Jay Margolis - The Murder of Marilyn Monroe

Copyright 2014, 2016 Jay Margolis and Richard Buskin

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Brian Peterson

ISBN: 978-1-5107-0234-9

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-0235-6

Printed in the United States of America

People say I am ruthless. I am not ruthless. And if I find the man who is calling me ruthless, I shall destroy him.

Robert Francis Kennedy

Jack Kennedy could have been a movie star himself. He had the charisma, the charm, that come-hither quality that can never be duplicated. Is it any wonder he got elected president?

Marilyn Monroe to Lawrence Quirk

Its not what you are. Its what people think you are.

Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First, I would like to thank Richard Buskin, the best co-author anyone could hope for. We worked really well together, and the use of his interviews with Marilyns friendsincluding her stand-in Evelyn Moriarty and Twentieth Century-Fox security guard George Erengishelped enhance this book.

I am also grateful to Michelle Morgan for granting permission to use her 1997 James Hall interview in this book; James Spada for permission to quote from several of his interviews, including the late Fred Otash; Marilyns last professional photographer, George Barris, who has believed in me since the genesis of my first MM book; Raymond Strait, who was Jayne Mansfields press secretary for the last ten years of her life; the late Jane Russell, Marilyns co-star in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; MMs press agent Michael Selsman; Allan Abbott for spending several hours discussing her case with me; Devik Wiener for inviting me into his fathers archives at the Hollywood Vaults in Los Angeles; eyewitnesses Don Schulman and Irene Gizzi for providing key testimony with regard to the Robert Kennedy assassination; and Schaefer Ambulance driver Edgardo Villalobos for revealing previously unknown information not just about MM, but also RFK.

Other thanks go out to Lynda Nuez, Juan Romero, Roy Turner, Lisa Urso, Gloria Romanoff, Marijane Gray, Sylvia Leib, Carl Bellonzi, Ruth Tarnowski, Rigo Chacon, Tony Plant, Mike Carlson, Robert Dambacher, Daniel Stewart, John Watkins, former FBI agent Monte Hall, the late Robert Joling, the late C. David Heymann, his widow Bea for her continued support, and both Anthony Summers and Donald H. Wolfe for their research into Marilyns death, Shane OSullivan for being the first to seriously investigate CIA presence at the Ambassador Hotel on June 5, 1968, and especially the late Professor Philip H. Melanson for interviewing Martha Raines who saw the non-uniformed third gunman fire a gun in the kitchen pantry, a major contribution to RFK assassination research.

I am indebted to Greg Schreiner, the President of the Marilyn Remembered fan club, for always being available to help in any way he can; Elias W. Amador, M.D., for his medical expertise with regard to MMs death; Michelle Justice, co-author of the fan newspaper Runnin Wild: All About Marilyn, for permission to use James Halls 1992 polygraph examination conducted by Donald E. Fraser, and for permission to use an October 4, 1962, photo of James Hall in his Schaefer Ambulance uniform removing a body from a residence (also from her fan newspaper Runnin Wild ); assorted confidential sources; and last, but not least, my parents and friends.

Jay Margolis, Los Angeles, April 2016

INTRODUCTION BY RICHARD BUSKIN

Its the celebrity death to rival all celebrity deathsthe ultimate unsolved mystery surrounding the ultimate silver-screen icon. Marilyn Monroes sudden passing during the late evening of Saturday, August 4, 1962, has generated countless TV documentaries, magazine features, newspaper articles, and books asserting the troubled star accidentally overdosed on prescription drugs, committed suicide, or was murdered.

Those insisting MM was a crime victim have concocted numerous theories regarding the reason for her killing, who was responsible, and how it was committed. Yet, despite the forcefulness of their allegations, none have been conclusive until now. Featuring a cast of characters straight out of a blockbuster Hollywood dramaincluding the wayward celluloid superstar, her unethically opportunistic psychiatrist, the satyric President of the United States, his philandering Attorney General sibling, and their Tinseltown brother-in-law The Murder of Marilyn Monroe: Case Closed utilizes unprecedented eyewitness testimony to explain, once and for all, the precise details of how and why one of filmdoms brightest stars was brutally extinguished.

This is a story about vulnerability, exploitation, self-interest, recklessness, and power; about how a woman who refused to be used and abused was ultimately eliminated by those with the motivations and means to execute a (near) perfect cover-up. As such, it provides a fly-on-the-wall view of the tragic, evil, largely uninvestigated events that took place inside Marilyns Spanish-style home on Brentwoods Fifth Helena Driveas well as a window into the nefarious behind-the-scenes activities of Americas most glamorized administration.

Sometimes I think it would be easier to avoid old age, to die young, but then youd never complete your life, would you? Marilyn Monroe once remarked to William J. Weatherby. Youd never wholly know yourself.

After more than fifty years of rampant rumors and wild speculation, this book enables us to know Marilyn a little better while solving the mystery thats shrouded her incomplete life. So, without further ado, lets dive into the detailsupdated for this paperback edition to incorporate newly discovered information and answer more questions, illustrated with additional photos.

Richard Buskin, Chicago, April 2016

INTRODUCTION BY JAY MARGOLIS

Welcome to the paperback edition of The Murder of Marilyn Monroe: Case Closed . This is an updated and revised version of the hardcover originally published on June 3, 2014. Much new material has been added. Included here for the first time are actual photographs of the two late LAPD detectives, James Ahern and Archie Case, who shortly before Marilyns death accompanied Robert Kennedy to her house on the night of August 4, 1962. Also in this edition are photographs of all five eyewitnesses to Marilyns murder. The name of the late soundman that accompanied Fred Otash the night Marilyn died is also revealed for the first time in history along with his photograph. Photographs of Marilyns two neighbors at 12304 Fifth Helena Drive are also in this edition.

Several have wondered whether Marilyn Monroe actually owned a washer/dryer. They ask, If the washer/dryer did not exist then how could the housekeeper Mrs. Eunice Murray wash the soiled bed linens? In fact, Lynda Nuez, the daughter of the next owner of Marilyns house in September 1963, was kind enough to relay to me that the washer/dryer did exist and where it was located.