Rewind: Marilyn Monroe

This July, we’re revisiting five classic topics in our Conspiracy Theories: Rewind series! Marilyn Monroe has been a cultural icon since she dominated Hollywood in the 1950s. Yet, her life was filled with turmoil. She struggled with mental health, drug addiction, and heartache– particularly during her alleged affairs with both JFK and Bobby Kennedy. But what was it that led to her untimely death? A fatal drug overdose or was she murdered to protect the nation’s, and the Kennedy’s, secrets? Help us reach 10k followers on Instagram! @⁠theconspiracypod⁠ Try ZipRecruiter FOR FREE at https://ziprecruiter.com/THEORY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

• 0:07Speaker 00

  It's the night of August 4th, 1962, and a man has just lied his way into the home of Marilyn Monroe. James Bacon stands in the doorway. He told the police officers outside that he's with the coroner's office, but he's actually a reporter. He rushed to her Los Angeles home once he heard the news from a colleague. The most famous woman in the world, Marilyn Monroe, is dead. Though he's one of the first reporters at the scene, James isn't here for an exclusive scoop. He's one of Marilyn's closest friends. Empty pill and vodka bottles are scattered around the room.

• 0:48Speaker 00

  Five days ago, he warned her that mixing these substances could kill her. Marilyn brushed him off. Officially, Marilyn's death is ruled as a probable suicide, an overdose of barbiturates. James doesn't agree with the verdict. He thinks Marilyn accidentally had one pill too many and one drink too many. Some believe James and the official story are both wrong. She didn't die by suicide or by accident. Many think that Marilyn was murdered, and the reason why has something to do with

• 1:30Speaker 00

  the Kennedys, the CIA, the mafia, or even the Roswell incident. Welcome to Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify podcast. I'm Carter Roy. New episodes come out every Wednesday. We would love to hear from you, so if you're listening on the Spotify app, swipe up and give us your thoughts, or check us out on Instagram at The Conspiracy Pod. This July, we're taking another look at five fan favorite topics as part of our series we're calling Conspiracy Theories Rewind. Today, we're revisiting the life and mysterious death of eternal Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe.

• 2:14Speaker 00

  In her private life, Marilyn wanted to be known and loved for who she was. To the public and her many adoring fans, she was a star, a sex symbol, the ideal woman. And to uphold that persona, she had to become an enigma. Over 60 years after her sudden death, people are still asking the question, what secrets did Marilyn Monroe take with her? This episode contains discussions of suicide, drug abuse, domestic abuse, miscarriage, abortion, and murder. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. Stay with us.

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• 4:43Speaker 00

  May 19th, 1962, New York City. Marilyn Monroe is being sewn into her dress. Despite the 2,500 crystals adorning it, the dress is nearly transparent and is meant to imply nudity. Marilyn forgoes underwear to sell it even more. The salacious look is a stark contrast with her wholesome job that day to step onto the Madison Square Garden stage and sing "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy. 15,000 people are packed into the garden for JFK's birthday celebration slash campaign fundraiser.

• 5:23Speaker 00

  The guests and performers include old Hollywood stars like Shirley MacLaine, Ella Fitzgerald and Jack Benny. And when Marilyn walks out on stage, taking off her coat to reveal that dress, the crowd is stunned into silence. Her beauty often short-circuited people like that. They all subsequently pick their jaws up off the floor and erupt into applause. Marilyn starts her serenade again. "Happy Birthday" is a wholesome song, yet Marilyn sings with a sultry whisper. The garden may be full, but the world likely melts away around JFK as he hears Marilyn's voice.

• 6:07Speaker 00

  Journalist Dorothy Kilgallen describes the televised performance as "making love to the president in the direct view of 40 million Americans."

• 6:19Speaker 00

  The moment goes down in history, not just for Marilyn's seductiveness, but for encouraging one scandalous rumor: JFK and Marilyn Monroe are having an affair. Some say the affair began after JFK was elected president in 1960, while others say it started way earlier. Since the timeline varies, for right now, we're mostly going to follow the account of writer and columnist Maureen Callahan in her book, "Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed." She states that the affair began in 1954, when JFK was still a senator. Her book also details how this performance at the Garden is a turning point in their

• 7:04Speaker 00

  relationship. According to Callahan, Marilyn believes that her secret dalliances with the president are more than just a fling. She tells her psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, how important JFK is to her. "Sure, JFK and Marilyn aren't officially together, but it's real love. It doesn't matter that she was married and divorced twice during the affair, and JFK is married to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. He's president after all, he can't just up and leave, Jackie. Oh, that would be too big of a scandal." Marilyn is seemingly, perhaps a bit reluctantly, fine with that. She allegedly tells Dr.

