by Mark Shaw
Tuesday, November 9th’s New York Journal-American edition updated the shocking story under the headline, “Dorothy Kilgallen Dead: Cause Not Determined Yet.” The accompanying text read, “An autopsy Monday night failed to determine the cause of death. Dr. James Luke, examiner, said further tests would be made.”
This quote coincides with Dr. Luke’s notation in the ME documents of “Pending Further Study.” Since the reporter directly quoted him, it appears he, or she, had not actually read the documents but simply secured the quote from the Junior medical examiner. Also, what “tests” were anticipated is left to speculation since Dr. Luke did not disclose the specific tests in the documentation. In addition, there is no mention of either Seconal, or more importantly Tuinal, being in Kilgallen’s system.
Meanwhile, confusion as to the circumstances surrounding Kilgallen’s death began immediately. Why? Because according to various media reports, the discovery of her dead body happened twice, by different people at two different times. These conflicting accounts continued as newspaper reporters gathered facts as filtered in from various sources, many with little credibility. Certainly the sensationalism surrounding the famous reporter’s death added to the confusion. However, as will be revealed, misinformation about Kilgallen’s death continues to this day since those reporting on such matters simply rely on false facts, much of it on the internet or through inexperienced individuals with no regard for the truth.
Concerning discovery of her body, accounts published by the Journal-American on November 9 included the statement: “She was found by a maid who went to wake her about noon.” A day later, the newspaper revised that account. It reported, “[Kilgallen] was found dead when her hairdresser arrived at 12:45.”
In the New York Herald-Tribune, reporter Albin Krebs stated that “the hairdresser,” named for the first time as Marc Sinclaire, was the one who had discovered Kilgallen’s body. Krebs later said, “I’m certain I got the information from a family source, probably the husband.”
The police report, apparently obtained by the Journal-American and signed by 19th Precinct Detective John Doyle (mentioned in the ME documents along with Detective Green), stated, “DOA was found by maid Marie Eicher between 12 and 1 p.m. lying on back in bed clad in night clothes.” A subsequent note stated, “Pronounced DOA by Dr. Saul Heller, 11 E. 68th Street: ME [medical examiner] Dr. [James] Luke present at scene.”
Simultaneously, the Journal-American published this notation, one it reported was included in the official autopsy report: “According to the maid, she went in to awaken deceased at 12 noon and found her unresponsive.” This is verbatim from the ME documents causing speculation Kilgallen’s newspaper either secured a copy of the official report, one was leaked to it, or they again quoted Dr. Luke. Regardless of how the reporter secured the information, it was incomplete to the extent of not divulging any details concerning specific barbiturates Kilgallen ingested including Seconal and Tuinal. One may imagine that if a newspaper reporter learned of these details, he or she would have printed them causing the belief that Dr. Luke was the source of the information and that the Journal-American did not have a copy of the ME report. Or, if they did, the page denoting the presence of the two drugs was not included, either by mistake, or more likely, intentionally.
Also of interest were the various times quoted as to when Kilgallen’s body was discovered, “noon,” (maid) “between 12 and 1 p.m. (maid), and 12:45 p.m. (hairdresser Marc Sinclaire). In one newspaper account on the 9th, the day after Kilgallen died, Dr. Luke is quoted as saying she died “between 2 and 4 a.m.”
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On November 10, the New York Times printed, “A medical examiner’s report stated that Miss Kilgallen died of ‘the effects of a combination of alcohol and barbiturates,’ neither of which had been taken in excessive quantities.” Whether the Times reporter had ever actually read the entire ME’s report, was summarizing, or was simply quoting someone in the ME’s office is unclear. Since this exact language including “excessive quantities” is not noted in the ME documents, the latter seems likely.
Five days later, on the 15th, the Journal-American and New York Post quoted Dr. Luke. Regarding the cause of Kilgallen’s demise, he said, “The death of Dorothy Kilgallen, Journal-American columnist and famed TV personality, was contributed to by a combination of moderate quantities of alcohol and barbiturates.” Notice that this date is the same one included on the page where Seconal and Tuinal are listed as well as the “Final Cause of Death” conclusion including “Circumstances Undetermined.”
