by Mark Shaw
Kilgallen was not knifed, strangled, beaten or shot to death, since the medical examiner’s office report stated there was no trauma. There was also no evidence surfacing that an autopsy indicated the presence of piercing of her skin. This would have indicated that injection of drugs was possible.
This was not to say that during the haphazard post-death analysis of the body by the medical examiner’s office those involved missed this forensic evidence. However, to date, no facts have surfaced pointing toward injection of the drugs being a possibility.
If drug injection makes no sense, ingestion of the drugs makes the most sense as the means regarding cause of death. If she did not willingly swallow them, then what means of force are likely?
At least two possibilities appear. The first is that whoever was intent on causing her harm could have threatened her with physical harm if she did not ingest the capsules and drink the vodka. The assailant may also have threatened Kilgallen’s family members with harm if she did not follow orders. Afraid to scream and call for help, Kilgallen acquiesced to the demand and followed orders by swallowing the capsules while drinking the vodka.
A second alternative involves excessive force. When she refused to cooperate, a gun or knife became the threatening weapon. Then the assailant physically forced the capsules into her open mouth. The terrified Kilgallen swallowed them after which the assailant forced her to drink the rest of the vodka. After the drug overdose and alcohol took effect and Kilgallen passed out, the assailant could have fled with Kilgallen’s JFK assassination file in hand.
* * * * *
Having considered how Kilgallen died if someone intending to harm her was in the townhouse, it is then necessary to return to the question as to how that person arranged the death scene.
Staging it meant there was placement of the body in the wrong bed in the wrong bedroom while she still had on her makeup, false eyelashes and hairpiece. However, the assailant, in all likelihood, did not know it was the wrong bed in the wrong bedroom. They also may not have cared about the makeup, false eyelashes and hairpiece.
One problem with this scenario is confusion regarding the nightclothes Kilgallen was wearing when her body was discovered. Marc Sinclaire described her outfit as both a blue peignoir and a Bolero blouse. Lee Israel wrote that Kilgallen was wearing a “blue robe.” The latter matched the NYC medical documents with no mention of any Bolero blouse.
According to Sinclaire, either would have been completely uncharacteristic or “peculiar.” During his videotaped interview, he said Kilgallen never wore these nightclothes to bed instead opting for her favorite pajamas and old socks.
Also of interest is the ME’s notation that Kilgallen, while wearing the blue robe, wore “nothing else.” No account was provided as to whether a bra or panties was discovered either in the bedroom or her nearby dressing room.
This said, could the killer have undressed Kilgallen? After doing so, did he toss away the Chiffon dress she was wearing when she left the Regency Hotel bar? There is no account of that dress’s whereabouts on the day of her death. Regardless, to conclude that the assailant would have had the inclination to remove the dress, remove any undergarments, and replace them with the odd nightclothes seems unlikely.
Regardless, the peculiar nature of the death scene clues should have triggered “Investigate! Investigate! Investigate!” However, those called to duty—police, ME staff, Kilgallen’s fellow journalists, even her close friends and family—despite confusion about conflicting facts, brushed off Kilgallen’s death as accidental. This was reprehensible since those responsible for murdering one of the most powerful female voices in America escaped arrest and punishment.
Unfortunately, without benefit of a fresh investigation, logic fails when considering the reasons for the death scene existing as it did in the early morning hours of November 8, 1965. That is, unless there is a third possibility as to how Kilgallen became the victim of a homicide. This involves targeting the one person with easy access to the gifted reporter just prior to her death.
81 To date, no publication of any kind or any investigation report has ever mentioned this column. It appears to have been missed by any and all so-called JFK assassination experts despite its historical importance.
82 If Kilgallen did indeed have proof that Oswald and Ruby knew each other before the JFK assassination, or Henry Wade had the same proof but never displayed it at trial as Kilgallen predicted, then it’s plausible to believe that Oswald did register a glimmer of recognition of Ruby before Oswald was shot.