• 7:48Speaker 00

  Greenson, "I will never embarrass him. As long as I have memory, I have John Fitzgerald Kennedy." But Marilyn reportedly thinks getting invited to publicly sing "Happy Birthday" is a sign. JFK must be getting ready to go public with their affair. After all, Jackie isn't at the party, she's off at a horse-riding competition. Marilyn's the one who's actually there to celebrate with him. An after-party's held that night at a Hollywood executive's house. Allegedly, JFK is seen exiting a bedroom during it. Inside the bedroom is Marilyn.

• 8:32Speaker 00

  Perhaps Marilyn stays behind in bed to bask in the aftermath of a tryst. Maybe she even thinks that soon she'll be the first lady. According to Maureen Callahan, JFK told her that she would be for his second term. Now, Jackie Kennedy is no fool. She knows her husband has affairs. She tolerates them as long as he doesn't publicly embarrass her. But Marilyn's sultry performance is too close for comfort. Jackie allegedly threatens JFK with a divorce over it. So JFK swears to end things with Marilyn.

• 9:15Speaker 00

  Except, he doesn't seem to tell Marilyn that. Instead, he ghosts her. Marilyn used to be able to call the White House whenever she wanted. It's said that she even had a private line directly to JFK. But now, her calls aren't going through. JFK rarely, if ever, returns them, and Marilyn doesn't catch the hint, she calls, and calls, and calls. So, according to author Howie Carr, JFK sends his little brother Bobby to do his dirty work. Robert "Bobby" Kennedy has been making headlines for cracking down on organized crime as Attorney General.

• 9:57Speaker 00

  However, the story goes that he takes a break from arresting mobsters to meet up with Marilyn. He tells her point-blank, "Her relationship with JFK is over." Marilyn is devastated. Now, to understand the true extent of Marilyn's heartbreak, we need to address her history with romance, mental health, and unfortunately, abuse. Marilyn is born Norma Jean Mortenson in June 1926. Her mother renames her Norma Jean Baker to match her own surname shortly after. We're going to keep referring to her as Marilyn, though, for simplicity's sake.

• 10:39Speaker 00

  Marilyn's mother suffers from bouts of paranoid schizophrenia. She's eventually institutionalized for it. As a result, Marilyn is placed into the foster system as early as two weeks old. She bounces around from home to home, orphanage to orphanage for years. At sixteen, craving stability, she decides that she's going to quit being an orphan and marry the 20-year-old man next door to her last foster family. The marriage serves its purpose, while she's no longer ping-ponging between different families, and she's able to support herself through modeling. However, they divorce after four years.

• 11:23Speaker 00

  Later on Marilyn notes that "the marriage didn't make me sad, but it didn't make me happy either." This seems to be a pattern in Marilyn's marriages. Three in total. Marilyn yearns for love, for an end to the emotional wound of family instability. She lives her whole life calling herself a waif, meaning "a child without a home or enough food or care." Usually this was in reference to her upbringing, but it seems to be an identity that she internalizes into adulthood. Inside, she's still Norma Jean, bouncing around foster homes.

• 12:04Speaker 00

  Being adored by the world with immense riches never seems to change that. And her husbands don't help. Once she becomes a Hollywood icon, Marilyn marries a sports icon, baseball legend Joe DiMaggio. But Joe's a jealous man. In September 1954, Marilyn is filming The Seven Year Itch. In it, she famously stands over a subway grate which blows her dress into the air. Reportedly, up to 5,000 people, mostly calloused men, watch the scene as it's filmed. Amongst them is Joe DiMaggio, fuming.

• 12:48Speaker 00

  He doesn't seem to realize that Marilyn's just doing her job. She can't do anything about the crowd. It's the film crew that should be protecting her from the voyeuristic audience. Nevertheless, Joe blames her. When the shoot is over, Joe allegedly physically abuses Marilyn in their hotel room. They divorce shortly after, and Marilyn cites the reason as "mental cruelty." Two years later, in 1956, Marilyn marries her third husband, playwright Arthur Miller. Arthur of "Death of a Salesman" and "The Crucible Fame" is kind and said to worship Marilyn, so much so that he left his family for her.

