RED flags surrounding the scene of Marilyn Monroe’s death have been raised by a cold case investigator as he questions law enforcement’s initial handling of the 1962 case.
The Hollywood icon’s death has been met with years of speculation as some believe she may not have intentionally taken her life.
Marilyn Monroe’s death was ruled a probable suicide after she was found dead with an empty pill bottle nearby in August 1962Credit: Getty
Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator, broke down some red flags he noticed about the scene of Marilyn’s deathCredit: Getty
Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator who worked on solving dozens of cases in California and held a pivotal role in uncovering the Golden State Killer, has taken a look into Marilyn’s death, raising concerns about authorities handling at the time.
“I was aware of how she died — a 𝒹𝓇𝓊𝑔 overdose ruled a probable suicide, but I knew very few details about it until I started digging into this case,” he told Fox News Digital in a report published on Monday.
Marilyn was found dead on August 4, 1962, at the age of 36, lying naked in her bed with a telephone receiving dangling from her hand as an empty bottle of 50 Nembutal capsules, sat nearby.
Nembutal is a prescription sedative used to treat insomnia.
No note was found and officials ruled her death a probable suicide from a barbiturate overdose.
Holes said a lot of the questions surrounding her death come down to “how poorly her death scene was documented and processed by investigating authorities back in 1962, leaving questions unanswered that could have been answered if they had done things properly.”
“The first red flag, of course, was the lack of documentation,” he said.
“There are very few photos of the death scene.
“However, even with the one photograph that exists, showing her dead in her own bed, my eyes, based on my experience and expertise, immediately picked out inconsistencies, such as the sheets being [clean and] perfect.
“She’s arranged on the bed in such a way that it doesn’t look like an overdose [to me].”
Holes said the pill bottles found “on this tiny little nightstand next to her head were all perfectly arranged.”
The investigator also pointed out how all of the labels were facing in the right direction, “including the most notable pill bottle, this Nembutal.”
Empty pill bottles were found in Marilyn’s bedroomCredit: Getty
A photo taken of Marilyn’s bedroom where she was found dead in August 1962Credit: Getty
“It was a prescription that had been filled two days before for 50 capsules of this barbiturate, and it was empty. It was perfectly set on that nightstand with the lid on.
“People who are going to ingest that number of pills at once don’t typically take that kind of care to tidy up before they lie down on the bed.
“It’s what I call an inconsistency,” he told Fox.
“Anytime you see an inconsistency, you have to stop and start questioning, ‘Am I seeing things the right way, or is there something more going on here?’”
Holes noted that while it was known Marilyn struggled with her mental health throughout her lifetime, he believes nobody would stage a suicide to “look like a better suicide.”
“And one of the contradictions that I think is very notable is that, two days before she is found dead, a prescription for Nembutal is used.
“This is a fast-acting 𝒹𝓇𝓊𝑔. It’s used in euthanasia to this day. Fifty capsules were picked up two days prior.
“All of those are gone, empty pill bottle on the nightstand, yet she doesn’t have these capsules or evidence of these capsules in her stomach.”
While no barbiturate residue was found in Marilyn’s stomach, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office concluded that there may have been sufficient time for the drugs to have absorbed into her liver and bloodstream.
If that was the case, it would explain why the medical examiner didn’t find any residue in her stomach, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Speculation surrounding the star’s death caused the investigation to be reopened in 1982, but officials found there was no evidence to support the theory of criminal involvement.
Holes is working with senior crime scene analyst Alina Burroughs and true crime reporter Kiki Monique in TMZ’s new Celebrity Crime Scene: Marilyn Monroe show to utilize modern technology to give another look at Marilyn’s death scene.
They used artificial intelligence to recreate the scene, giving Holes the chance to look at what it looked like in 1962 when the Los Angeles Police Department first arrived at her home.
“This case, from a forensic standpoint, is done. There isn’t anything that exists today that we can do from a science standpoint, but assessing the investigative avenues could still be pursued,” he said.
“I’ll just say, in 1962, the LAPD should have approached this differently then,” Holes told Fox News Digital.
“They did not abide by standard procedures. … You always go to the conservative side and investigate it as a homicide until we prove it’s not a homicide. … Today, that’s the way things should be done.
“It suggests that when you start looking at how well-resourced and experienced the LAPD is, why did they drop the ball in Marilyn Monroe’s case?
“Seems like there’s possibly some influence to cause them to look the other way and just write this thing off and make the assumption it’s suicide.”
