The Murder of Mary Meyer, or the Secret of President John Kennedy's Last Love

Much has been said and written about the secret affairs of the 35th US President John Kennedy. The most famous was his affair with Marilyn Monroe, which many consider one of the reasons for her tragic death. However, much less attention is paid to another mistress of the president - artist Mary Meyer. This woman also died under mysterious circumstances, and the motives for her murder still cause controversy and disagreement.

John Kennedy and Mary Meyer met in high school. Later, fate scattered them along different paths, but in the early 1960s they met again and became lovers. A year after the president's death, Mary Meyer was shot during an afternoon walk in the park. The murder remains unsolved to this day.

Mary Pinchot was born in 1920 in New York. Her family was quite wealthy - her father owned a law firm, and her mother was involved in literary activities and charity. Friends described Mary as a real aristocrat and the pride of her parents. She spent her childhood on Park Avenue and studied at one of the most prestigious private schools.

Journalist Nina Burleigh, author of a book about Meyer's life called "A Very Private Woman," described how Mary met John Kennedy. They met at a school party when they were both in high school. After that, John asked her out on a date, but a serious relationship never developed between them.

After graduating from college in 1945, Mary Pinchot married Cord Meyer, a young but promising CIA official. The couple had three children, the care of whom fell entirely on Mary's shoulders. Cord Meyer was consumed by his career, and his life was spent in constant business trips.

Cord Meyer worked in the CIA's anti-communist section. His section also oversaw secret experiments involving drugs and "truth serum." At one point, Cord was suspected of collaborating with Soviet intelligence, and Senator McCarthy insisted on an investigation. But Meyer's involvement with the communists was never proven.

Despite the fact that household chores took up a significant part of her time, Mary did not abandon her desire for self-development. She graduated from the Cambridge School of Design and devoted herself to art, becoming an artist. Gradually, the relationship between the spouses began to fade, and they became increasingly distant from each other. In her book, Nina Burley described it this way:

In 1956, their relationship took a turn after the tragic death of one of their sons, who was hit by a car. The couple had a final falling out, but for some time they still tried to keep the family together. By 1958, it became obvious that they had become strangers to each other, and Mary filed for divorce. After the separation, she moved to Georgetown, where she devoted herself entirely to creativity.

Mary Meyer easily joined the local community of artists and performers, making many interesting acquaintances. She settled in a prestigious area, where her neighbors were movie, sports and political stars. The Kennedys also lived nearby. Gradually, Mary and John began to renew communication. Their rapprochement was facilitated by the fact that Mary's sister married Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, a close friend of the future president.

It is not known exactly when the affair between Mary and John began. Most likely, it happened in 1961, after Kennedy became president. Mary Meyer's name first appeared in the White House guest book in October 1962. The lovers met when Jackie Kennedy was absent. Later, the president's political aide Meyer Feldman recalled that Mary appeared so often that she began to be perceived as "an integral part of the interior" of the presidential residence.

The president's friend Ben Bradlee claimed that he knew nothing about Kennedy and Meyer's affair. According to him, like many others, he guessed about John's infidelities, but there was no evidence of this. Bradlee was convinced of their relationship only after he read Mary's diary, although she never mentioned her lover's name.

In 1962, Mary met Timothy Leary, a renowned psychologist, participant in psychedelic drug research, and Harvard professor. She asked him to teach her the modern practices of using the recently popular drug LSD. Mary also hinted that she was not the only one interested in the psychedelic experience, but also someone else.

Leary later realized that Mary had John Kennedy in mind. He recalled that Meyer sincerely believed that if major politicians took LSD, it would expand their consciousness. In her opinion, such leaders would be able to find solutions to global issues without economic pressure or military conflict.

The personalities of both lovers are shrouded in many conspiracy theories. There is an opinion that Mary Meyer, who openly expressed sympathies for communists and socialists, found common interests with Kennedy. Their affair lasted until Mary became disillusioned with him as a politician. It was then that the woman herself decided to end the relationship. According to one version, the artist could have been part of a group of people who sought to eliminate the president, considering him a weak and incompetent leader.

Conspiracy theorists point out that Mary broke up with Kennedy shortly before his assassination and carefully distanced herself from him to avoid suspicion. The only physical evidence of a romantic relationship between Meyer and Kennedy is a letter the president wrote to his mistress a few days before his death. However, it was never sent. The text includes the following words:

Kennedy wrote this letter to his beloved, with whom he had already broken up, on official White House letterhead with watermarks. It is written in a sweeping, large script, on several sheets of paper. The letter was found after the tragedy in Dallas. In 2016, it was sold at auction for $89,000, which only fueled interest in the story of Mary Meyer.

On October 12, 1964, Mary Meyer was out for a walk in a park in central Washington, where she was shot dead in broad daylight. As journalist Nina Burleigh wrote in her biography of Meyer, the gunshots hit her in the head and heart at close range. Death was instantaneous. The murder occurred just a year after Kennedy's death, and this coincidence immediately gave rise to many suspicions.

No one saw the moment of the murder, but passersby heard a scream and noticed a man standing over the body. Police arrived a few minutes later and detained a black man named Ray Crump Jr. He was completely wet. When asked why he was wet, the suspect said he accidentally fell into the Potomac River while fishing. The police never found the murder weapon.

Ray Crump Jr.'s trial took place in 1965. Since there was no evidence of his guilt, the court acquitted the man. He became the only suspect in this case, and the crime remained unsolved. After Meyer's death, many rumors appeared about her death being connected to an affair with the president. They said that she knew something about Kennedy that simply could not be left alive.

Everything about the murder case was suspicious. First, the absence of a murder weapon. Second, the location chosen by the criminal was a park where dozens of people were walking at the time. Third, the testimony of the only witness. At the crime scene, the police questioned a certain Lieutenant William Mitchell, who was jogging in the park and happened to be near the scene.

Later, the police tried to find him for further questioning, but it turned out that there was no officer Mitchell in Georgetown. Many years later, it became known that William Mitchell was a pseudonym for a CIA agent. However, even after that, the identity of the witness was never established. Who was this man? Was he in the park by chance at the time of the murder? The answers to these questions will most likely remain unknown forever.

The mystery of Mary Meyer's murder remains unsolved, and the many oddities of the case continue to generate new conspiracy theories. Was her death an accident, an unfortunate coincidence, or did someone deliberately eliminate someone who knew too much? Do you think her connection to Kennedy could have been the cause of her death, or is the real motive for this crime hidden elsewhere? Share your thoughts in the comments!