• 13:33Speaker 00

  Yet, he seems to worship the idea of Marilyn more than the woman herself. Two weeks into their marriage, Marilyn finds Arthur's journal and discovers that her good looks alone aren't enough for him. She reads about how embarrassed he is of Marilyn around his intellectual peers. He laments that he may have made a mistake leaving his wife for the "pitiable, dependent, unpredictable waif," the very words she uses to describe herself in her darkest moments. Marilyn and Arthur get divorced after about five years of marriage in 1961. Marilyn also has a barbiturate addiction.

• 14:18Speaker 00

  The pills are likely legitimately prescribed at first. She suffers from insomnia, bipolar disorder, and according to some, has auditory hallucinations. At times, she sees Dr. Greenson, who diagnosed her with borderline paranoid schizophrenia up to seven days a week.

• 14:39Speaker 00

  Eventually, she begins mixing the pills with alcohol, which may have caused two miscarriages. Whether they did or not is unproven, but she still blames herself. This all results in a series of near overdoses. Some are deemed accidental, but it's suspected that they could have been attempts to die by suicide. With these failed marriages and drug addiction affecting her depression, JFK's alleged breakup sends Marilyn further down a destructive path. Perhaps she thought JFK was different from all the other men in her life. A baseball legend, a playwright. Yeah, those guys were stars.

• 15:24Speaker 00

  But they weren't the president. After Bobby ends the relationship on behalf of his brother, Marilyn reportedly tells Dr. Greenson that people were only nice to her for what they could get from her. And he claims Marilyn says, "Life wasn't worth living anymore." This brings us to August 4, 1962. Marilyn's insomnia keeps her tossing and turning all night. A friend of hers who slept over the night before notes that she's surly and sarcastic. Officially, her only visitor that day is Dr. Greenson checking in on her, and she spends the rest of the evening on the phone.

• 16:07Speaker 00

  At 7:00 PM, she speaks to Joe DiMaggio Jr. They remained close after Marilyn divorced his father. Joe Jr. later says that she actually "sounds happy", which could be because Joe called her to tell her that he broke up with a girl she didn't like. However, within 30 minutes, there seems to be a shift. Around 8:00 PM, Marilyn calls Peter Lawford, an actor and a member of the Rat Pack. Peter is her friend, neighbor, and JFK's brother-in-law. According to him, she's now depressed and slurring her words. She tells him that she's not coming over for dinner with him and his wife, Pat Kennedy.

• 16:52Speaker 00

  She ends the call with, "Say goodbye to Pat. Say goodbye to Jack," meaning JFK, "and say goodbye to yourself, because you're a nice guy." The line then goes dead. Peter tries to call back, but there's no answer. Despite the grim words, Peter is said to brush it off at the time. According to writers Josh Young and Manfred Westfall, Peter later says, "She was just blowing off emotional steam. I was used to that. I'll bet there hasn't been a week all summer that she hasn't called me or wrote that she was about to take her life." Marilyn makes a couple more calls. Some of the recipients remark how frightened she sounds.

• 17:37Speaker 00

  She claims to be surrounded by danger, which is both alarming and odd. And likely, no one is sure what she's talking about. Maybe they assume she's under the influence. We don't know. Her last call is to screenwriter Jose Balaños. He claims that Marilyn told him something that, quote, "will one day shock the whole world." He never reveals what that something was. Jose is officially the last person she ever talks to. Around midnight, Eunice Murray, Marilyn's housekeeper, sees that Marilyn's bedroom light is still on. The door is closed, but she can see the light through the cracks in the door frame.

• 18:22Speaker 00

  It's important to note that, over the years, Eunice changes her story and says this happens later, at 3:30 a.m. Nevertheless, she knocks to check on Marilyn. Marilyn doesn't answer. The door is locked. Perhaps Eunice has an eerie sixth sense. Perhaps Marilyn never casually falls asleep with a light on and isn't a deep sleeper. She is an insomniac, after all. Scared, Eunice calls Dr. Greenson, who hurries over to Marilyn's house. He can't get into the bedroom either, so he goes outside and breaks in through the window.

• 19:00Speaker 00

  Lying face down in her bed is Marilyn. Empty pill bottles, including the barbiturate Dr. Greenson prescribes her, rest on the nightstand. He checks her pulse. Marilyn Monroe is dead. An autopsy later reports that she overdosed on her prescription medication and possibly other barbiturates. An LA Times obituary notes that the medical authorities suspect that she was depressed. This seems based not on what Marilyn's friends and family tell them, but from her appearance. The obit reads that she was "in need of a manicure and pedicure, indicating listlessness

• 19:41Speaker 00

  and a lack of interest in maintaining her usually glamorous appearance." Even in death, Marilyn's looks are sadly front, center, and scrutinized. The police say that the overdose could have been accidental, but the coroner's conclusion is more dire. They list her death as probable suicide. The verdict is likely determined in part by her history with declining mental health. But despite that and her drug abuse, many believe she didn't die by suicide. One of those disbelievers may even be Dr. Greenson.

