by Mark Shaw
How dangerous is Seconal if taken in stronger dosages? The medication is now prescribed in the states of Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana and New Mexico for physician-assisted death. This happens through “Death with Dignity” laws.
A step-up on the danger ladder of barbiturates is pentobarbital sodium, Nembutal. It was called “Yellow Birds” or “Yellow Jackets” when marketed on the street as yellow capsules. The drug is white, odorless, crystalline granules or a white powder with a slight bitter taste. It is very soluble in water and alcohol. The latter accelerates its effect below the normal 40-minute range of Seconal.
Nembutal’s powerful effects in high doses have led to its use in executions. Both Missouri and Texas have employed the drug for euthanasia purposes. Regarding the risks of a Nembutal overdose, San Francisco clinical pharmacologist Randall Boris told this author, “The problem with Nembutal is that there is a very thin line between taking the right amount and just a bit too much. There’s a true low threshold of safety there.”
The third drug discovered in Kilgallen’s blood stream was Tuinal, “Blue Birds” since it has been marketed in blue capsules. As noted, Tuinal is a combination of the two barbiturates, secobarbital sodium and amobarital sodium. It is a mixture of equal parts. The drug is a white, crystalline, tasteless odorless powder soluble in water and alcohol. Mixed with the latter accelerates its normal effect of 40 minutes or so. Tuinal can cause specific side effects, including headache; dizziness or loss of balance; difficulties with breathing; slow, shallow breathing (respiratory depression) and confusion. Most importantly, recall Tuinal can be very dangerous when abused. Death may result if even a small amount is taken in excess of the prescribed amount.
Regarding the effect of any combination of the three, Seconal, Nembutal, and Tuinal, Boris stated, “That would be quite lethal, shutting down the brain within a short period of time, as short as an hour or less.”
Boris also pointed out that each of the three drugs is normally contained in very small capsules. He stated, “It’s quite easy to break them apart if someone chooses to do so and then empty the contents into a glass of water or an alcoholic drink. Any mixture with alcohol is very dangerous and speeds up the effect considerably. Basically, what happens is that the person just stops breathing.”
Asked by this author to comment on the traces of Nembutal on one glass confiscated by Dr. Charles Umberger and analyzed by chemist John Broich, Boris said “The sodium, salt, in the Nembutal could leave a telltale sign on the rim of a glass.” Boris added, “This would happen if the person taking the drug drank from the glass shortly after consuming the Nembutal. That would not happen if the drug had completely dissolved.”
Since both Seconal and Nembutal leave some evidence of a bitter taste in any alcoholic drink, it is necessary to mask that taste. Adding quinine is the answer. It is a central ingredient into any combination for example, of gin or vodka, and tonic water. If a 10-ounce glass is used, it could be four parts tonic that includes the quinine, and six parts vodka.
Curious is the absence of any notation of quinine being present in Kilgallen’s system in Dr. James Luke’s medical examiner documents. Unfortunately, John Broich was never asked about this matter during his audiotaped interview. Neither, in all likelihood, would have known Kilgallen’s favorite drink of choice was vodka and tonic.
* * * * *
With this information in mind, if the “mystery man,” presumably a “hit man,” decided to end Kilgallen’s life during the early morning hours of November 8, 1965, he could have spiked her drink with the deadly combination of the three barbiturates. The ticking clock leading up to her death could have started with the two drinking at the Regency Hotel bar.
Regarding the amount of alcohol, arguably vodka, Kilgallen drank, the medical examiner’s report provided the only data. It listed the blood alcohol content as 0.15 but, as noted, this was the level mid-afternoon of the 8th, meaning that level was much higher hours earlier when she presumably died. Recall in the ME report the notation that Kilgallen’s liver was “fatty,” but not “cirrhotic.”101
Any conclusion as to how much alcohol Kilgallen actually drank is nearly impossible to determine due to their being no follow-up investigation. This confuses any chance of understanding how the three barbiturates in Kilgallen’s system could accelerate because of the presence of any alcohol.
