Marilyn Monroe, Hollywood's most iconic sex symbol, died on August 4, 1962, at age 36. Her naked body was found at her Los Angeles home in the early hours by psychiatrist Ralph Greenson, who broke in through a window after her worried housekeeper Eunice Murray saw a light under the star's door and raised the alarm.
The Discovery and Immediate Aftermath
Greenson found Monroe lying face down in bed with a hand on her telephone. A number of bottles of sleeping pills, including the powerful sedative Nembutal, were on her bedside table. Her physician, Hyman Engelberg, arrived around 3:50am and pronounced her dead.
The star, born Norma Jeane Mortenson, died from acute barbiturate poisoning caused by a lethal intake of sleeping pills. Coroner Dr. Noguchi said after the autopsy: "It was plain and simple. She died of an overdose of sleeping pills." The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office ruled her death a "probable suicide" following investigations by Noguchi and Dr. Theodore Curphey.
The Autopsy and Psychological Review
The book L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood reveals haunting details of the post-mortem. Noguchi "began by slowly examining every inch of [her] body with a magnifying glass to search for needle marks that would indicate the injection of drugs... He found none." He also "noted the fresh bruises on her hip and lower back and the cyanosis that cast a bluish tinge to her skin."
A psychological autopsy noted her "psychiatric disturbance", "severe fears and frequent depressions," and prior suicide attempts. An accidental overdose was ruled out because the dosages in her body were far beyond the lethal limit. It's understood she died between 8:30pm and 10:30pm on August 4.
Her Final Months and the Psychiatrists' Report
Monroe had become a "virtual recluse" in her Brentwood home in the months before her death, withdrawing from public life after her dismissal from her last film, Something's Got to Give. Psychiatrists Norman Farberow, Robert Litman, and Norman Tabachnik assisted authorities and wrote in their final report: "Miss Monroe had suffered from psychiatric disturbance for a long time. She experienced severe fears and frequent depressions. Mood changes were abrupt and unpredictable. Among symptoms of disorganization, sleep disturbance was prominent, for which she had been taking sedative drugs for many years."
They added: "She was thus familiar with and experienced in the use of sedative drugs and well aware of their dangers... In our investigation we have learned that Miss Monroe had often expressed wishes to give up, to withdraw, and even to die. On more than one occasion in the past, she had made a suicide attempt, using sedative drugs. On these occasions, she had called for help and had been rescued. It is our opinion that the same pattern was repeated on the evening of Aug. 3 except for the rescue. It has been our practice with similar information collected in other cases in the past to recommend a certification for such deaths as probable suicide."
Lingering Doubts and Conspiracy Theories
Noguchi was troubled that a full toxicology report was never conducted, as the levels of pentobarbital and chloral hydrate in her system "were fatal". He wondered: "Was there a chance that she was murdered?" and "Was he a pawn in a coverup?" He found no residue from the sleeping pills in her stomach during the initial internal examination, prompting questions about how the drugs entered her system. Decades later, he still has doubts about the initial ruling.
Speculation has gone on for decades, with conspiracy theories suggesting murder, even by the CIA or the Kennedys. In 1982, Los Angeles County District Attorney John Van de Kap launched an investigation to determine whether a criminal probe should be opened, but no evidence of foul play was found.