• 20:24Speaker 00

  During a taped interview, Greenson is asked what really happened to Marilyn. He reportedly says, "I can't tell the whole story." Listen, talk to Bobby Kennedy. This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter. A lot goes into making just one episode of this podcast. There are so many people who work on it. Engineers, writers, researchers, social media people. It takes an entire team. Now, if you're hiring, save yourself more time with ZipRecruiter. Try it free at ziprecruiter.com/theory.

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• 23:10Speaker 00

  In 1962, Marilyn Monroe is allegedly in the midst of a nearly decade-long affair with President John F. Kennedy. Some recent authors and researchers claim that JFK's wife Jackie orders him to break up with her. He instead ghosts Marilyn and appoints his brother, Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, to break up with her for him, leaving Marilyn heartbroken. Bobby likely holds her hand and gives her a sympathetic ear to soften the blow. Depending on whose story you believe, he may also be ready to make a move of his own. See, according to the true crime audio series, "The Killing of Marilyn Monroe," there's

• 23:53Speaker 00

  a pattern the Kennedy boys follow. JFK gets a mistress and later on passes her on to Bobby. If Bobby even waits long enough for JFK to break up with her. Many sources say that Marilyn's affairs with both of them overlapped. Remember how JFK allegedly leaves Marilyn in a bedroom at his birthday after-party? According to actress Shirley MacLaine, when JFK walks out, Bobby walks right in. And yes, just like JFK, Bobby is also married.

• 24:32Speaker 00

  He's built this public image of a good Catholic husband and father, but he's a Kennedy. JFK and Bobby reportedly watched their father openly cheat on their mother growing up. JFK has even said, quote, "Dad told all the boys to get laid as often as possible." According to some accounts, after JFK breaks things off, Bobby seems to take his affair with Marilyn more seriously. Their phone calls go on for hours. They allegedly put on disguises, wigs and sunglasses, to walk to the beach together, hand in hand. Marilyn reportedly finds Bobby nicer than JFK. He listens to her.

• 25:16Speaker 00

  That could be a huge deal for Marilyn. She's tired of Hollywood casting her as a dumb blonde and everything. She's been spurned by her ex-husband Arthur, who felt embarrassed around his smart friends. Marilyn is an avid note taker. Her diary is filled with anecdotes on world events and anything else that may have come up at a dinner party. If someone mentioned something she didn't know about, she'd write it down and research it later. And it works. Bobby reportedly enjoys their conversations. According to rumors, he tells her he loves her. There are even FBI records about Marilyn and Bobby.

• 25:58Speaker 00

  Supposedly, it's because the Bureau suspects she's a communist due to her marriage with Arthur Miller. They thought a lot of people were communists back then. Anyway, according to an actual FBI document, Bobby repeatedly promised to divorce his wife to marry her. As you might have guessed, Bobby doesn't follow through. Now, remember, it's rumored that swooping in on his brother's exes is a pattern for Bobby, and he's also a political figure. He can't leave his wife for another woman. It would ruin his image and possibly JFK's by association. But there may be another reason they never end up together.

• 26:41Speaker 00

  Bobby has an ulterior motive for being with Marilyn. According to private investigator Fred Otash, who keeps tabs on Bobby and Marilyn, Bobby is only feigning that sympathetic ear. He just wants to, quote, "keep her under control." See, there's this fear amongst government officials in the know, and probably JFK himself, that Marilyn could go public with the affairs. So perhaps when JFK broke things off, he needed Bobby to come in and keep her entertained. Otherwise, she would tell all and ruin JFK's chance of reelection.

• 27:25Speaker 00

  Remember that diary I mentioned? It's a key item in Marilyn Monroe conspiracies. Many believe JFK told Marilyn government secrets, and she wrote them all down. While Bobby's having fun keeping Marilyn busy, he likely starts to worry about himself. Forget her spilling the beans about John. What about me? I have a career and family to protect too. So, just like his brother before him, Bobby stops returning Marilyn's calls. Enraged over being ghosted by another Kennedy, she repeatedly calls the Justice Department, apparently hoping to get Bobby on the phone. It doesn't seem to work, and her calls go ignored.

