Perhaps one of the most mysterious unsolved cases from the 1960s is that of the murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer, which occurred on October 12, 1964. She was an artist, a socialite, and one of the known mistresses of President John F. Kennedy; her untimely death on the towpath of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Washington, D.C. shook political and social circles. Her murder brought accusations of police negligence and, even worse, intelligence agencies possibly interfering with the investigation to ensure that the case would never be resolved. Some people find it interesting that she was a longtime lover of President John Kennedy, but had actually been married to a high-ranking CIA official.
Mary Meyer came from an influential and politically well-connected family. Her father was a lawyer, her mother a journalist, and her sister, Tony, was married to Ben Bradlee, editor of The Washington Post. Meyer went to Vassar and married Cord Meyer, a high-level CIA operative. After she and Meyer divorced, she began an affair with JFK in 1962, a romance said to have endured until his assassination in 1963.
Meyer was rumored (found in her diary) to have introduced Kennedy to marijuana and LSD—though, there isn’t solid historical evidence that she introduced him to the drugs. But that isn’t all: she is reported by some to have seriously debated with Kennedy on issues ranging from peace initiatives to Cold War policies. And according to some, Meyer knew secrets, one of which likely pertained to her death.
The Murder
On that bright, sunny October day in 1964, Meyer took a walk along the C&O Canal towpath. Some people said they heard shots ring out and a man fleeing; Meyer’s body was found with two bullet wounds to the head and back.
Hours later, police arrested Ray Crump Jr., a black day laborer found near the scene, wet and disoriented. Crump maintained that he had been fishing and knew nothing of the crime. Without one speck of physical evidence—a missing weapon, no trace of blood on his body or clothes, and conflicting witness descriptions—the police nonetheless focused on Crump as their one and only suspect. Many believe that the police arrested him because of racism and a desire to wrap up the case.
Allegations of Police Negligence and Cover-Up
From the outset, the investigation was controversial and marked with missteps.
- No forensic evidence was presented by the police that could have linked Crump to the crime. Descriptions by eyewitnesses varied widely, yet from very early in the case, the police narrowed in on Crump. Almost no other leads were pursued.
- Despite being aware that Meyer had links with JFK and the CIA through her ex-husband, no investigators pursued how that could be connected to her murder. Given her vocal opinions and information that may have been in her possession, she could have had a bullseye on her back.
- Meyer’s Missing Diary: Following her death, Ben Bradlee worked to secure Meyer’s personal effects, including her diary. Her friend James Angleton was a CIA counterintelligence chief and had already taken the diary. The diary was said to detail her affair with Kennedy, in addition to impressions about the Kennedys and their administration.
- They assumed Meyer was under surveillance because of her anti-war activities and thorough knowledge of Kennedy’s policies. Many speculate her death was a silencing act, an action taken to serve interests related to national security. Angleton played a part in seizing and allegedly destroying the diary—only deepening suspicions of CIA interference.
The weakness in the case against Ray Crump was laid bare at his 1965 trial. Defense attorney Dovey Johnson Roundtree made the most out of discrepancies between witness accounts and a lack of evidence. Crump was acquitted, but Meyer’s murder remained unsolved.
Theories and Speculation
The murder of Mary Meyer has given birth to numerous conspiracy theories. Many speculate that her death was orchestrated by intelligence agencies that were worried about what secrets she may have known, with close ties to JFK, outspoken anti-war views, and rumored use of LSD with the president.
To others, the CIA’s handling of Meyer’s diary amounts to proof of a cover-up. The claim by Angleton to have destroyed it did little to quiet speculation that it contained information too sensitive to reveal.
This hypothesis is furthered by the fact that police focused so much attention on Crump while failing to pursue other avenues of investigation, bordering on negligence if not manipulation of the case. Some say this was because the government did not want to raise questions that could implicate the CIA or tarnish the legacy of JFK himself.
Mary Pinchot Meyer’s murder is an unsolved mystery that has come to symbolize the turmoil of an era when personal and political forces clashed in the shadow of the Cold War.
The case is a grim reminder of how great interests define the course of justice. Whether Meyer’s death was the result of a random act of violence or a calculated cover-up, the lingering questions ensure her story lives on as one of Washington’s most haunting cold cases.
Sources:
- https://malwarwickonbooks.com/john-f-kennedys-lover/
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/44-years-later-a-washington-dc-death-unresolved-93263961/
- https://evolutiondc.museum.gwu.edu/the-pinchot-family-eight-decades-influencing-d-c/
- https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKmeyerM.htm
- https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-jfk-mistress-mary-pinchot-meyer-was-gunned-down-in-cold-blood-why/
- https://culturetrip.substack.com/p/jfk-lsd-and-the-limits-of-enlightenment
