Trigger Warning: This article mentions graphic details about drugs, suicide and death
Hollywood’s timeless icon and curvy queen, Marilyn Monroe, needs no introduction. The ’90s superstar would have been 99 years old today if she were alive. Monroe was found dead in her Brentwood, California, home on August 4, 1962, at the age of 36.
After her sad death, under circumstances officially attributed to a drug overdose (acute barbiturate and chloral hydrate poisoning), gossip about her body’s disappearance added another layer of mystery to her life. In the new book ‘L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood,’ Anne Soon Choi talks about Marilyn Monroe’s post-mortem details.
On this day in 1962, the world found out Marilyn Monroe had died last night. Rest in Peace beautiful. We miss you pic.twitter.com/j3L0zSX90U
— Keya Morgan (@KeyaMorgan) August 5, 2016
As per The Mirror, her death was connected to her alleged affairs with former president John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert F. Kennedy, whose autopsy was also performed by Dr. Thomas Noguchi. Shockingly, her body was found naked, lying face down on her bed with her arm outstretched as her hand rested on a phone nearby.
Pills were found near her bedside table, which included the sleep medication Nembutal, which she was prescribed two days before she passed. As per the outlet, “Noguchi slowly pulled the sheet back to discover the body of Marilyn Monroe. The starlet. The most beautiful woman in the world.”
“He was momentarily paralyzed in disbelief. It really was her.” As the report mentioned overdose, Noguchi examined every inch of her body with a magnifying glass to search for needle marks that would indicate the injection of drugs… He found none. “Moreover, Nembutal also noted the fresh bruises on her hip and lower back and the cyanosis that cast a bluish tinge to her skin.”
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After the detailed autopsy, the doctor said that Marilyn Monroe’s untimely death was due to an overdose of sleeping pills and a disturbed mental state. Though her death was determined to be a suicide, a full toxicology report was never completed since “the levels of pentobarbital and chloral hydrate were fatal.”
Thomas Noguchi questioned the lack of a proper toxicology report, which made Thomas Noguchi worried as he questioned, “Was there a chance that she was murdered?” and “Was he a pawn in a coverup?” (via The Mirror). Soon after the autopsy report, details were made public and several theories began to circulate everywhere. Some theories included that the “CIA assassinated her, and the Kennedys had her killed.”
Many of her fans also viewed Marilyn Monroe’s death as a planned cover-up due to the lack of scientific evidence. What made Monroe’s death more like a murder was that, despite being officially attributed to a drug overdose, no pills were found in her stomach or small intestine during the physical examination.
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As one of the biggest icons of the 20th century, Marilyn Monroe’s magnetic screen presence shone in classics like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and Some Like It Hot (1959). But the constant public pressure results in a slow downfall. Considered a sex symbol in the 90s, she was often a victim of the male gaze.
With her tumultuous personal relationships, her career began to decline. Hollywood historian Bill Birnes revealed on “The Killing of Marilyn Monroe” that Monroe was deeply in love with the president. However, when she learned that he didn’t return her affection, she threatened to make her affair with Kennedy and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, public.
Additionally, sources claim her alleged affair with President John F. Kennedy, which began in March 1962, ended after her iconic performance of Happy Birthday for him on May 29, 1962, during his 45th birthday celebration. Reportedly, his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, issued an ultimatum that finally brought the affair to a close. Kennedy was assassinated a year after Monroe died, in 1963, in Dallas.