• 28:10Speaker 00

  The last of them happens on July 30, 1962, the week of her death. Bobby may be ignoring the calls, but someone at the office must be taking messages because, according to Bill Burns, a Hollywood historian, Marilyn calls and finally threatens to go public with the affairs and everything she knows. With that, let's jump into our first conspiracy theory about Marilyn's death. The Kennedys being responsible for it is one of the most popular theories of all time. Usually it goes something like this.

• 28:52Speaker 00

  JFK orders either the CIA or the mafia to kill her. Some believe JFK even has Dr. Greenson do it for him with a lethal dose of medication. Others say it was a different Kennedy. Enter LAPD Organized Crime Intelligence Department, or OCID, Officer Mike Rothmiller. Along with co-writer Douglas Thompson, Mike publishes a book detailing his research into Marilyn's death. The title, well, it's a bit of a spoiler. "Bombshell: The Night Bobby Kennedy Killed Marilyn Monroe."

• 29:33Speaker 00

  Mike's journey to uncovering the truth starts off at a surprising place: the Playboy Mansion. It's 1982, and he's getting a tour. While there, Mike sees a drunken, tired-looking man. He doesn't think anything of him until he realizes that the drunk isn't some average Joe. It's the actor Peter Lawford, JFK's brother-in-law and Marilyn's former neighbor. Mike is determined to talk to him. For the last few years, Mike has been exploring the LAPD archives.

• 30:10Speaker 00

  Buried in the files, he found documents detailing how the LAPD kept surveillance on Marilyn, Peter, and Bobby, all around the time of Marilyn's death. It also showed that OCID bugged all of their houses. They could have done this because OCID was formed to catch mobsters, and the Kennedys were long suspected to be connected. Invading Marilyn and Peter's privacy could have been collateral damage. The files Mike found also suggested that Bobby may have seen Marilyn the night she died.

• 30:51Speaker 00

  Remember, officially, Marilyn only saw her friend who slept over the night before and Dr. Greenson later that day. Was Bobby also there? Could he have been involved in her death? And Mike needs to find out. And he wants Peter to tell him. He doesn't want to scare him off at the Playboy Mansion, though, for now. He slips Peter his card and waits. Peter's suspicious. It's been decades. Why does a detective suddenly want to talk about Marilyn's death? But after a few days, Peter gives Mike a shot. They meet at a park, and at first, he gives Mike the official probable suicide story.

• 31:35Speaker 00

  Mike presses on, telling him that he knows he's hiding something.

• 31:40Speaker 00

  Suddenly, Peter, on the verge of tears, allegedly opens up about the heavy burden he'd been carrying around for 20 years. According to Mike, Peter says that on August 4th, 1962, he brings Bobby to Marilyn's house. This was after Bobby stopped returning her calls, so the sight of him sends Marilyn into a fury. She feels that Bobby took advantage of her. Bobby isn't happy to see her either. He's there to get her to stop threatening to go public. Bobby reportedly shoves her to the floor.

• 32:20Speaker 00

  He gets on top of her, curses at her, and tells her to keep her mouth shut. He then gets off of her to search her house for the diary. He believes it details the affairs and holds government secrets. Meanwhile, Peter helps Marilyn off the floor. He's likely frightened. Peter idolizes the Kennedys. They're strong, politically powerful men, yet here's Bobby trashing a woman's house and, according to Peter, assaulting her. His account is supported by Fred Otash's. According to the writers Josh Young and Manfred Westfall, Fred was hired by the mob to bug Marilyn's home.

• 33:04Speaker 00

  Maybe if they had a tape of his affair, they could get Bobby to end his war on the mob. He says these tapes are rolling on August 4th. They record Marilyn screaming at Bobby and suggesting she got an abortion. Later that night, Bobby orders her to take something, likely referring to one of Marilyn's pills. He then reportedly says, "Let me get you a glass of water, okay?" This is where Fred's account lines up pretty much perfectly with what Peter tells Mike Rothmiller. According to Mike, Peter finds Bobby in Marilyn's kitchen.

• 33:46Speaker 00

  He's putting something into a glass of water and stirring it up. Bobby then has Marilyn drink it. She refuses, but Peter encourages her. He thinks it's just a sedative. Once she downs the cup, Peter helps Bobby look for the diary. When they get back to Marilyn, she's unconscious on the sofa. She mumbles, but soon she stops breathing. Peter's terrified, fighting back tears. He starts to think they might have just killed her. He claims Bobby doesn't wait to find out. He grabs Peter and leads him out of Marilyn's house.

