About Me - Brutal Awkening

I was born in California and spent thirty years working as a private investigator. I am also a CEO with expertise in security and executive protection, and I have long served as an advocate for victims. Ten years ago, I relocated to Las Cruces, New Mexico, where I have continued my investigative work alongside my writing.

I have provided security for high-profile figures such as Sharon and Kelly Osborne, Chaz Bono, Molly Ringwald, Queen Latifah, Randy Quaid, and Margaret Cho. 

I  have been involved in security and executive protection at prestigious events like the Golden Globes, the Academy Awards, and more. Additionally, I was a member of several organizations, including The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, The National Center for LGBTQ Rights the California Association of Licensed Investigators, The Doris Tate Crime Bureau, Citizens Against Homicide, Peace Over Violence, The National Center for Victims of Crime, Project Sister, and The Doris Day Animal Foundation. 

People often ask whether being a private investigator is fun and glamorous. Fun? At times, absolutely. Glamorous? Not really—unless, of course, you are a Hollywood P.I.

As a child, I was relentlessly curious, always paying attention to things I probably should not have noticed at such a young age. I saw and overheard more than most children do. Playing spy was my favorite game, though I never imagined it would someday become my profession.

The news offers a filtered glimpse of the world’s darker side, but nothing compares to witnessing it firsthand. I have seen young boys using drugs and drinking alcohol before school. I have observed sexual acts carried out openly—by homeless individuals on the street and by cheating spouses in parked cars. I have stood in phone booths while intoxicated strangers relieved themselves nearby, unaware or unconcerned that I was there. Some cases—particularly those involving child abuse or deeply disturbing behavior—left me so shaken that I cried myself to sleep.

Even my vehicle has not been immune. During surveillance, people have spat on it, smeared mayonnaise across the windows, thrown objects, deflated my tires, and even attempted to steal it while I was inside. Once, two men leaned against my van and bragged about manipulating women with false declarations of love to get sex. Every instinct told me to confront them, but preserving my cover always came first.

These experiences have tested my faith and patience in ways I never anticipated. Many times, I have had to ask God for the strength not to take justice into my own hands. Through it all, I came to appreciate life’s simplest blessings: green grass, quiet streets, clean air, domestic animals, wildlife, and genuinely kind people.

Why stay in a profession that exposes you to so much darkness? Justice. I have the privilege of helping victims and survivors find answers, uncovering the truth, and holding dishonest people accountable. For those who feel lost or powerless, I can offer clarity, direction, and support.

Not every day is grim. Surveillance has also given me a front-row seat to the beauty of the world—crows demonstrating remarkable intelligence, squirrels darting with purpose, dogs and cats wandering freely, and breathtaking landscapes stretching across deserts, mountains, and coastlines. I was once even attacked by peacocks in Mendocino County, California—an occupational hazard I never anticipated.

Being a female private investigator comes with advantages. People rarely suspect me. Security guards open gates with a smile. Children and adults alike confide in me because I appear approachable, often dressed in Disney-themed clothing rather than something intimidating.

My work took on an unexpected level of public attention when Kirby Dick and Eddie Schmidt of Chain Camera hired me to investigate the Motion Picture Association of America’s rating system (MPAA). At first, I did not fully grasp the magnitude of what I was stepping into. The deeper I went, the more disturbed I became. The Classification and Rating Administration routinely rated extreme violence more favorably than something as innocent as two fully clothed women kissing.

As a lesbian, a mother, and a rape survivor, I found this deeply troubling. What message does that send to our children—that violence is more acceptable than love? The bias extended further, with gay and lesbian films consistently rated more harshly than their heterosexual counterparts. That injustice strengthened my resolve to expose the truth.

The experience forced me to reflect on the concept of “normal.” What defines a normal family? Some may not see my life with Cheryl and our family as fitting a traditional mold, yet we raised two remarkable children and now cherish our grandchildren. To me, family is defined by unconditional love, understanding, and showing up for one another. Embracing who I truly am allowed me to find the happiness I had long deserved—happiness grounded in love and sustained by faith.

As I continue my work—whether uncovering deception or helping someone heal from betrayal—I remain grateful. This career has shown me humanity at its worst, but it has also taught me to cherish everything I have. None of it would have been possible without Cheryl and God by my side.

