Marilyn Monroe’s Cause of Death and The New FOX Show Questioning It
Marilyn Monroe’s death was reported more than six decades ago. The headlines haven’t stopped, though. Every so often, the cause of the movie star’s death gets reexamined, with industry experts and conspiracy theorists weighing in. Now, a new show, produced by TMZ, is once again asking whether Monroe’s death occurred as listed, or if a massive cover-up has hidden a murder for all these years.
What was Marilyn Monroe’s cause of death?
Marilyn Monroe would have turned 100 years old this year, but her life was cut tragically short in August 1962. The film star was found dead inside her Brentwood home by her psychiatrist after a housekeeper alerted him to a potential problem. According to official reports, the housekeeper noticed a light was still shining in Monroe’s room in the early morning hours of August 5, but could not get a response from the movie star. She peered in a window and became concerned when she spied Monroe lying motionless on her bed.
A medical examination estimated that the 36-year-old had likely died the night before. A timeline of events, reconstructed after the fact, put her estimated time of death between 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office ruled that she died of acute barbiturate poisoning, an overdose of sedatives including Nembutal and chloral hydrate, and classified the death as a “probable suicide.” That ruling has stood as the official record ever since, though it has been routinely called into question.
A new special challenges the official ruling
The official cause of death for Marilyn Monroe has been questioned for years by people who knew her personally and fans who have remained enamored with the tragic star’s story. Now, TMZ has produced a special, Celebrity Crime Scene: Marilyn Monroe, that aired on Fox over the weekend. The project further questions whether Monroe died by suicide or whether the suicide ruling covered up a more sinister demise.
The show launched an investigation that reopened the age-old question: “Was Marilyn Monroe murdered?” Using a virtual recreation of Monroe’s home, official reports, and the opinions of experts, the special argues that Monroe may have been killed to cover up her connection to powerful men. In particular, it attempts to link her death to her relationships with President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated in the 1960s.
Decades of rumors and theories
While the special makes its case, speculation and doubt are nothing new. Theories that she was murdered began to circulate almost immediately after her death, but hit a fever pitch after Norman Mailer released a biography in 1973. Over the years, theories have tied her death to alleged affairs with the Kennedy brothers, with some suggesting she knew sensitive government secrets and had become a political liability. Others have pointed at the mob; still others theorize that Hollywood insiders wanted her out of the picture.
The special hits on most of the points that have been raised over the years in support of a different cause of death. The claims that her stomach was empty, the delay in calling the authorities, and a rumor that the coroner signed off on Monroe’s cause of death under duress remain among the most chilling questions surrounding the case.
In the end, we may never know, for certain, how Marilyn Monroe’s life ended. Whether by suicide or by murder, her death remains a tragic piece of Hollywood history.
Celebrity Crime Scene: Marilyn Monroe aired on Fox on June 21. It is available for streaming on Hulu as of June 22.