The New York Post published Dr. James Luke’s findings regarding Dorothy Kilgallen’s death.
In a November 16 article in the New York Herald-Tribune, this quote appeared:
Dr. Luke would not speculate about the form in which Miss Kilgallen had taken the barbiturates. “We’d rather leave that up in the air,” he said. “We don’t want to give that out—well, just because...” He said that combining alcohol and sleeping pills was a common form of accidental death. Miss Kilgallen had taken on “moderate amounts” of alcohol and the drug before her death, Dr. Luke said. He wouldn’t give any figures.
Notice this evasive statement includes the words “the drug.” However, Dr. Luke, based on his own handwriting in the ME documents, knew this was not true, as the second drug, Tuinal, had also been discovered in her system. Whether the other two attending physicians at the autopsy, Dr. Sturner and Dr. Baden, knew about the Tuinal, is unknown. If they did, they would have been as perplexed as Dr. Luke at Kilgallen having ingested the Tuinal.
Some ten-plus years after the famous reporter died, author Lee Israel35 interviewed Dr. Luke for her 1979 book, Kilgallen. Israel asked Dr. Luke what “moderate” meant regarding her ingestion of alcohol and barbiturates. He replied, “The pills were not what we might expect to find in cases that were suicide.” Dr. Luke also admitted he knew back in 1965 that there were 50 cubic centimeters of ‘pink fluid’ found in Kilgallen’s stomach. Dr. Luke explained he sent the liquid to the ME toxicologists for examination. If this happened, Dr. Luke told author Israel he did not receive a report.
Criticizing his own toxicology department, Dr. Luke informed Israel that he was certain of the presence of Seconal in Kilgallen’s stomach but appeared to question procedures as being adequate at the time. He admitted there were problems with laboratory personnel suggesting, “Capabilities were not what they should have been.”
While Israel’s questions to Dr. Luke were relevant, nowhere in her book is the indication she asked him about the presence of Tuinal in Kilgallen’s system. Israel does mention ME documents and indicates that she viewed the autopsy report. Surely, if the author read those documents or showed them to Dr. Luke, both would have been curious about the presence of Tuinal but she never mentioned it while quoting Dr. Luke. This lends credence to the possibility Dr. Luke may have excluded the page including mention of “Tuinal” from any documents released at the time. Why he may have done so will be clarified later.
To her credit, author Israel further considered the barbiturate question. She revealed that while researching her biography of Kilgallen she had interviewed a chemist in the New York medical examiner’s office during a clandestine meeting at a local pub. Apparently protecting her source, Israel did not divulge the chemist’s name instead stating that he was the “confidant and right-hand man” to Dr. Charles J. Umberger from 1967 to 1972.
Dr. Umberger was the NYC medical examiner’s office Director of Toxicology in the Department of Pathology at the time of Kilgallen’s death. Israel noted his reputation for preserving hundreds of toxicology specimens in his laboratory (forensic cryonics). He did so in case future scientific breakthroughs might aid in a fresh examination of various causes of death. Why Dr. Umberger singled out Kilgallen’s case is curious. Speculation may be that he wasn’t satisfied with Dr. Luke’s conclusions and decided to preserve evidence for later analysis.
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nbsp; Known to colleagues as “Joe,” Dr. Umberger retired in 1972. He died five years later. Regarding the chemist, Israel said he told her Umberger hinted to him that Kilgallen had been murdered, a startling revelation if true. The chemist also said Umberger admitted he had evidence proving the murder that he kept secret from the ME Department of Pathology.
Relying on the excuse that he was wary of the toxic politics weaving through the medical examiner’s office at the time, Dr. Umberger was careful not to divulge his findings. However, subsequently, in 1968, three years after Kilgallen’s death, he shared his raw data with the chemist. Dr. Umberger asked him to examine “a basic beaker with an extract from Dorothy’s brain, and another beaker labeled ‘drink.’” Also provided to the chemist were “two glasses which had contained alcoholic beverages.” They were discovered at Kilgallen’s bedside table. Dr. Umberger told the chemist his examination had indicated one was a “drink” glass from which “the alcohol had evaporated, [which] was hers [Kilgallen’s]” without indicating how he knew this to be true.