• 34:30Speaker 00

  But when they open the door to leave, two men are standing outside in plain clothes. Peter recognizes at least one of them. He's a police officer who acts as security whenever Bobby's in town. Peter worries they've been caught. Until Bobby nonchalantly pushes past the officers. Then he orders Peter to drive him to the airport so he can leave LA. Why? He needs an alibi. As they go, the officers enter Marilyn's home and remove any evidence of the affair, and more importantly, what Bobby's done. The empty pill bottles in the official story?

• 35:12Speaker 00

  Peter claims they were all set up by the officers. They also move her body from the sofa onto her bed. With that, the official story of dying by probable suicide is set. However, while staging the scene, the officers may have accidentally left behind a clue. When someone dies, blood internally pools at the lowest point of the body, causing the skin to get these purplish splotches. It's called lividity. If someone's lying on their back when they die, the splotches usually appear there. But Marilyn has dual lividity, splotches on the back and front of her body.

• 35:54Speaker 00

  In the official story, her body is found face down in the bed, which explains the front lividity, but not the back. That would have likely formed when she was on the sofa. In general, dual lividity is a sign that a body has been moved after death. It's common in murder cases. And if Bobby really had the police's help in covering up his crime, that could explain why the dual lividity seems to get overlooked when determining Marilyn's cause of death. Some may balk at Mike Rothmiller's claim. The Kennedys tend to be misogynistic, but there's a big difference between being a

• 36:38Speaker 00

  philanderer and a murderer. On the other hand, it's not totally unheard of for a Kennedy to attempt to cover up a death. In 1969, seven years after Marilyn's death, Bobby's brother and Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy accidentally drives off a bridge. The car goes straight into Poucha Pond. He's able to exit the car and swim to land, but he leaves behind a passenger, a young woman, Mary Jo Kopecky, who drowns as Ted leaves the scene. At one point, Ted plans to cover it all up, make it seem like he was never there and Mary Jo drove herself into the pond.

• 37:23Speaker 00

  However, Ted does end up turning himself in. He doesn't get any jail time. The perks of being a Kennedy. Still, though, that was an accident. A Kennedy isn't going to purposely murder someone, let alone the most famous woman in the world. The idea that the Attorney General would murder someone is a lot to swallow, but what about the CIA? Marilyn allegedly threatened to reveal all of JFK and Bobby's secrets after all. In fact, some say she was going to reveal how the CIA wanted to kill Fidel Castro. Meh, big deal. The CIA plotting to take down foreign leaders isn't that surprising.

• 38:07Speaker 00

  Oh, but Marilyn supposedly added one last thing to her threat, a little reminder that the CIA may be interested in. I know all about that secret airbase in Nevada.

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• 39:21Speaker 00

  An alleged affair with President JFK, another with his brother Bobby. Each relationship ends with a sudden and cruel break as the brothers cut her off completely. Bobby reportedly ends his tryst with Marilyn around July 1962, a month before she dies. It's the final straw. She calls Bobby at the Justice Department repeatedly. He doesn't answer, but she leaves a threatening message. She's going to go public with not just the affairs, but with every government secret they ever told her. According to Bill Burns, a Hollywood historian, she even says, "I know all about that secret airbase in Nevada." Allegedly, Marilyn threatens to expose the secrets of

• 40:05Speaker 00

  Area 51 and Roswell, New Mexico. Now, if you're a listener of this show, you know all about these. But how does Marilyn? Well, JFK and Bobby, obviously. In an interview with famed Coast to Coast host George Knapp, investigator Nick Redfern claims that the Kennedys talked about UFOs to entice Marilyn into the bedroom. They were just spitting game. JFK even allegedly told Marilyn that they have, quote, "strange little bodies from a UFO crash." Quick word of advice for any single people out there. Normally, talking to a woman at the bar about aliens may not be the best pick-up line.

• 40:47Speaker 00

  Unless, of course, you're at the bars that the conspiracy theories crew and I hang out at. Point is, your mileage may vary. Anyway, there's a declassified document, allegedly from the CIA, that supposedly proves all of this. You can find it online. It details how Marilyn is planning to hold a press conference and reveal everything to the entire world, UFOs included. The document is even signed by CIA Chief James Angleton. Except, uh, most people believe the document is a fake. Even if it is, Marilyn knowing about UFOs may still be true.