83 Temperatures in New York City in November 1965 hovered near the freezing point. In those days there was no central air conditioning; each room had a wall or window unit.
84 The book was The Honey Badger by Robert Ruark, a journalist, author, world traveler and big game hunter. He was the same Ruark who wrote a column criticizing Frank Sinatra. He said the crooner had frolicked with mobsters during a trip to Havana in 1947.
85 Sinclaire’s recollection conflicts with that of Dr. Umberger who collected two glasses from Kilgallen’s night table brought to the NYC Medical Examiner’s Office. It may be that Sinclaire was mistaken since John Broich confirmed Dr. Umberger’s account of there being two glasses.
86 In a 1978 interview, tutor Ibne Hassan confirms Sinclaire’s statement regarding when he found Kilgallen’s body. Asked about the accuracy of official reports that the discovery happened at 12:30 pm, Hassan said, “That is not correct. Her body was found quite early. I would say in the vicinity of nine o’clock.”
87 Author Lee Israel quoted Evelyn Clement, butler James Clement’s wife, as saying Kilgallen “was lying there with her earrings on.” This account does not appear in the ME documents or elsewhere in any report.
88 Harold Gold, the fireman who extinguished the fire appeared on What’s My Line? on November 14, 1954. Kilgallen did not guess his identity.
89 Neither Sinclaire nor Simpson knew of the other’s interview questions and answers before they were interviewed.
90 In an audiotaped interview, Sinclaire stated, “When I came in the bedroom that morning from the dressing room and found [Kilgallen’s] body, that white silk-file dress was hanging up…. ”
91 In his videotaped interview, Sinclaire said he visited the Regency Hotel cocktail lounge many times stating, “I had clients who stayed there so I’d go by there and do their hair, especially people from out of town like Princess Margaret.”
92 Bob Bach’s wife Jean said, “I knew she had drinks with Bob. They’d been at P.J. Clarke’s. She told him to just drop her off at the Regency Hotel since she was having a late date that night.”
93 No one to date has reported how Kilgallen left the Regency Hotel bar or with whom. In his DVD interview, Marc Sinclaire said that Kilgallen “visited the Regency Hotel bar many times” and that “she liked it because there were three entrances, through the lobby and down some stairs, the street entrance, and through a back entrance.”
CHAPTER 29
Evidence of Dorothy Kilgallen’s fear of harm from those who feared her comes from a variety of sources.
Kilgallen’s close friend Bill Franklin, Johnnie Ray’s manager for years, said, “Dorothy was very disturbed by the whole thing [the JFK assassination]…[she] was sure there was some kind of a conspiracy. She said she was close to breaking the whole thing open, and also that she felt threatened, life-threatened, as a result of her work.”
Upon learning of Kilgallen’s death, Franklin said Ray was overwhelmed with grief. “[He] started crying like a baby.” Regarding how she died, Franklin added, “John didn’t believe she died of natural causes. He said, ‘I ain’t gonna tell you everything that I know about what Dorothy knows [about the JFK assassination] but I don’t believe that she laid down and went to sleep like that.’ He didn’t tell me the whole story, t
hough. Never would. I ask him that day and he just said ‘It’s dangerous to know what Dorothy knows.’”
During one interview, Johnnie Ray said, “Beyond question…I believe Dorothy was murdered. I just couldn’t prove it.” Speaking with television host Joe Franklin, Ray, asked if the reason for Kilgallen’s death was “defined,” answered, “Beyond question” without elaborating on what “defined” meant.
Ray’s subsequent manager Alan Eichler told this author “Johnnie knew Dorothy was killed. He knew who the killer was and how it was done and who did it. But he couldn’t prove it.” Eichler added, “He was convinced she was murdered. He said Dorothy had extensive assassination files and she was certain she knew the truth about who killed JFK. Johnnie believed that’s why she was killed.”
