedy was assassinated on 22 November 1963 while travelling in a motorcade with his wife Jackie through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Texas Governor John Connally and his wife Nellie were also riding with him in the presidential limousine.

The president was shot three times, the first two bullets wounded him, but the third hit him in the head, killing him. Kennedy was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the shooting.

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Connally was shot in the back, and suffered injuries to his wrist, chest, and thigh - he underwent surgery and made a full recovery.

Following Kennedy’s assassination, his Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as 36th President of the United States on Air Force One. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the assassination 70 minutes after the shooting.

Lee Harvey Oswald was fatally shot before standing trialLee Harvey Oswald was fatally shot before standing trial
Lee Harvey Oswald was fatally shot before standing trial

Who are the suspects in JFK’s assassination?

The primary suspect who is officially named as JFK’s assassin was Lee Harvey Oswald, a former U.S. Marine. He is believed to have shot Kennedy from the sixth-floor window of the Texas School Book Depository.

Oswald denied killing the president - he was fatally shot two days after his arrest by nightclub owner Jack Ruby before he could stand trial. Ruby died in prison from lung cancer in 1967 whilst waiting on appeal to a death sentence he had been given for killing Oswald.

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Today, around 60% of Americans believe that either Oswald did not kill Kennedy or that he acted in collaboration with others.

Kennedy’s assassination has been fertile ground for conspiracy theories over the last six decades - some believe that either the Mafia, FBI, CIA, or US military were involved in the killing.

Another theory suggests that Kennedy’s Vice President, Johnson, was involved, whilst the then-Cuban President President Fidel Castro or Russian security agency the KGB orchestrated the assassination.

What is JFK Murder Minute by Minute about?

The two-part series examines the assassination of JFK, breaking it down by days, hours, and minutes. It examines the movements of Kennedy’s head of security Roy Kellerman, Oswald, Jackie Kennedy in the moments leading up to the shooting.

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The series also sheds light on the concerns of the president’s security team about travelling in the southern states. The series switches between the three perspectives as it attempts to straighten out the facts of that fateful day.

Minute by Minute also explores the questions that still surround the assassination and why so many Americans don’t believe the official line, that Oswald acted alone in killing Kenned.

When is JFK Murder Minute by Minute on Paramount+?

The two-part series was added to Paramount+ on Tuesday 22 November - 59 years to the day since Kennedy was assassinated. Both episodes are available to watch now.

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