The Death of Marilyn Monroe: Suicide, Accident, or Murder?
Marilyn Monroe died of a drug overdose in Los Angeles in 1962. The coroner ruled it a probable suicide. Later allegations of murder and a cover-up tied to the Kennedys led to a 1982 review by the district attorney, which found no evidence of murder.
Verdict: Unproven. The sources below do not establish this claim. That is not the same as proving it false. How we rate stories
The Story
Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Brentwood home in Los Angeles in August 1962. According to the Los Angeles Times, she was 36. The county's chief medical examiner, Theodore Curphey, ruled that she had died of a self-administered overdose of sedatives and called it a probable suicide.
Over the following decades, other stories took hold. An article in Oui magazine (which the police file strongly rebutted) and others, including a man who claimed to have been secretly married to her, alleged that she was killed because of a rumored affair with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, or because of what she might have known, and that police and the coroner's office covered it up. None of these claims has been proven.
'Permit me to express a faint hope that Marilyn Monroe be permitted to rest in peace.' — DA John Van de Kamp
In 1982, under pressure from those claims, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office reviewed the case for three and a half months. It discounted the murder and cover-up theories. District Attorney John Van de Kamp said the death could have been suicide or an accidental overdose.
In 1985 the LAPD released its file to put the speculation to rest. Police Chief Daryl Gates said: 'It's not a pretty story. It's very tragic.' The official record has not changed.
Origins
According to the Los Angeles Times, Monroe died on August 5, 1962, at 36. Chief Medical Examiner Theodore J. Curphey concluded the death was caused by 'a self-administered overdose of sedative drugs' and that the mode of death was 'probable suicide.' Allegations of murder and a cover-up appeared in later years.
The Claims
- Some writers alleged that Monroe was murdered because of a rumored relationship with Robert F. Kennedy.
- Some alleged that police and the coroner's office distorted evidence to protect Kennedy.
- Some have alleged a link to knowledge of plots against Fidel Castro.
Key Evidence
- The Los Angeles Times reported that these allegations, along with claims that a former coroner's assistant was pressured to sign the suicide certification, prompted the district attorney's office to open a 3 1/2-month investigation in 1982.
The Evidence Against
- The 1982 review discounted the theories that Monroe was murdered and that the police covered it up. District Attorney John Van de Kamp said that, on the available evidence, 'her death could have been suicide or come as a result of an accidental drug overdose.'
- In 1985 the Los Angeles Police Department released its file on the case to counter what a spokesman called 'speculation, innuendo and out-and-out lies.' Police Chief Daryl Gates said she 'committed suicide by barbiturates.'
- The relationship and plot claims are allegations. The official reviews found no evidence to support murder.
Documents & Sources
- NewsPolice Open the Files on Marilyn: No Bombshells (Los Angeles Times, Sept. 24, 1985) latimes.com ↗
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