Kilgallen’s friend Steve Rossi, a stand-up comedian of note and Marty Allen’s partner, later added, “They alleged that [Kilgallen] died from an overdose of barbiturates, but I know for a fact that she wasn’t taking anything at the time…. Once she started writing the book on the Kennedy assassination, I think somebody came in there and poisoned her.” Syndicated columnist Liz Smith believed, “[Dorothy] did know too much. Her murder was very mysterious.” Kilgallen’s friend Jean Bach said, “If enough people believed Dorothy had the scoop on what really happened [in the JFK assassination] that would impel them into some sort of violent action.”
Even Earl Ruby, Jack’s brother, while denying Jack was involved in any conspiracy, admitted Kilgallen’s death was “suspicious.” He did so during a September 30, 1995 audiotaped interview. Sam Giancana’s girlfriend, singer Phyllis McGuire, was quoted in a Vanity Fair article written by Dominick Dunne. She said she considered Kilgallen’s death to be “suspicious” and that “she knew something about it.”
Liz Smith’s conclusion that Kilgallen’s death was “mysterious” and Earl Ruby and Phyllis McGuire’s belief that it was “suspicious,” are correct. As expected, plausible conclusions center on circumstantial evidence. If one agrees Richard Kollmar wasn’t responsible for Kilgallen’s death and Carlos Marcello, or any others in positions of such power, ordered her killed, then one thing is certain: this person would never have been directly involved with the actual murder. Instead, there was the recruitment of one or more trusted operatives to set up, or in fact, eliminate Kilgallen.
There appears little question that stealing and then destroying Kilgallen’s JFK thick investigation file must have been part of any murder plot. To date, no one has ever acknowledged reading the file. Based on his extensive research and inside information from Johnnie Ray, biographer Jonny Whiteside94 wrote: “The fruit of an eighteen-month investigatory work load, [the file] was described by contemporaries as a bulging sheaf of documents, notes, research, interview transcriptions, contacts, photographs and clippings. She had personally guarded the material, kept it either by her side or under lock and key.”
Regarding the veracity of Kilgallen’s investigation, Whiteside opined:
Unlike most of the crackpots and paranoids who swiftly joined the chorus, Dorothy’s suspicions were grounded on apparent fact and backed up by intense research. Her coverage of the case, before and after the Warren report, was the most aggressive and in-depth being done. Kilgallen not only anticipated many of the theories since endlessly propounded, she was able to explore and attempt to verify specifics at a time when the trail was still fresh. Dorothy’s political and underworld contacts were unrivaled within the Fourth Estate, if any reporter had the capability to follow a chain of conspiratorial evidence to its end, it was Dorothy.
* * * * *
As noted, the two men with the most to lose if Kilgallen’s investigation triggered a grand jury investigation are J. Edgar Hoover and Carlos Marcello. Since Kilgallen focused her attention on New Orleans, Marcello’s home turf, he is suspect number one.
If logic based on motive prevails, the question then arises as to how the desperate Marcello reached his tentacles into New York City through an operative. This operative needed to be in a position of trust. That way Kilgallen could share with him the status of her JFK and Oswald assassination investigation.
This person had to become a member of Kilgallen’s circle of close friends. He had to be on the inside. He could then report to Marcello or, more likely one of his associates or underlings whom Kilgallen suspected. The man had to know where the investigation was headed as November 1965 approached.
This person also had to be trusted enough to meet Kilgallen during the early morning hours on the day of her plotted murder. Most likely, it was the same man who met her at the Regency Hotel bar. Who else could it have been unless a person or persons tricked or forced Kilgallen to let them in the townhouse or was lying in wait inside?
If it was Marcello gunning for Kilgallen in November 1965, who would he have used to monitor Kilgallen’s investigation? Marcello operated out of New Orleans with his empire stretching to Dallas. He would have needed a New York connection to have access to anyone close to the famous journalist.
