Kill Marilyn. Secrets That Kill: Hollywood Under the Rule of the Elite

© Valeria V. Miller, 2025

ISBN 978-5-0068-0486-9

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Valeria V. Miller is an independent publicist and researcher of 20th-century mysteries. Her work focuses on exposing the hidden mechanisms of power, conspiracies, and the fates of individuals whose lives and deaths became intertwined with the interests of the elite. Her book on Marilyn Monroe is part of a larger series of investigations in which facts and documents speak louder than myths

“Kill Marilyn” – The Secret Life of a Star Behind the Smile

Valeria V. Miller’s new book reveals what official Hollywood chronicles have kept silent. For the first time, unknown details of Marilyn Monroe’s autopsy are published, along with new evidence of her connections with John F. Kennedy and the circle that simultaneously admired and controlled her life. Discover how the Hollywood legend ended up in absolute solitude, despite fame, wealth, and the attention of the most powerful people in the country. Every page is a journey to the truth about the short but brilliant life of a woman whose secrets and elite connections continue to astonish historians and journalists. This book is not just a biography. It is an investigation that overturns the perception of Marilyn Monroe and reveals what really happened behind the closed doors of the White House and Hollywood.

The Death Laid in Bed

“We didn’t recognize her. This wasn’t the star from the posters. She looked like someone who had been through hell.”

– Allan Abbott, funeral director

Los Angeles, August 4, 1962. The house on Fifth Helena Drive was bathed in the soft glow of lamps; the shadows fell crookedly, as if shaped by fear. Marilyn Monroe walked through the rooms in a long cream-colored robe, without makeup. She wasn’t smiling – and that alone was unusual. The only one nearby was her housekeeper, Eunice Murray. Murray claimed that at 8:00 p.m. the actress had wished “to be alone.” But later she would admit that all evening she heard men’s voices by the door. Something was happening, but no one came in through the front entrance.

At 9:00 p.m., Marilyn’s phone line was busy. For a long time. At that hour she was speaking either with Joe DiMaggio Jr. or with Peter Lawford – actor and brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy. Lawford would later confess that she sounded strange: “as if she were saying goodbye, quiet and incoherent, asking me to say farewell to the President as well.” With sadness, he added: “That was her suicide note.” According to the official version, she took forty Nembutal tablets. But the next morning there was no vomiting, no traces in the stomach, no glass of water. The liver was completely “empty” – almost no poison was found there. Which means she hadn’t swallowed it. It was administered to her.

Night. Around 11:30 p.m. At that time, black cars without license plates appeared in her neighborhood. Witnesses from the house next door claimed they saw two unknown men arrive. One “looked like Robert Kennedy,” the other was a silent bodyguard. They heard a woman screaming. Then silence. Later, private detective Fred Otash, hired to keep watch, would say that on that evening Robert Kennedy had indeed flown into Los Angeles – despite his official alibi. He was accompanied by security officers and was in the Brentwood area.

Question: what is the Attorney General of the United States doing at night in the house of his brother’s lover, just hours before her death?

Around midnight, psychiatrist Ralph Greenson, according to the official version, was called to the house. He found Marilyn in bed. Dead. Lying face down. But the body looked deliberately arranged. No panic. This was not a suicide. It was a scene. A theater. Someone had placed her that way. Someone wanted us to see her exactly like that.

August 5, 3:30 a.m. The police were finally called. Hours after her death. Why? The housekeeper would later say she had “hesitated.” Greenson – that he “feared a scandal.” The ambulance arrived too late. But paramedic James Hall, one of the first on the scene, would later testify under oath: “She was still warm. Possibly alive.” This witness was fired. The second paramedic disappeared. As did the audio recordings made in the house that night. The official ruling: “Probable suicide by barbiturate overdose.” But just a day before her death, Marilyn told a friend: “If anything happens to me, it won’t be me. It will be them.”

“When I saw her body, I didn’t recognize her at first. There was nothing left of Marilyn.”

– Allan Abbott, funeral director who prepared the body for burial.

