JFK (1991) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Garrison began his investigation in New Orleans after discovering potential connections to the assassination within his own jurisdiction. His team focused on private pilot David Ferrie, who had ties to anti-Cuban groups and connections to Lee Harvey Oswald during Oswald's brief time in New Orleans. The investigation expanded when Garrison found that several key figures in the case had New Orleans connections, including Dean Andrews Jr. who claimed to have received a call from "Clay Bertrand" regarding Oswald.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes establish Oswald's presence in New Orleans working for Guy Banister, creating the initial thread that Garrison pulls.

• jim garrison
• new orleans investigation
• david ferrie
• lee harvey oswald
• clay bertrand

X is a mysterious figure played by Donald Sutherland who approaches Garrison to reveal the existence of a high-level conspiracy. X explains that various factions within the government, the CIA, and other powerful groups perceived Kennedy's foreign policy as a threat to their interests. X provides Garrison with information about the broader conspiracy but remains largely anonymous, representing the film's embodiment of shadowy insider knowledge about the assassination.

• x informant
• donald sutherland
• conspiracy
• cia
• government cover-up

The single bullet theory, central to the Warren Commission's conclusion, posited that one bullet caused multiple wounds to both President Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally. At the trial, Garrison presented evidence challenging this theory, arguing that the trajectory and timing made it physically impossible for a single bullet to cause all the documented injuries. His team performed tests at the Texas School Book Depository concluding that Oswald's marksmanship was insufficient to execute the precision shots required.

Foreshadowing: Garrison's early investigation includes questioning the Warren Commission's findings about Oswald's capabilities.

• single bullet theory
• warren commission
• lee harvey oswald
• assassination
• forensics

Clay Shaw, a wealthy New Orleans businessman, was charged with conspiracy to murder President Kennedy. Garrison alleged that Shaw had connections to David Ferrie, Lee Harvey Oswald, and had a romantic history with Willie O'Keefe, a male prostitute who claimed to have witnessed Ferrie discussing the assassination. During the trial from January to March 1969, Garrison presented evidence of multiple shooters and challenged the single bullet theory. The jury ultimately acquitted Shaw on all charges, though they stated they believed in a hidden conspiracy but lacked sufficient evidence to convict.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes establish Shaw's connections to O'Keefe and Ferrie through Garrison's witness interviews.

• clay shaw trial
• new orleans
• conspiracy
• 1969 trial
• verdict

Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner, killed Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Kennedy's assassination, during what was supposed to be a police transfer. Ruby's action, witnessed live on television, immediately raised suspicions about a cover-up. For Garrison, Oswald's death meant the primary suspect could never stand trial, leaving him no choice but to temporarily close his case initially. The murder eliminated the possibility of learning directly from Oswald about any conspiracy.

• jack ruby
• lee harvey oswald
• murder
• Dallas
• police transfer

The grassy knoll theory suggests that additional shooters were positioned on a slight hill northeast of the Texas School Book Depository, known as the grassy knoll. Witness Jean Hill claimed to have heard shots fired from this location, and her testimony was altered by the Warren Commission. Garrison's investigation raised questions about this possible second location, supporting the broader theory that multiple shooters were involved rather than a lone assassin.

• grassy knoll
• second shooter
• jean hill
• texas school book depository
• witnesses

Garrison revisited the case in late 1966 after reading the Warren Commission Report, which he believed was riddled with significant inaccuracies and contradictions. Senator Russell B. Long privately informed Garrison that the FBI had probed Oswald and that it would have been nearly impossible for Oswald to execute three shots with the precision that resulted in Kennedy's death. Garrison also challenged the Commission's acceptance of the single bullet theory and its failure to adequately explain certain witness testimonies and physical evidence.

Foreshadowing: The timeline establishes Garrison's initial investigation ended when Oswald was killed, and he only reopened it after studying the Warren Report.

• warren commission
• flaws
• contradictions
• official investigation
• russell b long

Several key witnesses faced intimidation or died under suspicious circumstances during Garrison's investigation. Jack Martin, a former private investigator who provided testimony about Guy Banister's connections to Oswald, died of a reported heart attack. Rose Cheramie, a Dallas prostitute who claimed to have been assaulted by Jack Ruby's bodyguards and warned about Mafia plans to eliminate Kennedy, was found dead. These deaths heightened the sense of danger surrounding the investigation and reinforced the film's themes of cover-up and suppression of truth.

• witness deaths
• jack martin
• rose cheramie
• intimidation
• suspicious deaths

Garrison's obsessive pursuit of the truth took a severe toll on his marriage to Liz, portrayed by Sissy Spacek. As the investigation intensified, facing government obstruction, media criticism, and personal danger, his relationship deteriorated under the strain. The film portrays his dedication to the case as socially isolating, consuming his attention and energy away from his family life, ultimately leading to the breakdown of their marriage.

• liz garrison
• marriage
• divorce
• family
• personal toll

In the epilogue, the film reveals that Clay Shaw died of lung cancer in 1974. Nearly five years after his death, revelations emerged about his ties to the CIA. The end credits further foreshadow that critical records related to Kennedy's assassination will be made public in 2029, leaving the question of full truth still unresolved decades later.

• clay shaw
• CIA ties
• death
• 1974
• records 2029
• epilogue

David Ferrie was a private pilot and key figure in Garrison's early investigation. Garrison's team focused scrutiny on Ferrie, suspecting his connections to the assassination and his involvement with Cuban anti-communist groups. Ferrie had known connections to Lee Harvey Oswald. However, when their inquiry was publicly criticized by federal authorities, Garrison's team was compelled to release Ferrie, making him a frustrating dead end in the early stages of the investigation.

Foreshadowing: Ferrie's connections to Oswald and Cuban groups are established early as potential conspiratorial links.

• david ferrie
• private pilot
• cuban
• new orleans
• investigation