One suspect Marcello could have contacted was his mentor and friend, New York City Don Frank Costello. A little-known fact about Kilgallen is that she was actually friends with the dangerous Mafioso, born in 1891 as Francesco Castiglia in Calabria, a province in the toe of Italy.
Few people to date have realized the extent of the relationship between Kilgallen and Costello. A clue to its nature springs from an April 28, 1960 New York Post Daily Magazine article uncovered by this author. It was part of the ten-part series called “Dorothy Kilgallen Story: A Post Portrait” published April 20-29 of that year.95
Much of the article’s content dealt with Kilgallen’s Journal-American “Voice of Broadway” column, her investigative reporting skills and the radio and television stardom. Featured also was background information about her early days and family and her immense popularity. The writers explained that she was a true media icon whose empire stretched into the various folds of American life through the Hearst syndicated columns and articles in Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping magazines. New York City area residents, the writers noted, could easily find Kilgallen since her investigative reporting on famous trials or other fascinating events appeared on page one of the Journal-American and her “Voice of Broadway” column appeared on page five. Those wanting to hear her voice could tune in to Breakfast with Dorothy and Dick on the radio and, of course, What’s My Line? was broadcast on CBS every Sunday night.
The articles also focused on Kilgallen’s society life and how she balanced her career with motherhood. It chronicled her friendships with everyone from Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to Aldous Huxley to Truman Capote to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
Sherman Billingsley, a Costello associate and a former bootlegger who was the founder of New York City’s Stork Club, was also quoted. He called Kilgallen “just about the biggest female celebrity around…she was Miss New York.” The Post Daily Magazine writers spoke of her lofty status, writing, “Wherever Dorothy Kilgallen goes fame precedes her, envy follows her and a crowd looks on. She is one of the communication marvels of the age.”
In Part XIII of the series, the Post writers noted, “A couple of years ago Kilgallen and a few of her male friends had what they like to call the ‘Weekly Science Club.’ It meets every Monday afternoon in a reserved alcove of a well-known Third Ave bar for the avowed purpose of discussing new ideas and driving away the Monday blues.” The article then named a few of the regulars including Bob Bach, Kilgallen’s friend and a What’s My Line? associate producer.
To complete its coverage of the “Weekly Science Club,” the writers revealed that each of the regulars could bring a “mystery guest” to the bar96 from time to time. The next sentence read, “Dorothy had brought along Tony Perkins [Psycho], Sugar Ray Robinson [famous boxer] and Frank Costello, among others.” This is apparently the same “Science Club” previously mentioned in th
e FBI’s 1959 memorandum detailing how a female Bureau informant had infiltrated the club. Who this woman was is not identified in the memo nor is any reason given as to why Kilgallen was under surveillance but the fact remains that the Bureau had decided to spy on the famous journalist without her knowledge, arguably a violation of the famous journalist’s civil rights.
Regardless, through the years, several authors erroneously summarized the Post writers’ text. They stated, in essence, “Kilgallen was chummy with [Frank] Costello.” This characterization is clearly misleading, blunting the true meaning of what the relationship was between Kilgallen and Costello. Her inviting the notorious Costello to her weekly club meant more than them being just “chummy.” Instead, it indicated she knew Costello well enough to bring him into her close group of friends as a special guest.97 Recall also that Johnnie Ray biographer Jonny Whiteside wrote Costello had “occasionally joined [Kilgallen’s] table at P.J. Clarke’s.”
Kilgallen hairdresser Marc Sinclaire confirmed her friendship with the mobster. During his videotaped interview, he said, “At a little Italian restaurant in [Little Italy], we went down there one night, and [Costello] was there and he bought us drinks and was very nice to us. She later told me who he was, I did not know who he was. Maybe we were there just to see him. I’m sure Mr. Costello gave her information but she would never tell me that he did…She knew organized crime figures. She knew a lot of them.”