When she was found, Marilyn lay face down, her naked body covered with a blanket, in a “soldier’s pose”: arms straight at her sides, the body arranged as if it had been placed, not collapsed in agony. And this is where the strangeness begins. When Marilyn Monroe’s body was delivered to the Los Angeles County morgue on August 5, 1962, the first to see it were employees of the Westwood Village Mortuary. One of them, Allan Abbott, years later described a scene that sent chills through him:

“Her face was blotched. The skin gray. Her hair dirty, tangled. She had no teeth. We literally had to reconstruct her face so that the family could say goodbye.”

“We didn’t recognize her. This wasn’t the star from the posters. She looked like someone who had been through hell.”

– Allan Abbott, funeral director

What were those blotches? Why was she missing teeth? What happened to Marilyn Monroe’s body in the final hours of her life? In the pathologist’s report by Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the blotches are not described in detail. This is alarming: the report focuses on the condition of internal organs, the stomach, and the blood, but barely mentions her face. Yet the funeral team described purple and dark marks on her face, neck, and shoulders. These could be postmortem lividity (livor mortis), which appears a few hours after death when blood settles in the lower parts of the body. But they could also be bruises and contusions, if one assumes Monroe was physically assaulted. Injection marks – if the drug was administered forcibly – could also account for blotches from subcutaneous injections in the neck or face.

“The livor mortis marks were in unusual places for a person found lying face down. This led some experts to question the actual position in which she died,” wrote journalist Donald Spoto in his book Marilyn Monroe: The Biography.

According to Abbott’s testimony, Marilyn wore removable dental prosthetics. At the time of her death, she had no natural teeth. Why? Most likely due to her dependence on barbiturates and amphetamines – substances that cause dry mouth and accelerate enamel decay. It’s possible Monroe removed her dentures before going to bed, as many people do, and death caught her in that state. But there’s another possibility: a blow to the face (for example, a fist or blunt object) could have dislodged the dentures. In any case, at the autopsy she was toothless, with tangled, dirty hair, and her face was deformed, sunken, with collapsed cheeks. The funeral staff later admitted that they had to use cotton, makeup, and plastic inserts to reconstruct a recognizable likeness of Monroe. There were also obvious signs of trauma. Although the official version claims a barbiturate overdose, many details suggest otherwise: the unusual distribution of postmortem lividity, visible blotches and bruises on the face, neck, shoulder, and back; the lack of stomach contents despite the alleged ingestion of 40 pills (which is impossible if taken orally). Theories arose that Monroe was strangled and her body then positioned to stage an overdose. Some researchers suggest she may have been administered a lethal dose via rectal or intramuscular injection – something pathologist Noguchi mentioned in his later interviews.

Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the young pathologist who conducted the autopsy, admitted in his memoirs in the 1980s:

“I could not find any traces of capsules in the stomach. It was strange. There weren’t even remnants… Yet the level of the substance in the liver was lethal. This is impossible without an injection or rectal administration.”

Monroe was always obsessively careful about her appearance. Even in a drugged trance, she would never allow herself to look unkempt. That’s why the tangled, greasy, seemingly “unwashed” hair noted by the morgue staff is alarming. It looked as if she had been held somewhere without access to a bathroom, without care. As if she had spent at least a full day in confinement before her death. This contradicts the official story of “she stepped out of the shower, took the pills, and went to bed.” No bath, no fresh styling – just a dirty head, sweat, and grime. For Monroe, this would have been a symbol of catastrophe. The autopsy recorded postmortem lividity, but witnesses described dark areas on the face, neck, and chest resembling bruises. These could be from blows, from strangulation causing blood to pool in the skin, or from pressure and struggle. Could she have been beaten or restrained, forced to say something? Certainly.

“The one who stands beside the dying is either a savior or an executioner.”