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In 2007, a significant article entitled Who Killed Dorothy Kilgallen? appeared in the magazine, Midwest Today, written by Sara Jordan and published by her father Larry. The article was part of a series devoted to celebrities born in the Midwest (recall Kilgallen was born in Chicago).
Based on their extensive research and information supplied by investigative reporter Kathryn Fauble and her associate, the article identified the chemist as John Broich.36 After admitting he had examined the Kilgallen tissue samples, he revealed to Dr. Umberger that the basic beaker contained three dangerous barbiturates: secobarbital sodium (Seconal), pentobarbital sodium (Nembutal) and a combination of secobarbital sodium and amobarbital sodium (Tuinal). This was confirmation of what Dr. Luke had discovered three years earlier, Seconal and Tuinal, but also added a third drug to the mix, Nembutal which Dr. Luke did not mention in the ME report. In addition, Broich reported that a specimen taken from the glass attributed to Kilgallen contained traces of Nembutal. There was no explanation given as to the examination procedure for determining how it was known alcohol had evaporated from that glass.
According to John Broich’s version of what happened in 1968, he presented his discoveries to Dr. Umberger.37 Broich said the doctor “grinned” and told him, ‘Keep it under your hat. It was big.’”
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In his audiotaped interview supplied by Kathryn Fauble, John Broich revealed a troubling state of affairs existing in the ME’s office in the mid 1960s.
There was some talk…whether [Kilgallen’s] body had been moved and a whole bunch of stuff. But I don’t know if it was ever resolved. I do remember that things were kinda screwed up. I think things were probably pretty unreliable. I wouldn’t trust anything, you know what I mean? When I was [employed by the ME’s office], very few of the people knew what the hell they were doing. I was paranoid as hell when I was there. You never knew what was going to happen from one day to the next.
Broich further elaborated his sentiments about the medical examiner’s office by stating, “It was not unusual for the M.E.’s office to screw up a case. Weren’t too many people there who could get a job anywhere else. And there were people working there who didn’t belong there. Downright dishonesty was there.” Regarding Kilgallen’s death, Broich added, “Dr. Luke loved headlines. Loved to see his name in print. And Joe (Dr. Umberger) hated Luke.” 38 Finally, Broich said, “I remember there were some cloudy issues concerning who found the body and stuff like that. When Luke wrote, ‘circumstances undetermined’ on the report, it meant he didn’t really know what had happened.” Broich also stated, “Regarding the Certificate of Death, it was most unusual for Dominick DiMaio to sign it for Dr. Luke since he was deputy chief for Brooklyn and Kilgallen died in Manhattan.”
A predictable question to ask is why Dr. Umberger and John Broich never divulged their findings in 1968. These results, if accurate, could have potentially paved the way for a fresh investigation of Kilgallen’s death. Broich, like Dr. Umberger, blamed it on office politics, but this excuse was less than truthful as further evidence will indicate. Regardless, first, there had been no investigation. Now there was an apparent cover-up of evidence deliberately concealed by Dr. Luke but discovered by Broich and Dr. Umberger. These actions were misleading to the authorities and to the public, and worse to Kilgallen, who deserved a fresh investigation of her death.
To gain another perspective of what transpired in 1965 with regard to Kilgallen’s manner of death, author Israel had contacted Dr. Michael Baden in 1978. He was then chief medical examiner for the City of New York. Dr. Baden, who worked at the NYC ME office at the time of Kilgallen’s death, later became quite famous when he was involved in several high-profile celebrity cases including John Belushi, O.J. Simpson, and Michael Jackson. In 2014, Baden provided autopsy analysis in the controversial Michael Brown police shooting death in Ferguson, Missouri.39
Israel apparently gave Dr. Baden raw data based on Dr. Luke’s autopsy report without specifying the exact makeup of the raw data. Nevertheless, Dr. Baden said the “percentage of barbiturate found in Dorothy’s brain and liver indicated that the body reposited the equivalent of ‘fifteen to twenty’ Seconal capsules.”