Recall that eyewitness press agent Harvey Daniels said that Kilgallen was a “little high.” This observation apparently meant that he somehow noticed the effects of the alcohol she had consumed. In this state, the tipsy Kilgallen could have asked the “mystery man” to accompany her back to her townhouse. In the alternative, if she knew him well, perhaps they had planned for him to go there with her all along. Whatever reason, the drum roll to Kilgallen’s death would have begun with drinking the vodka setting her up for the drug overdose shortly thereafter.
It is a virtual certainty that Dorothy Kilgallen drank vodka at the Regency Hotel bar based on past habits. However, the possibility that her drink was spiked with a deadly dose of barbiturates at the bar is more difficult to prove. Hairdresser Marc Sinclaire was curious about this aspect of Kilgallen’s death, stating, “She was given it [the pills] somehow. I don’t know if it had been injected, given in the back of the car, done in a drink. I don’t know that and I don’t know if she left under her own power from the Regency Hotel.”
During his 2015 interviews with this author, former NYC medical examiner’s office toxicologist Dr. Donald Hoffman said Kilgallen’s drink having been spiked was certainly “possible” but that a “sophisticated drinker would detect the bitter taste of the barbiturates.” He said that quinine could have been used to mask the bitterness and that “anyone who was really intoxicated might not notice the bitterness since their mental state would be cloudy.”
If, in fact, Kilgallen’s drink was spiked, then she may have begun to experience a few signs of the effects of the drugs. This included confusion, unsteadiness, drowsiness, wobbly legs and a possible partial loss of faculties.
Whether anyone besides Harvey Daniels noticed anything unusual about Kilgallen’s behavior is impossible to ascertain. Author Lee Israel was apparently banned from speaking to anyone at the Regency Hotel regarding Kilgallen’s appearance at the bar. No reason was provided by Israel.
Any of those who saw Kilgallen, if she was unsteady, may have believed she was drunk, or “high” as Daniels stated. Nevertheless, if the “mystery man” had sneaked the drugs into her vodka and tonic while she was in the bathroom or making a telephone call, perhaps to the Western Union manager at 2:00 a.m., then she would have asked him to help her get home. Alternatively, as noted, perhaps the two had planned for an early morning tryst in the townhouse. Either way, Lee Israel concluded from her research that the appearance of the death scene indicated that of a “lover being present.” Apparently, Kilgallen having left on her makeup, hairpiece and false eyelashes may have permitted this conclusion, one pointing to Kilgallen having been with someone she knew well, certainly not a stranger but arguably the “late date” she mentioned to Bob Bach.
Conceivably, at Kilgallen’s invitation, the “mystery man” could have escorted Kilgallen out of the hotel either through the front door, a side door or a back entrance. Then he would have accompanied her to her townhouse just a few blocks away probably by taxi or in his car. During this time, her unsteadiness most likely increased. Unfortunately, there is no one to provide an account of her mental or physical state from the hotel to her townhouse.
At this point, the question as to whether the “mystery man” entered the townhouse with Kilgallen is important. First, consider the possibility that he did not do so but instead helped her unlock the front door and then vanished into the night.
If this happened, then the “mystery man” with evil intent in his heart, believed whatever barbiturate dosage he spiked into Kilgallen’s drink at the bar along with vod
ka was strong enough to kill her. To sync this with the death scene, Kilgallen, unaware that she had ingested a lethal dose of dangerous drugs, could have wobbled into the elevator. Her destination may have been the “Cloop.” As noted, it was located on the fifth floor, the home office where she slept.
Likely, though, Kilgallen would have stopped at the third floor where her pink bathroom, clothes closet and dressing room were located. If the barbiturates were spiked into her drink at the hotel, then she may have felt nauseous. This was a common side effect of the drugs. If this happened, Kilgallen could have decided to seek relief. This would account for her entering her bathroom and swallowing a couple of teaspoons of Pepto Bismal, “pink fluid” discovered in her stomach.
Unsteady and perhaps a bit confused about the lack of mental faculties, Kilgallen, instead of fiddling with the usual bedclothes, may have just shucked the Chiffon dress. She then grabbed the strange nightclothes (Bolero blouse and blue peignoir, or blue robe) from the clothes closet and put them/it on.