• 41:30Speaker 00

  Consider this: On Marilyn's last night alive, she makes that call to Jose Bolanos, the screenwriter. Jose claims she told him something that will one day shock the whole world. She could have been talking about the affairs, or maybe alluding to Fidel Castro. Apparently JFK told her that they were planning his assassination. That would have been pretty big news at the time, but would those secrets shock the whole world? Nick Redfern suggests that keeping aliens a secret would fall under the CIA's duties, which is why he believes they're behind Marilyn's death. According to Nick, there's a declassified document instructing CIA agents to "disguise

• 42:15Speaker 00

  a killing by making someone an addict." An agent would supposedly go undercover, perhaps as a friend, pharmacist, or a neighborhood dealer, and give their target drugs. Slowly but surely, the target gets addicted. That way, when the agent is ready, they can provide a lethal dose, and it'll look like a tragic accident. Nick believes this may be how they killed Marilyn. They got her addicted to drugs, then orchestrated an overdose. We should note that Marilyn first started using barbiturates to legitimately treat her insomnia and depression.

• 42:57Speaker 00

  Could there have been a CIA pharmacist behind the scenes? It wouldn't be totally out of the question. It's a bit of a long game, though. I'd imagine the CIA would want to take out a threat as quickly and efficiently as possible. Like, say, by hiring the mob? Enter Chicago mafia kingpin, Sam Mooney Giancana. He is no stranger to politics. Some believe that JFK's father, Joe Kennedy, had a deal with Sam. If Sam made sure JFK was elected president, then JFK's administration would lay off on Sam and the rest of the mob.

• 43:38Speaker 00

  JFK won the election, allegedly thanks to Sam's guys going to the polling booths and breaking the arms and legs of voters. Only if they weren't voting for JFK, of course. The mob being behind JFK's win is just a conspiracy theory. But what I'm about to tell you next is confirmed truth. It's 1960. America is in the midst of the Cold War, and Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro is a huge threat. He's a Soviet Union ally and dangerously close to the mainland US. He could attack us in an instant. The CIA wants to assassinate him,

• 44:20Speaker 00

  but they likely don't want his death tracked back to them. That would end in a retaliation attack. So, that September, the CIA hires a, uh, let's say, independent contractor, Sam Giacana. That's right. The US government hires the mafia to whack Fidel. Sam even says he'll do it for free. It's his American duty. Well, he has his own bone to pick, too. Because Fidel got rid of the Cuban casinos, which used to make Sam a pretty penny. If Sam and his associates can kill him, they'll get their casinos back. Maybe the US government would even turn a blind eye

• 45:03Speaker 00

  to whatever money it brings into Chicago. Sam's attempts to do the job, including trying to poison Fidel's food, ultimately fail. But the book Double Cross, written by Sam's godson and Sam's brother, claims that the CIA have another job for old Mooney: kill Marilyn Monroe.

• 45:27Speaker 00

  According to this theory, the Marilyn hit would be mutually beneficial for the CIA and Sam. Just like with Fidel, the Giancona conspiracy doesn't mention UFOs, but it does attest to Marilyn's press conference threat. The CIA wants to stop her from revealing whatever government secrets that Kennedys told her, and Sam simply wants revenge on Bobby Kennedy. Once Bobby became the Attorney General, mobster convictions skyrocketed by 800%. He's ruining Sam's business. Sam knows, or at least suspects, that Bobby is

• 46:06Speaker 00

  sleeping with Marilyn, so he wants to hit Bobby where it hurts. Plus, who knows? Maybe authorities will search her home and find evidence tying her to Bobby, which could expose their affair, ruining Bobby's public image. Maybe they can even frame Bobby for the hit. Perfect revenge. According to Double Cross, Sam and the CIA get to work. They tell Sam that Bobby is going to be in LA on August 4th. They figure that the Attorney General will likely stop by Marilyn's while he's there. Sam reportedly enlists four assassins, including Needles Gianola and Mugsy Tortorella. You couldn't ask for better mafia names if you tried.

• 46:51Speaker 00

  The hitmen have access to the bugs that the CIA placed in Marilyn's home, so on that notorious night, the four hitmen hide outside the house. They listen in on their audio receiver and wait for Bobby to arrive. Soon, they hear Bobby and a doctor enter Marilyn's home. An argument ensues between Bobby and Marilyn. Bobby tells the doctor to "calm Marilyn down by giving her a sedative." The doctor follows orders.