Dr. Donald Hoffman, a senior chemist in toxicology at the ME office beginning in 1969, also provided an opinion. Apparently examining the same raw data Dr. Baden scoured, Dr. Hoffman said Dr. Baden’s estimate was reasonable. Elaborating, Dr. Hoffman added, “The formal data indicate that it was acute poisoning due to alcohol and barbiturates and that the barbiturates alone could possibly have killed her.”
In late 2015, this author interviewed Dr. Hoffman, still teaching at John Jay College in New York City at age 75. First, he confirmed earlier statements he made including his agreeing with Dr. Baden about the amount of drugs in Kilgallen’s system. Dr. Hoffman, a member of the toxicological team at the NYC medical examiner’s office from 1969-1996, also called the techniques used in the medical examiner’s office “crude” during the early 1960s. “This limited,” Dr. Hoffman asserted to this author, “the scope of the overall procedure as to identifying specific barbiturates found in a person’s system during the post-mortem analysis. And this could impact upon the issue of whether the barbiturate or barbiturates detected were those prescribed to, or otherwise, available to the decedent. If not, it raises obvious questions about the circumstances surrounding the drug intake.”
Dr. Hoffman added that these techniques “lacked the analytic sensitivity, specificity and confirmatory nature available during later years. This damaged the reliability of testing causing any conclusions to be questionable.”
Regarding the estimation that Kilgallen ingested “the equivalent of 15–20 Seconal capsules,” Dr. Hoffman agreed this “pointed toward suicide or foul play.” Most importantly, he said high barbiturate levels “ruled out that the person had just taken one or two pills” but instead meant he or she had taken “a lot more.”
Asked whether the UV (ultraviolet) numbers, 2.4 for liver and 1.6 for brain, included in Kilgallen’s autopsy report were important, Dr. Hoffman concluded they were, adding that the numbers were “high, and indicative that the screening tests used picked up significant amounts of the barbiturates.” Dr. Hoffman also concluded the presence of both the Seconal and Tuinal caused there to be “a lethal dose of barbiturates” and when combined with the amount of alcohol in her blood triggered “a serious threat to Kilgallen’s health.”
Turning to the traces of Nembutal (pentobarbital) on the drinking glass on the nightstand next to Kilgallen’s bed, Dr. Hoffman told this author, “This opens the door as to how she came to ingest it. The presence of the pentobarbital itself on the glass clearly implies that she reasonably could have ingested a liquid containing this drug. If so, then how did she come to have it in the first place since she was prescribed Seconal? Could someone have put it in her glass unknown to her
? If someone wanted to ‘spike’ her drink, would he or she have just dropped in the capsules? Possible but that assumes [Kilgallen] would have been too distracted to know. Risk for the perpetrator?”
Asked the difference between someone ingesting a barbiturate capsule and the powder extracted when it was removed from the gelatin covering, Dr. Hoffman stated, “The only reason I can think of as to why a person would do that is if they thought the powder being disbursed in a liquid took effect quicker, absorbed into the person’s system quicker.” He added, “This would have to be done deliberately, not by accident since you have to open the capsules. It could not be done accidently unless the person was highly under the influence of alcohol but regardless combining the barbiturate with alcohol increases the danger moving in the direction of central nervous system failure.”
Asked to comment on the professionalism of Dr. Umberger, Dr. Hoffman told this author he was one of the “founding fathers of forensic toxicology.” Of John Broich, Dr. Hoffman said Broich was “an excellent toxicologist, sharp, had good intuitive knowledge.”
The conclusions reached by Dr. Charles Umberger, John Broich, Dr. Michael Baden, and Dr. Donald Hoffman are quite noteworthy, but only Dr. Umberger and Broich broach the subject of Tuinal being present in Kilgallen’s system. They do, however, verify that Kilgallen ingested far more than the “moderate amount” of drugs Dr. James Luke specified in 1965.
Neither John Broich nor Dr. Umberger believed Kilgallen died accidently. While Broich did not discuss this belief in the 1990s interview, a January 2015 audiotaped interview this author conducted with Broich’s widow Eileen confirmed his allegations. She first called her husband “a man full of ideas, bright, outspoken, a true scientist.” She then praised Kilgallen as “a woman ahead of her time.”