Marilyn’s psychoanalyst, Dr. Ralph Greenson, was closely involved in her personal life. He often violated professional boundaries, showing up unannounced, supposedly “treating” her with words, while simultaneously collaborating with her physician, Hyman Engelberg, who prescribed the strongest medications. Greenson was the last person to see her alive – and the first to declare her dead. According to one version, he arrived at the house earlier than he claimed and was present that night when everything happened. He and housekeeper Eunice Murray gave coordinated but contradictory statements – first saying the door was locked, then that they saw light under the door, then that they knocked but could not get in. Their accounts changed over the course of the investigation.

“I don’t remember exactly when the doctor arrived… Everything was like a fog.”

– Eunice Murray, during questioning

And now – the key point: the injection mark. In 1962, pathologist Thomas Noguchi noted the absence of capsules in the stomach. This confirms that the barbiturate was not swallowed. There was also no puncture in the arm or vein. But there was a faint mark near the heart, which, according to one theory, could indicate a cardiac injection – an intracardiac shot (rare, but possible in emergency medicine).

“An injection into the heart? But why – if the person was already dead? This isn’t an attempt to save, it’s an intervention,”

the pathologist commented in the 1980s.

If Greenson saw that she was in critical condition – why didn’t he call an ambulance? Why, instead, did he allegedly administer an injection himself? Or… did he give a shot that didn’t save, but finished her?

Greenson was not just a doctor. He was close to the Kennedy circle. According to unverified reports, he may have been instructed as Monroe’s overseer. He was supposed to ensure she didn’t lose control. But if she went out of control – he could have been the executor of a sentence passed by the elite. Did he have the means and resources? Yes. He was a physician. He had access to the drugs. He could administer a lethal dose via enema or injection under the guise of aid. He knew that afterward it would be recorded as an overdose. And he was the first to tell the police: “She committed suicide.”

“He came into the house and everything was already prepared. He knew what to do,”

the actress’s housekeeper recalled later, when asked how the doctor behaved that night.

The hand that administered the poison had to be medically competent, have access to the body, and raise no suspicion. Capable of passing off a killing as “assistance” or a “delayed reaction.” All of this points to Dr. Ralph Greenson. He may not have been the one who ordered it, but he could have been the executor – the one who delivered the final dose. The one who did not save her. The one who knew how to kill – and how to disguise it as treatment. When someone dies under suspicious circumstances, investigators always look at who first “found” the body and who first gave testimony. Dr. Ralph Greenson is exactly that person. And his behavior immediately after Marilyn’s death raises many troubling questions. According to his version, he arrived at the house that night when called by housekeeper Eunice Murray. But in other accounts, he was already in the house beforehand, or even at the moment of the actress’s death.

At first he stated: “I arrived after a call from Murray and found her already dead.” Then he changed his account: “I was there all evening. She was in a depressed state. Then I left.” But later he said: “Murray and I tried to open the door to her bedroom, and then I saw the body.”

Different sources give different times for the doctor’s arrival—10:30 p.m., midnight, 3:00 a.m. There is no single version confirmed by all witnesses. Eunice Murray also constantly changed her story – likely in collusion with him. Officially, the call was logged around 4:25 a.m. But Greenson was in the house much earlier. Why didn’t he call immediately if he saw Marilyn unconscious? Moreover, he called her treating physician, Dr. Engelberg, rather than the ambulance. This behavior is extremely odd for someone who supposedly found a dead patient and wanted to save her life. All logic suggests he was stalling for time.

“He seemed as if he was waiting for something. Or someone. Before calling the police,”

from unofficial notes by investigator James Hall.

When the police arrived, the doctor did not behave like a flustered physician who had just discovered a patient’s body, but like someone controlling the scene. He immediately suggested suicide, even though official medical personnel had not yet conducted an examination.

“He was almost dictating to the police what to write. The idea of an overdose didn’t come from us, it came from him,”

recalled police officer Joe Hill.

On different days, Greenson said: that “she had taken the pills” – yet the autopsy showed no capsules. That “her door was locked” – but the housekeeper said the door was open. That “the body lay on the bed in a specific position” – but there are no photos of that position, and the body was likely moved. He also claimed the body was still warm, yet forensic experts later determined she had been dead at least six hours before their arrival. If Dr. Greenson had truly only wanted to help, his behavior would have been straightforward and logical: an urgent call to the ambulance, immediate resuscitation, clear explanations. Instead, he stalled for time and did not call for help. Then he changed his statements, guiding investigators toward the version he wanted. Greenson provided questionable details that were later contradicted by the autopsy. This is not the behavior of a doctor. This is the behavior of someone participating in a staged scenario.