I have been in a loving relationship for thirty-five years. Together, we are helping raise our grandson and granddaughter, a source of immense joy in my life. I recently self-published a children’s book, Oolygalees, co-authored with my granddaughter. I am currently completing my novel, Brutal Awakening, with two additional children’s books and my grandfather’s story, Kid from Hell’s Kitchen, planned next.

Brutal Awakening is both a personal reckoning and a broader examination of power, silence, and survival—offering readers an intimate, uncompromising perspective from someone who lived the reality behind the headlines.

My manuscript weaves together my personal history with the stories of my cases over the past thirty years. These include investigations involving domestic violence, child abuse, rape survivors, murder, terrorism, and kidnapping, as well as work within the entertainment industry. Notable cases and professional associations include Randy Quaid, Marilyn Monroe’s assistant Pat Newcomb, comic-book legend Stan Lee, producer David G. Riggs, the exposure of the MPAA through the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated, and my longtime friend Peter F. Paul.

Brutal Awkening is both a personal reckoning and a broader examination of power, silence, and survival—offering readers an intimate, uncompromising perspective from someone who lived the reality behind the headlines.

Why James Patterson Believes Marilyn Monroe Was Murdered

I’ve read about yet another book repeating the same claims about Marilyn Monroe, and I genuinely cannot understand why people continue to buy and read them. James Patterson has just published a new book asserting that Marilyn Monroe was murdered, but this is hardly new information. Many authors before him have made the same claim for decades. His book adds nothing original—it simply recycles theories that have already been published countless times. When are they going to stop?

James Edward McClure - The Monster Who Came Back Into My Life- excerpts from my book

It was Easter 1988, and my husband Russ was overseas. We had just moved into the brand-new officers' housing at Camp Pendleton, where the ocean greeted us each time we stepped into the room. Only a few months had passed when Russ deployed for six months. It was the first time I had ever lived alone.

Still, I loved where we lived. Our home sat at the end of a cul-de-sac with only six houses. Just outside our door was a small park where Kevin could play, though I rarely saw anyone else.

That Easter morning, Kevin and I were excitedly driving to the city park, where our family gathered each year to celebrate. The sun streamed into the car, casting everything in a golden glow, while the sky stretched endlessly blue above us.

We arrived at a small park—simple yet inviting—with a few scattered trees, picnic tables, and a modest playground buzzing with kids. My relatives had already claimed a table beneath a large oak tree.

As we parked, the cheerful sounds of laughter swirled around us, blending with the mouthwatering aroma of roasted chicken drifting through the air.

“It was a good idea for us to come today,” I said to Kevin, smiling as we walked toward the gathering.

I settled beside my mom, content to soak in the warmth of the moment—laughter, chatter, the sight of children running wild. Eventually, the food made its rounds, and to my surprise, I had an appetite. I ate heartily for the first time in what felt like ages. Afterward, my mom wandered off while I relaxed in the breeze, sharing stories and laughter with family, my eyes always drifting to Kevin as he played on the grass nearby.

Amidst the chaos of play, Kevin suddenly broke away from his cousins and began walking toward me. I smiled at him—until I noticed something behind him.

A figure in the distance.

At first, just a silhouette against the sun. But as he approached, the shape grew clearer: a man in Levi’s and a red short-sleeve shirt. My stomach clenched.

The way he carried himself—the broad shoulders, the confident stride—I knew it before I could stop myself from knowing.

No. Not here. Not today.

But as he stepped closer, the impossible became real.

Jim McClure.

My cousin. The man who had molested and raped me as a child—and not just me. He had violated others, leaving a trail of shattered lives. Now he stood before me as if no time had passed, as if nothing had happened.

“Hello,” he said casually, like we were old friends. Like he wasn’t a monster.

I froze.

Panic exploded inside me. Without a word, I grabbed Kevin and turned away. My vision blurred as sunlight pierced my tears. I walked fast, breathing hard, trying to escape the weight of memory that had crashed down on me.

Then, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I flinched, my whole body bracing.

Was it him?

I turned.

It was my mom.

“Why are you acting this way? You didn’t even say hello to Jim!” she remarked, confusion painting her face.

I was taken aback, my silence profound as I struggled to comprehend her words. 