According to this plausible scenario, Kilgallen then hobbled back toward the elevator. However, she decided she could not make it to the fifth floor. The logical place to collapse was the nearby Master bedroom. She would have entered and fallen on the bed.
This account, of course, does not answer several questions besides why her makeup, false eyelashes and hairpiece (all noted in the NYC ME documents) were still in place. Among them: How did Kilgallen end up so perfectly positioned in the middle of the “spotless” bed (Sinclaire account, not in ME documents) with covers from neck to toe? (noted in the ME documents) Why was the Robert Ruark Honey Badger book she had already read present? (also in ME documents) Why was the nightstand lamp and the air conditioning turned on? (not noted in the ME documents) Why was the empty vial of Seconal pills on the nightstand? (Detective Doyle account; not in ME documents) Why was there a glass, one of two, that had contained alcohol, probably vodka, as suggested by Dr. Charles Umberger, on that same nightstand? (not in ME documents)
If this account appears unlikely, and Kilgallen was indeed murdered, then the possibility exists that the “mystery man” was in the townhouse with her. At one point, she had entertained her lover Johnnie Ray since Richard had caught them leading to his threatening to kill the singer. This means inviting the “mystery man” inside the townhouse could have happened.
Under this scenario, and without any commotion, the two could have quietly entered. Because Kilgallen knew the servants would not return until early morning, there was no worry to wake them on the lower floors. Richard, Kerry and the tutor were all sleeping on floors above the third. The “mystery man” was thus safe to accompany her as the two entered the elevator. Then they headed toward her bathroom, the clothes closet and her dressing room adjacent to the Master bedroom on the third floor.
Kilgallen, either from the drinking or food she had eaten during the evening, had an upset stomach. While she was gone, the “mystery man” could have offered to fix them both a drink accounting for the two glasses noted by Dr. Umberger.
Following this theory, while Kilgallen was in the bathroom taking the Pepto Bismal, the “mystery man” could have poured vodka into Kilgallen’s glass. In all likelihood, this is when he could have broken the barbiturate capsules in two and sifted the deadly powder into her drink. This would account for the barbiturate residue being on one of the glasses.
When Kilgallen reappeared from the bathroom, still feeling woozy, she simply took off her Chiffon dress. She could have then grabbed the strange nightclothes from the closet. Recall that there was an indication, according to Marc Sinclaire, that a lipstick smear was evident on the Bolero blouse. This could have happened after Kilgallen clumsily removed the Chiffon dress and put on the strange nightclothes.
At this point, Kilgallen had not removed her makeup, false eyelashes and hairpiece. Perhaps she still wanted to look good for the “mystery man.”
As the minutes passed toward a half hour or so, Kilgallen, after sipping from her drink as she conversed with the “mystery man,” could have begun to sink into a state of uneasiness. She may have experienced more confusion while wondering why the drinking was affecting her ability to think straight. Kilgallen, in all likelihood, had trouble keeping her eyes open. It was then that her companion could have helped her into the middle of the bed and covered her up. Slowly, as he watched her die, she was suddenly warm. She could have asked him to turn on the air conditioner.
Within forty-minutes or less dependent on how the combination of Seconal, Nembutal and Tuinal affected her, Kilgallen would have, in all likelihood, experienced bradycardia. This was a slow heart rate accompanied by dizziness and fainting. Try as she may, the famous journalist and television star could not fight back against the poisonous drugs accelerating through her system. At some point, they combined with the vodka to stop her brain from functioning.
If the “mystery man” was responsible for spiking Kilgallen’s drink, how did the empty vial of Seconal pills end up on the nightstand? One possibility is that he could have retrieved the vial from her purse or perhaps from the bathroom medicine cabinet. He could have emptied it if it wasn’t already empty, and then carefully placed it on the nightstand. When discovered, it served exactly the purpose intended: to throw the authorities, including the medical examiner, off track by immediately heading them in the direction of accidental death.
