Harvard's Dr S. David Bernstein says Marilyn's little purchase is inconsistent with someone contemplating suicide. Bernstein says suicidal depression leads to wild, irrational, extravagant shopping sprees.
So, who gets ready to OD a day after buying a little chest to fill with bras and panties? No one does, and neither did Marilyn.
Conspiracy theories abound, but so does the persistent mystery.
In the book Marilyn Monroe: Murder By Consent Dr Jack Hattem says he has evidence Marilyn was told fake a suicide by Bobby Kennedy and his brother-in-law Peter Lawford. Marilyn was threatening to publish a diary detailing adultery between her and Bobby. So Bobby had motive to trick Marilyn into taking the pills and then leaving her to die. Oops.
Marilyn and all the tawdry characters surrounding her are dead now. So why care? Well, Marilyn was special wasn't she? Norma Jean 'Marilyn' Mortenson was the child-woman who 'played' a dumb blond in the movies. But was in real life a crafty, intelligent, even stealthy brunette who bedded all the biggies of her day. She self-lifted from foster homes to legendary icon of the screen despite a schizo mother and an absentee father.
She was Hugh Hefner's first Playboy cover model in December 1953. So Hugh bought the crypt next to hers for his final farewell. Hugh beat out her three husbands, including Arthur Miller and Joe DiMaggio! Of all the glamorous and beautiful women Hugh Hefner has known and even married, he attributes the 'success of his magazine directly to Norma Jean.'
Ms Monroe's memory has outlasted the eroding legacy of JFK and RFK combined - and she remains forever the quintessential tragic and sympathetic figure of her generation.
So, who killed Marilyn Monroe we wonder?