“You should treat him better; he's a nice person who has paid for his mistakes. The years have changed him. He's truly sorry for what he did,” she continued, her voice dripping like a child.

Disgust surged within me, and I started walking away again. Mom hurried after me, her voice unwavering.

“Listen to me, Becky! We’ve talked since his release. He mentioned how you and he played together when you were young."

I stopped short, battling to find my voice as rage and humiliation closed in. My cheeks burned with shame. How could my own mother misunderstand everything so completely?

“I think it's sweet that you had a childhood crush on him. There's no need for guilt, honey.”

But my frustration finally erupted. 

BECKY

“I... NEVER... HAD... A... CRUSH... ON... HIM... MOM! THE... TRUTH... IS... JIM... MOLESTED... AND... RAPED... ME... THROUGHOUT... MY... CHILDHOOD... AND... I... AM... AFRAID... OF... HIM!”

Her reaction was startlingly dismissive.

“If that makes you feel better to say that,” she said flatly.

“When did he get out of prison? Where is he staying? I need to know where to avoid.”

“He’s staying with me. He has nowhere else to go.”

The weight of her words crashed over me like a wave of betrayal.

“Well then, I guess you’re the one I need to stay away from.”

“Becky, you’re being ridiculous. When are you going to grow up?”

I turned away from her, my heart heavy with sorrow and frustration. I grabbed Kevin’s hand, and we walked to the car, leaving my mother behind—both physically and, in many ways, emotionally.

As we drove off, I glanced in the rearview mirror. There she was, standing with Jim, talking to him like nothing had ever happened—as if he hadn’t shattered my childhood. Their casual proximity sent a chill through me. I turned my eyes back to the road, my grip tightening on the steering wheel.

When we got home, I took Kevin to the playground. He deserved normalcy—laughter, sunlight, a few moments of joy. I sat on one of the empty benches, my body still, but my mind spinning. The breeze moved softly through the trees, the swing chains creaked gently, and for a moment, it almost felt calm.

But inside, I was unraveling.

I began drinking heavily again. It was the only thing that dulled the pain, the betrayal, the shame that clung to me like a second skin. I felt completely alone. There was no one I could talk to. Russ was far away, and even if he’d been closer, it wouldn’t have mattered.

When I told him what Jim had done to me as a child, he got upset—not at Jim, but at me, as if I had done something wrong. Like I was the one who should have been ashamed.

Would you like to continue from here? We could explore what pulled me out of that dark place—or go deeper into the isolation and the resilience it took to survive it.

--To Be Continued!--

Was Dorothy Kilgallen Murdered?

Dorthy Kilgallen was a Journalist, game-show panelist, wife, mother.  Investigator of the Kennedy assassination, a friend of Frank Sinatra and confidante of Johnnie Ray, Dorothy Kilgallen was as enigmatic as she was versatile.  What exactly did she know about Jack Ruby?  And how did she die?

Kilgallen was born in Chicago on July 3, 1913. Her father was a newspaperman--she had reported in her blood. Therefore, it didn't take her long to decide on the life of a reporter as at least her first career. She left college--the College of New Rochelle--to work for a Hearst paper, the New York Evening Journal. She ventured out to Hollywood and penned a column out there briefly, then returned to New York, where she began her column "The Voice of Broadway" in Hearst's New York Journal American. This column would be a mainstay in the work of Kilgallen--in it, she would offer many strong opinions, not just about Broadway. In 1959, via her column, Kilgallen ventured that the CIA had partnered with the mafia to assassinate Castro. A few years later, she was one of the members of the press to receive a sneak preview of the Warren Commission Report before its full-length publication. In "The Voice of Broadway," she was critical of many of the report's findings. Dorothy Kilgallen died on November 7, 1965, with the cause was ruled an overdose of barbiturate and alcohol. It didn't take long before the first ripples of innuendo about possible foul play begin to spread, and they would soon become wider concentric circles. Much of the speculation centered around Kilgallen's journalistic investigation of and commentary on the JFK assassination. The conspiracy theory goes that many people associated with Kennedy--or just those who had some information about the assassination--tended to turn up dead before long. Dorothy died not long after writing about the Warren Commission report. Some conspiracy theorists felt that some parties who wanted the president dead would want Dorothy dead for the same reasons. There were some anomalies and discrepancies with the coroner's report and various circumstances surrounding the death. The mystery has never been solved.