After Marilyn Monroe’s death, Dr. Ralph Greenson did not disappear from public view. He did not retreat into the shadows, as an innocent physician shocked by a patient’s death might; on the contrary, he began giving interviews, appearing in the press, and… increasingly contradicted himself, raising even more suspicion. In an interview with The Psychiatric Times in 1963, Greenson stated:

“She was like a glass vase on a cliff – beautiful, trembling. I felt that someone wanted to destroy her. I felt she was surrounded by people who were using her. I tried to protect her.”

At first glance – sympathy. But who were these “people”? He never named names or even hinted at them. The journalist who interviewed him later admitted that part of the conversation had been removed at Greenson’s own request, supposedly because “it could harm important people.”

“He stopped the recording when the conversation turned to the Kennedys. He said, ‘I must not talk about this,’”

– journalist B.H.

In another interview he gave in 1967, he claimed:

“She spoke about Robert, but she had no emotional connection with him. I don’t think he loved her. And she… she wanted love.”

But by 1972, in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, he suddenly stated:

“I never saw Robert Kennedy in her house. That’s fiction. She simply idealized him.”

These statements not only contradict each other but also directly conflict with witness accounts, which placed Robert Kennedy in Marilyn’s house the day before her death – and even reported hearing screams. Ralph Greenson was not merely Marilyn’s psychoanalyst. He moved in Los Angeles’s privileged circles, serving the elite, including lawyers, politicians, and media executives. Through these clients, he was indirectly connected to Robert Kennedy. Some investigators (such as Fred Otash) claimed that Greenson was aware of Robert Kennedy’s visit to Marilyn’s house on August 4, 1962. Moreover, there are unverified reports that Greenson was the one who informed Robert about the actress’s condition that evening.

“He could have been an intermediary. He could have been the one who gave the signal for her elimination. Or the one who watched the order being carried out,”

wrote journalist Anthony Summers in 1985.

Greenson never condemned the Kennedys, neither publicly nor in private conversations. Even when all evidence pointed to the family’s involvement in the tragedy, he steadfastly defended their honor. It’s clear he knew more than he admitted. He always avoided direct answers when Robert Kennedy was mentioned. His interviews are full of contradictions – first claiming the Kennedys were present, then saying they were not. He remained silent on parts of the events, citing “ethics,” yet allowed himself to comment on the actress’s intimate life. His social circle intersected with the Kennedy clan, and he could have been serving their interests. If this was a staged scenario, Dr. Greenson played a significant role. His contradictory statements, public lyrical interviews, and refusal to answer key questions directly all resemble the behavior of someone living with a secret. And that secret was Marilyn’s death.

Quotes from Dr. Greenson about Marilyn Monroe: 1963, private interview for a medical seminar in Beverly Hills:

“She was a sexual addict. Men were like a drug to her. If she didn’t arouse them, she felt she didn’t exist.”

“She had almost no intellect. She was an actress of the body, not the mind. Her brain was like that of a sixteen-year-old girl, but with a woman’s body.”

– testimony of Dr. Arnold Goldman, participant of the seminar. Records published in 1995.

1966, Psychological Profiles of Public Icons magazine.

“She manipulated men as if she had slept with each of them – even when she hadn’t. Her power lay in making them believe she was already theirs.”

– article edited by R. Greenson, part of materials from a psychoanalytic conference.

1972, interview with the French newspaper Le Monde.

“She slept with anyone who promised her protection. It didn’t matter who it was – Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller, or Robert Kennedy. She made no distinctions.”

“I told her, ‘You are losing your boundaries. You are not a woman – you are a symbol, and you enjoy it.’ She laughed. She liked it.”