• 47:23Speaker 00

  Then the hitmen listen to the two of them leave. Alright, let's pause quickly to note that this is similar to the story Mike Rothmiller claims he heard from Peter Lawford. The difference is, in Peter's account, Bobby arrived with Peter, not a doctor. It's different, yes. But the surveillance that Sam's hitmen are allegedly working with? Well, it's audio, there's no video. So, they could technically be hearing Peter's voice and just assume he's a doctor. However, here's where Mike Rothmiller's and Double Cross's stories truly diverge. Bobby and the doctor leave while the sedative absorbs into Marilyn's bloodstream.

• 48:05Speaker 00

  It seems Bobby just came to get her to call off the press conference, or maybe to retrieve the diary like in Mike's account. They weren't there to kill Marilyn. The sedative was only used to keep her from arguing with them, which wasn't that much better. Especially since the sedative leaves her defenseless against Sam's hitmen. With Bobby gone, they break into Marilyn's home. They pick her up, put her in bed, and give her a lethal dose of Nembutol through a suppository. And they choose this method because an oral poison would likely result in bruising and vomiting. She may even be saved by getting her stomach pumped.

• 48:48Speaker 00

  A suppository would be practically undetectable. The hitmen, Sam, and the CIA's job is done. Marilyn's unable to divulge the CIA's secrets. Sam can revel in the police finding evidence of not just Bobby being there, but of the affair too. Except, one problem, according to Double Cross. Marilyn's body is discovered, likely by her housekeeper, as in the official story, and the news of her death reaches Bobby before it reaches the public. This gives Bobby enough time to have the government swoop in and rid Marilyn's home of any evidence.

• 49:29Speaker 00

  Perhaps Sam does get some joy in Bobby likely assuming he accidentally killed Marilyn? That's good enough revenge in and of itself. But is it the truth? As with every celebrity death conspiracy, there are those who believe Marilyn is...

• 49:47Speaker 00

  Still alive. Writer John Baker claims that one day in 1984, he picks up a female hitchhiker in Nova Scotia. The woman is excited to hear that John works in the film industry and that his name is Baker. She used to be in films. And she says, "Her name also used to be Baker. Norma Jean Baker, in fact." John realizes that she does kind of look like Marilyn. The woman says that she didn't die by suicide. Obviously. The crime scene was a fake. A cover-up. She actually had a mental breakdown and was institutionalized for schizophrenia, just like her mother, by Dr. Greenson.

• 50:31Speaker 00

  She lived there under a fake name until her money ran out. John is skeptical, but she's pretty convincing. Well, maybe she really is Marilyn. Dr. Greenson died in 1979, so he can't comment on John's 1984 story, one way or another. But I should note, there is no record of Dr. Greenson implying that Marilyn is still alive. Unless... It's not public yet. The UCLA library contains Dr. Greenson's files. In 2020, a private investigator discovered that in the archives is box 39. A sealed box of the doctor's files

• 51:16Speaker 00

  that can't be opened until 2039. The PI suspects that the truth about Marilyn's death is inside. And while the library won't let him open the box, he did see the public list of contents. They supposedly contain medical records, letters, and even a manuscript by Dr. Greenson's daughter. All about Marilyn's last night alive.

• 51:49Speaker 00

  I like to think Box 39 holds more information, not just about Marilyn's death, but her life. Like how she, the so-called dumb blonde, was incredibly well-read. She had a library of over 400 books, including the classics, as well as tomes on politics and art. She was clever and savvy, expertly navigating the Hollywood system to create the Marilyn Monroe image that lasts to this day. And on that note, hopefully Box 39 proves how, despite her upbringing, she wasn't a waif. As she, her beauty, her brains,

• 52:31Speaker 00

  and even her death, have forever found a home in a culture that still idolizes her. Including those of us who want to do her justice and solve the mystery of how an icon can be taken away from us... wait, before their time.

• 52:56Speaker 00

  Thank you for listening to Conspiracy Theories Rewind. We're here with a new episode every Wednesday. Be sure to check us out on Instagram @TheConspiracyPod. If you're watching on Spotify, swipe up and give us your thoughts. For more information on Marilyn Monroe and her relationship with the Kennedys, amongst the many sources we used, we found Ask Not the Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed by Maureen Callahan, extremely helpful to our research. Until next time, remember, the truth isn't always the best story. And the official story isn't always the truth. This episode was written and researched by Brandon Rizzuto, edited by Miki Taylor

• 53:41Speaker 00

  and Justin Sales, fact-checked by Sophie Kemp, and engineered, video-edited, and sound-designed by Alex Button. I'm your host, Carter Roy.

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