Dorothy Kilgallen died on Nov. 8, 1965, several hours after taping an episode of What's My Line? Medical examiner Dr. James Luke established the cause of death as "acute ethanol and barbiturate intoxication," but added, "circumstances undetermined." Though her death was sudden and not associated with any illness, the possibility of murder was firmly ruled out.

The suspicion that Kilgallen may indeed have been murdered has not been at a fevered pitch, hasn't been constant or consistent and hasn't unearthed much new information. But some parties carry in their hearts the belief that Ms. Kilgallen neither committed suicide nor accidentally overdosed. 

The conspiracy theories emerged not long after Kilgallen's death. The first known published speculation about a murder came from an article in the Nov.1966 issue of Ramparts by David Welsh and William Turner. The article focused on anyone who'd recently died who was in any way connected with the assassination of John F. Kennedy (Kilgallen's reporting of the event will be discussed below).

That article was reprinted in Feb. 1967 issue of Cosmopolitan. Not much happened until 1975 when Dorothy Kilgallen's son Kerry Kollmar began assisting Lee Israel in that author's biography of Kilgallen. Israel was interested in the cause of death but didn't find or publish any strong evidence. From there, the issue popped up a few times as a tenuous conspiracy theory.

Found By Hairdresser

Much of the existing information concerning the circumstances of Kilgallen's death comes from Marc Sinclaire, Kilgallen's hairdresser, and the man who found her body on the morning of her death.

Sinclaire styled Dorothy's hair on the evening of Nov. 7 for her appearance on What's My Line, finding her to be subdued but not excessively so. He did invite her to join him for a movie afterward, but she declined.

Suspicious Details

Anomalies, out-of-place details, and discrepancies are the life's blood of conspiracy theories. A few of these exist regarding the death of Kilgallen.

She was found in the master bedroom-- Sinclaire made much of the fact that he found Kilgallen in her master bedroom, strange since she usually slept in a different room, on the fifth floor. 

She was made up and wearing a robe-- Sinclaire found his client and long-time friend in a strange state. While, like many women, she usually slept in comfortable sleeping attire, she was on this morning wearing a peignoir and robe. Further, she was wearing the false eyelashes she wore in the town, as well as make-up. She was sitting up in bed. 

An ominous phone call-- A managing editor of two small movie magazines, Mary Brannum, received a call the morning of Kilgallen's death, saying simply that Dorothy Kilgallen had been murdered--the caller then hung up. 

Slightly strange behavior from the medical examiner-- The medical examiner at the scene was Dr. James Luke. Luke was with her for forty-five minutes, though some reports state an hour and fifteen minutes. He added the word "undetermined" to his conclusion that alcohol and barbiturates were the cause. When asked in what form she'd taken the barbiturates, he answered, "we don't want to give that out because...well, just because." What adds to the slight strangeness on the medical front is that the death certificate was not signed by Luke but by Dr. Dominick DiMaio, who would later tell Midwest Today he doesn't believe he signed the certificate and says he was in Brooklyn at the time. Further, Dr. Charles Umberger, toxicology director at the New York City Medical Examiner's office, later said he privately suspected a murder.

Where There's JFK, There's a Conspiracy Theory

Let's remember that Kilgallen was a far cry from being just a gal about town or a game show panelist. She was a big-time journalist. In fact, she was the first reporter to reveal in print Marilyn Monroe's relationship with the president. 48 hours later, Monroe was dead, and Kilgallen wrote a column asking very pointed questions and charging foul play.

But she also covered the JFK assassination. As an experienced crime reporter, Kilgallen had a mind for asking critical questions about investigations. Thus, in print, she asked some tough questions about the actions of Dallas police officers at Dealey Plaza. She accused chief Jesse Curry of lying to reporters about his initial reactions to the shooting.

Some say that information she may have had about the JFK assassination, about which she was very coy, may have posed a threat to those responsible for the president's death. She claimed to have had a meeting with Jack Ruby and wouldn't reveal its content. Further, she criticized the Warren Commission's work, implying she had information and thus a reason to doubt the commission's findings.

