Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

 We can look at frames from the Zapruder film and get a very good idea of when JFK was first hit, and it was before he disappeared behind the sign.

These images are taken from the Images of an Assassination disc that I have, which I believe is the best rendering of the Zapruder film that there is. 

Let's start with frames in which he is clearly not shot. Here is 180.

So, he is smiling and waving, and there is no reason to think he has been shot yet. 

It is a little blurrier, but I am satisfied that all was well there, that he wasn't yet shot.

Next, let's look at 193, which is worse yet. Notice that JFK's arm looks less anatomical. It has a crudeness to it. And if you glance at all 3 images, you'll see that Jackie was turning to face him. 

So, 193 is suspicious, but 194 clinches it. Perhaps you already knew that there is great variation in the sharpness/blurriness of Zapruder frames. But, what excuse is there for it? None that I can think of. Now, we see the complete obscuring of JFK's face. 

And that complete obscuring of his face continues in every frame that follows until he disappears behind the sign. We NEVER see his face again until he emerges from behind the sign. 

I tell you that 193/194 marks when JFK was hit in the back. 

195 and 196 are bad, but let's jump to 197.

Oh My God, that is a mess. why is that such a blur? Give me the technical reason, not that I'll believe it. I realize that it doesn't look that bad when you watch the moving film, but that's because each frame is just 1/18 second. 

Frame 200 below is one of my favorites, showing JFK's hand over his face. You can see that it's a little less blurry.

In 202 below, notice that the little girl on the grass in the red shorts in the upper right corner looks a lot sharper. And if you want to blame it on the motion of the motorcade, just remember: it wasn't going that fast. 

It's the same story in 205, with the hand over his face. He had been shot in the back. Rapid changes were happening in his body, overwhelming him. He must have looked distraught. The adjective that Jackie used in her testimony was "quizzical." She didn't say he put his hand over his face. No one did. 

207 is very last one. It is the last time we see him until he reemerges.

208, 209, 210, and 211 can't be stopped on with my player. If I go to the next frame, it goes  to 212. And it's the same way on Youtube. So, they must have really shortened the time of the frames in-between.  

So, when was JFK shot in the back? I suggest at frames 193/194. That is my best estimate. And when was he shot in the throat? It was just a few frames before 225. I'll say 222, when he is completely out of view. But, don't think you can just subtract 193 from 222 because a great many frames were cut out. What was the time lapse between the back shot and the throat shot? I think it was as great as 10 seconds.