The full interview was later removed from the newspaper’s website following complaints from lawyers. 1976, private conversation with colleagues at a symposium in Los Angeles (transcript made public only in 2002):

“She said she had twelve abortions. I’m not sure if that’s true, but she spoke of it without any emotion.”

“She called sex ‘the cheapest way to get warmth.’ This wasn’t a star speaking – it was a psychotic orphan.”

– American Psychoanalytic Association archives, symposium protocol.

This is not merely about medical assessments, but about crude, humiliating, almost sadistic characterizations that he shared after Marilyn’s death. Instead of protecting her dignity, he exposed her intimate vulnerabilities to the public, twisting and embellishing them as if to justify himself, shift blame onto her, or… humiliate her retroactively, as though exacting revenge. Such rhetoric resembles the monologue of a perpetrator, not a physician. For two months after Marilyn’s death, he secluded himself and refused to see patients. He did not leave the house without his wife, spoke of “possible surveillance,” and drank whiskey every evening, despite previously abstaining from alcohol.

“He whispered: ‘They will come for me,’ ‘I knew they were using me,’”

– testimony of his wife, Hilda Greenson, in letters to a friend.

According to his sister, after Marilyn’s death, he refused to use the phone – insisting that calls be made only to the city line – and claimed that his mirror was “watching” him. He repeatedly nailed shut gaps in the windows so that he could “not be seen.” He muttered that “dots were blinking’ in the windows. I was afraid to leave him alone,” – from his sister’s personal diary, 1963. Greenson increasingly resembled a psychiatrist descending into madness. One night, Hilda awoke to the smell of burning paper. She found Ralph at the fireplace – burning notebooks. Later he claimed that “there was nothing important” in those diaries, yet several of his colleagues remembered that he had recorded nearly every session with Marilyn there for almost three years. In the 1970s, one of his psychoanalyst friends, Dr. Harold Winter, suggested that Greenson undergo a “reverse therapeutic session” to relieve anxiety. He agreed, but at the first mention of the name “Marilyn,” he abruptly stood up and left the room, refusing to continue.

When UCLA gained access to part of his archives in the 1980s, it was discovered that several pages had been torn from the 1962 notebooks, and the dates in the entries did not match – especially during the week of Marilyn’s death. In his “official version,” the session with her ended at 7:00 p.m. on August 4, but neighbors claimed he left her much later, closer to midnight. By 1974, Greenson was already suffering from panic attacks, undergoing treatment for alcohol dependency, and experiencing insomnia and hallucinations. He stopped practicing and moved from Beverly Hills to a secluded house in Malibu.

“He was devastated. As if someone had been holding him by the throat all these years and never let go. I do not rule out that he felt guilt – either for not saving her, or for becoming part of something much larger and darker.”

– Dr. Leo Rankin

Before his death in 1979, Greenson requested that no public memorials be held and that all his personal letters be destroyed.

Yvonne Murray was also in Marilyn’s house on August 4, 1962—and she was supposedly the first to “sense that something was wrong” that night. According to her version, she went to bed around 10:00 p.m., then awoke at 3:00 a.m. feeling uneasy. She approached Marilyn’s door and called out, but there was no answer. Seeing light under the door, she realized something was wrong and summoned Dr. Greenson. Yet by 1963, she inadvertently revealed more. In a BBC interview, she let slip that someone else had been in the house that night. When pressed by the journalist, she admitted:

“Of course, Robert Kennedy was there… Ah, I shouldn’t have said that.”

– Yvonne Murray, BBC Panorama interview, 1985 (cut from the broadcast but preserved on tapes).

In one interrogation, she said she “went to bed at 10:00 p.m.,” while in another, she claimed she “talked to Marilyn until midnight.” She insisted that the bedroom door was locked, but staff later stated that there was no lock at all. She said Dr. Greenson broke a window to enter, yet the police found no signs of forced entry. At first, she said Marilyn was lying face down; later she claimed she “was lying on her back, calm, as if asleep.” None of her accounts matched the official report. She constantly contradicted herself, lied, or nervously deflected questions.