Since drugs were involved, the medical investigator's work involved a hiccup or two, and several odd occurrences dotted the circumstances of her death, those pursuing the murder angle have something to chew on, if not much in the way of conclusive proof.

In 1987, the defense team for infamous subway vigilante Bernard Goetz called the witness stand a medical examiner named Dominick Dimaio.  A photo from the trial shows Dimaio to be a thin man with a receding hairline, wearing metal-framed glasses.  He wears a look of wary concentration.

Twenty-two years earlier, Dr. Dimaio's signature appeared on the death certificate for Dorothy Kilgallen, which would be unremarkable if not for the fact that he insists he did not perform her autopsy.  Under the signature is the notation "for Dr. James Luke."  When questioned later, Dr. Dimaio says he wasn't working in Manhattan at the time and doesn't understand how his signature came to appear on the certificate.

 Dr. Luke did not deny performing the autopsy and spoke openly about it later.  His verdict at the time was "acute ethanol and barbiturate intoxication, circumstances undetermined."  Kilgallen was determined to have been in fairly good health, with no sign of a heart attack, though she did have "minimal coronary arteriosclerosis."

More detail would come out in 1968, at which time theories that Kilgallen may have been murdered were beginning to circulate.  Doctors used remaining tissue samples to ascertain that Kilgallen had in her system three barbiturates: pentobarbital, amobarbital, and secobarbital.  The presence of this deadly cocktail made some suspicious--why would she have taken this combination?

Information obtained from Dorothy Kilgallen

Coroner for Marilyn Monroe's autopsy makes explosive claim 60 years after her death.

Recently, in the book, LA Coroner by Anne Soon Choi, Marilyn Monroe's coroner spoke out about her death and autopsy. Thomas Noguchi was a deputy coroner tasked with carrying out the autopsy of Marilyn 64 years ago. In LA Coroner, he said he feels uncertain about Marilyn's death being a suicide, noting there was a moment alarm bells rang for him.

Mr. Noguchi further alleged that the report said Marilyn had received a prescription of Nembutal two days before her death and that she had spoken to her psychiatrist recently.

"It was straightforward," Mr Noguchi said. "But an autopsy would need to be done to confirm the death."

He added that he examined the body, including her scalp and back, for injection marks but found none.

After this, the now-retired coroner collected samples of her blood, urine, kidney,  liver, stomach and its contents, as well as her intestines for a toxicology report to be conducted. However, he said the results deeply shocked him, claiming "alarm bells went off in his head."

The test results found fatal levels of pentobarbital and chloral hydrate in her system, so the head toxicoloigst said there was no need to run more tests on her organs.

Writing about this decision, Ms Choi penned, "A wave of anxiety washed over [Mr Noguchi]. He knew that not running the additional tests would become a problem for him."It left too many questions unanswered, and ultimately, as the pathologist who conducted the physical autopsy, he would be held responsible." 

Mr. Noguchi felt there were many questions unanswered from the autopsy and requested her organs be further tested. "But the toxicologist disposed of them once the coroner's report was issued," Ms Choi said. This is when Mr Noguchi said he did not know whether the results were accurate or part of a "cover up."

This information should allow more evidence to change death certificate. Please send the letter below to the following people. 

Rob Bonta
California Attorney General
Email: Rob.Bonta@doj.ca.gov 

Chief of Police Michael R. Moore
Los Angeles Police Department
Email: contact.lapdonline@gmail.com
 
Dr. Odey C. Ukpo 
Department of Medical Examiner - Coroner
Email: info@coroner.lacounty.gov
 

District Attorney Geroge Gascon
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
Email: info@da.lacounty.gov
 
Xochitl Hinojosa
Director Department of Justice
Email: xhinojosa@gmail.com
 
US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland
US Department of Justice
Email: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

I am writing to respectfully request a review of the official cause of death listed on Marilyn Monroe’s death certificate. While the certificate states suicide, I believe there is compelling evidence that warrants reconsideration. The circumstances surrounding her passing—including inconsistencies in reports, unanswered questions in the investigation, and credible testimony from those close to her—suggest that her death may not have been self-inflicted.

Given her cultural significance and the historical importance of accuracy in such matters, I urge your office to re-examine the case with the goal of establishing the truth. Correcting the record would not only honor Marilyn Monroe’s memory but also provide long overdue clarity for history. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I appreciate your commitment to ensuring accuracy in such an important case.

