JFK assassination film, worth $900M, may reveal second shooter on 'grassy knoll'
DALLAS, TEXAS: More than 60 years after President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, a long-lost film believed to show a second shooter may finally resurface. The footage, filmed by a local repairman and later seized by federal authorities, is now at the center of a renewed legal battle that could reshape one of the most scrutinized events in American history.
The grainy 8mm film, shot on November 22, 1963, was captured by Dallas air conditioner repairman Orville Nix from a vantage point facing the grassy knoll, a location long associated with conspiracy theories surrounding Kennedy’s death. Unlike the widely known Zapruder film, Nix’s footage reportedly focused on an area where several eyewitnesses claimed shots originated. Lee Harvey Oswald.
Orville Nix’s family seeks release of JFK assassination film
Nix sent the original camera footage to a Los Angeles company for analysis in 1978. According to court filings, the film was later taken into custody by the FBI and has not been seen publicly since. Orville Nix died in 1972, but his family has spent decades trying to recover the footage.
His son initially launched legal action, arguing that the government unlawfully seized private property without compensation, citing protections under the Fifth Amendment. After his death, Nix’s daughter, Linda Gayle Nix Jackson, continued the case, insisting the film was never returned to the family.
A federal judge has now allowed the legal fight to move forward, giving the family renewed hope that the footage may finally be released or compensated.
Grassy knoll footage may support second shooter theory
While the Zapruder film famously captured the fatal head shot, Nix’s camera was trained on the grassy knoll at the exact moment the assassination occurred. Researchers and witnesses have long argued that shots may have come from that direction, raising questions about whether Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.
Legal experts say the Nix film is the only known footage believed to directly capture that area during the shooting.
Lawyers say modern technology could reveal new details
Scott Watnik of Wilk Auslander LLP, a lawyer representing Nix’s granddaughter, said advances in imaging technology could uncover details never visible decades ago.
“It’s really the only one that is known to have captured the grassy knoll area of Dealey Plaza right as the assassination occurs,” Watnik said.
He added that applying modern optics technology to the original film could reveal information missed during earlier reviews.
Why the missing JFK film could be worth $900 million
The family estimates the film’s value at more than $900 million. For comparison, the Zapruder film was valued at $16 million when it was acquired by the US government in 1999.
Watnik argued that adjusting that valuation for decades of compound interest places the Nix footage in the hundreds of millions.
He stressed that the case goes beyond money, calling the film critical historical evidence. “This is evidence of a murder of our nation’s president,” Watnik said. “It’s even more important that we know where these records are.”