His mission nearly complete, the “mystery man” could have then left the bedroom but not before he collected Kilgallen’s assassinations file, the one that never left her sight. This was another reason to believe he could have been in the townhouse with her. Absconding with the file, as noted, was an important part of his directive.
The “mystery man” then could have quietly exited the townhouse probably using the stairs. Whether he left a fingerprint or two or any other incriminating evidence behind is unknown. There was no follow up search of any of the townhouse rooms by forensic experts.
What bolsters the assumption that the extremely heavy dose of dangerous drugs mentioned above were in Kilgallen’s system is the later analysis by Drs. Baden and Hoffman. Based on “the raw data in Dr. Luke’s report,” the two doctors concluded, “the percentage of barbiturates found in [Kilgallen’s] brain and liver indicated that the body reposited the equivalent of fifteen to twenty 100-milligrams of Seconal capsules.”
Notice that Drs. Baden and Hoffman did not specify that the capsules were in Kilgallen’s system. Instead, they opined there was “the equivalent”102 of those capsules. Certainly, the combination of Seconal, Nembutal, or Tuinal indicates at least the “equivalent” of the Seconal capsules the two doctors suggested. In fact, what other reason is there for this diagnosis?
Based on this theory, the perfect opportunity had presented itself to kill Kilgallen through the “mystery man.” However, the exact means by which she died through ingestion of the three deadly barbiturates is clearly speculation. There was no investigation pinpointing how the drugs entered her body. However, an undeniable fact remains—the three barbiturates were in her bloodstream
With this in mind, the analysis by Dr. Donald Hoffman, the toxicologist who viewed the medical examiner’s raw data following Dr. Michael Baden’s analysis, was correct. Recall that he said of Kilgallen’s death, “the formal data indicate that it was acute poisoning due to alcohol and barbiturates and that [the] barbiturates alone could possibly have killed her.” [Emphasis added].
Most interestingly, based on the clear presence of the three barbiturates, NYC medical examiner Dr. James Luke had accurately reported the cause of death. It stated that she died of a “combination of barbiturates and alcohol.” However, the “circumstances undetermined” words included in the report may now plausibly be determined. There is little doubt Kilgallen died of a combination of the Seconal, Nembutal and Tuinal with the vodka as accelerant. Bottom line: Dorothy Kilgallen was most likely murdered either by the “mystery man”
or through his efforts as an accessory. Who was he and did he have any connection to those benefiting from Kilgallen’s death?
99 Stone’s comment that the man was “younger” than Kilgallen causes suspicion that it could have been Johnnie Ray. But no evidence has ever surfaced that it was based on his admissions, or anyone in the bar stating that it was him. During her interview, Stone was not asked specifically if the man talking to Kilgallen was Ray, but since he was such a celebrity, it makes sense to believe that she would have identified Ray if he had been sitting next to Kilgallen.
100 While it is certainly possible that a powerful “Mickey Finn,” a drink laced with a psychoactive drug or incapacitating agent (especially chloral hydrate) was spiked in Kilgallen’s drink either at the Regency Hotel bar or perhaps even in her townhouse, a main objection arises concerning this theory. This concern stems from there being no evidence of chloral hydrate noted in Dr. James Luke’s autopsy report or in the follow-up analysis by the chemist, John Broich. The ineptness of Dr. Luke’s examination may mean negligence occurred but Broich’s testing appears to have been professional in nature.
101 The medical examiner’s conclusion Kilgallen’s liver was not damaged should put to rest any speculation she was an alcoholic. This rumor ran rampant at the time and still exists today but is without merit.
102 As a point of comparison, when actress Judy Garland of The Wizard of Oz fame died in 1969, her blood stream contained the equivalent of ten Seconal capsules. Also, Marilyn Monroe’s toxicology report indicated high levels of Nembutal (38–66 capsules) and chloral hydrate (14–23 tablets) in the actress’s blood stream. Similarities between the confusion surrounding Monroe’s death and that of Kilgallen are obvious based on clues at the death scene with neither woman permitted any proper investigation of their deaths.