Sincerely,

[Your Full Name] 

WhatsApp deletes over 6.8m accounts linked to scams, Meta says

 WhatsApp has taken down 6.8 million accounts linked to scammers targeting people around the world in the first half of this year, its parent company Meta says.

Many were tied to scam centres run by organised criminals in South East Asia, who often used forced labour in their operations, according to the social media giant.

Meta made the announcement as WhatsApp rolled out new anti-scam measures to alert users to potential fraudulent activity, such as a user being added to a group chat by someone not in their contacts list.

The crackdown targets an increasingly common tactic in which criminals hijack WhatsApp accounts or add users to group chats promoting fake investment schemes and other scams.

Meta said WhatsApp "proactively detected and took down accounts before scam centres were able to operationalise them."

In one case, WhatsApp worked with Meta and ChatGPT-developer OpenAI to disrupt scams linked to a Cambodian criminal group that offered cash for likes on social media posts to promote a fake rent-a-scooter pyramid scheme.

It said scammers had used ChatGPT to create the instructions issued to potential victims.

Typically, fraudsters would first contact potential targets with a text message before moving the conversation to social media or private messaging apps, said Meta.

These scams were usually completed on payment or cryptocurrency platforms, it added.

"There is always a catch and it should be a red flag for everyone: you have to pay upfront to get promised returns or earnings."

UK consumer rights organisation Which? welcomed the announcement, but said: "Meta must do much more to stop these criminals across all its platforms."

Consumer law expert Lisa Webb added: "Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users are being inundated with fraudulent ads for everything from fake investment opportunities to dodgy products and non-existent job offers.

"Meta needs to ensure that scams are prevented from ever appearing on its platforms in the first place."

"Meta needs to ensure that scams are prevented from ever appearing on its platforms in the first place. Ofcom must now take action to enforce the parts of the Online Safety Act already in effect, and to issue robust rules governing fraudulent paid-for ads, so that tech firms are forced to take full responsibility for the content on their sites."

Scam centres that cheat people out of billions of dollars are known to operate from South East Asian countries like Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand.

These centres are also known to recruit people who are then forced to carry out the scams.

Authorities in the region have urged people to be wary of potential fraud and use anti-scam measures such as WhatsApp's two-step verification feature to help protect their accounts from being hijacked.

In Singapore, for example, users have also been told by police to be wary of any unusual requests they receive on messaging apps.

BBC

August 6, 2025

Marilyn Monroe is found dead.

 On August 5, 1962, movie actress Marilyn Monroe is found dead in her home in Los Angeles. She was discovered lying nude on her bed, face down, with a telephone in one hand. Empty bottles of pills, prescribed to treat her depression, were littered around the room. After a brief investigation, Los Angeles police concluded that her death was “caused by a self-administered overdose of sedative drugs and that the mode of death is probable suicide.”

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson in Los Angeles on June 1, 1926. Her mother was emotionally unstable and frequently confined to an asylum, so Norma Jeane was reared by a succession of foster parents and in an orphanage. At the age of 16, she married a fellow worker in an aircraft factory, but they divorced a few years later. She took up modeling in 1944 and in 1946 signed a short-term contract with 20th Century Fox, taking as her screen name Marilyn Monroe. She had a few bit parts and then returned to modeling, famously posing nude for a calendar in 1949.

She began to attract attention as an actress in 1950 after appearing in minor roles in the The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve. Although she was onscreen only briefly playing a mistress in both films, audiences took note of the blonde bombshell, and she won a new contract from Fox. Her acting career took off in the early 1950s with performances in Love Nest (1951), Monkey Business (1952), and Niagara (1953).

Celebrated for her voluptuousness and wide-eyed charm, she won international fame for her sex-symbol roles in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and There’s No Business Like Show Business(1954). The Seven-Year Itch (1955) showcased her comedic talents and features the classic scene where she stands over a subway grating and has her white skirt billowed up by the wind from a passing train. In 1954, she married baseball great Joe DiMaggio, attracting further publicity, but they divorced eight months later.

In 1955, she studied with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York City and subsequently gave a strong performance as a hapless entertainer in Bus Stop (1956). In 1956, she married playwright Arthur Miller. She made The Prince and the Showgirl—a critical and commercial failure—with Laurence Olivier in 1957 but in 1959 gave an acclaimed performance in the hit comedy Some Like It Hot. Her last role, in The Misfits (1961), was directed by John Huston and written by Miller, whom she divorced just one week before the film’s opening.

By 1961, Monroe, beset by depression, was under the constant care of a psychiatrist. Increasingly erratic in the last months of her life, she lived as a virtual recluse in her Brentwood, Los Angeles, home. After midnight on August 5, 1962, her maid, Eunice Murray, noticed Monroe’s bedroom light on. When Murray found the door locked and Marilyn unresponsive to her calls, she called Monroe’s psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, who gained access to the room by breaking a window. Entering, he found Marilyn dead, and the police were called sometime after. An autopsy found a fatal amount of sedatives in her system, and her death was ruled probable suicide.

In recent decades, there have been a number of conspiracy theories about her death, most of which contend that she was murdered by John and/or Robert Kennedy, with whom she allegedly had love affairs. These theories claim that the Kennedys killed her (or had her killed) because they feared she would make public their love affairs and other government secrets she was gathering. On August 4, 1962, Robert Kennedy, then attorney general in his older brother’s cabinet, was in fact in Los Angeles. Two decades after the fact, Monroe’s housekeeper, Eunice Murray, announced for the first time that the attorney general had visited Marilyn on the night of her death and quarreled with her, but the reliability of these and other statements made by Murray are questionable. Decades after her death, Marilyn Monroe remains a major cultural icon.

UCLA Archives Box 39

 Please send this letter to the following: 

Administrative Vice Chancellor
Michael Beck
adminvc@ucla.edu

Associate University Librarian for Collections, Research Data
Todd C. Grappone 
grappone@library.ucla.edu

Library Special Collections
Maxwell Zupke 
zupkem@library.ucla.edu

Library Special Collections Archivist
Kelly Besser
kellybesser@library.ucla.edu

Computer Resource and Visual Communications Specialist
Caroline Cube
pinky@library.ucla.edu

LSC Archivist
Douglas Johnson
dejohnson@library.ucla.edu

Joan Greenson Aebi
Daughter of Ralph Greenson
Joan Greenson

Katie Aebi Rodriguez
Granddaughter of Dr. Ralph Greenson
karodriguez@pasadena.edu

UCLA Media
media@stratcomm.ucla.edu

UCLA Chancellor
Chancellor@ucla.edu

I am writing to you today as a concerned citizen and researcher with a deep interest in the ongoing investigation into the death of Marilyn Monroe. For decades, the circumstances surrounding her passing have been shrouded in mystery and suspicion, with many, including myself, believing that the official narrative of suicide is incomplete and possibly inaccurate.

Ariel Investigations, like that of countless others, has revealed troubling inconsistencies and suspicious circumstances, particularly regarding the lack of a suicide note and discrepancies in witness testimonies regarding the location of Marilyn's body.

However, the existence of Box 39, housed within your Special Collections, genuinely fuels my belief that the truth about Marilyn's death remains hidden. The limited access to this box revealed a collection of articles, books, and letters, all centered around Marilyn Monroe and her death, demonstrating the deep obsession of her psychiatrist, Dr. Greenson.

Most notably, Ariel discovered the existence of a manuscript written by Joan Greenson, Dr. Greenson's daughter, supposedly contained within Box 39. This document offers a unique and crucial perspective on the night Marilyn died. Joan claims in her manuscript that her father received the call at midnight, contradicting the official timeline and aligning with witness accounts suggesting an ambulance arrived around 11:30 pm.

The fact that this crucial manuscript and all of the contents of Box 39 remain sealed raises serious concerns. The mystery of why these materials are kept hidden, especially considering that the key individuals involved are potentially deceased, begs further investigation.

I believe that the contents of Box 39 could hold the key to unlocking the truth about Marilyn Monroe's death, potentially revealing the events that led to her untimely demise and, possibly, those who were involved. The public deserves access to this information.

I urge you to reconsider the decision to keep Box 39 sealed. It is a matter of historical accuracy, a tribute to Marilyn's legacy, and a quest for the truth. Please open Box 39 for public access, allowing researchers and the general public to examine the materials.