In the early 1960s, Washington, D.C. socialite Mary Pinchot Meyer seemed to have it all: a fabulous home, a successful CIA agent husband, and a close group of friends that included the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. But Mary’s life wasn’t as perfect as it seemed, and after her marriage fell apart, she found comfort in a new lover: the president himself. When Mary was found dead in 1964, the public wondered: did the US government have something to do with her murder? Murder: True Crime Stories is a Crime House Original. For more, follow us on all social media, @crimehouse To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: Who was Mary Pinchot Meyer and what was her connection to JFK?
This is Crime House. No matter who you are or where you're from, one thing is true. Sometimes you have to go through some serious trauma to find yourself. And no one knew that better than Mary Pinchot Meyer. In the mid-1900s, Washington, D.C. was a boys' club. Important decisions were made by men in smoke-filled parlors while their wives gossiped in the powder room.
At one point, Mary was one of those ladies. But after a toxic marriage and the death of her son left Mary heartbroken, she picked up the pieces and moved on. By the early 1960s, she was on the cusp of reinventing herself. She dropped acid, experimented with radical therapies. She even took on a lover, the President of the United States himself, John F. Kennedy.
But just as Mary was finally turning the corner, her life was cut short. To this day, no one knows if her death was an accident or an assassination. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the real ending.
I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House original show powered by Pave Studios. Every Tuesday, I'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders. I'll be bringing awareness to stories that need to be heard with a focus on those who are impacted. And for more true crime stories that all happened this week in history, check out Crime House The Show.
Each episode covers multiple cases unified by the same theme. So every week, you get something a little different. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly matters.
And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once, plus exciting bonus content. This is the first of two episodes on the 1964 murder of 43-year-old artist and Washington, D.C.
socialite Mary Pinchot Meyer. Today, I'll introduce you to Mary. I'll walk you through her privileged childhood and transition from outspoken journalist to the wife of a CIA agent. When her marriage fell apart in the late 1950s, Mary decided to devote herself to her true passion. art, but before she could fully find herself, somebody murdered her in cold blood.
Next time, I'll take you through Mary's winding murder investigation. What initially seemed like an open and shut case was turned on its head when a new theory emerged, one that connected Mary's death to the highest levels of the U.S. government. All that and more, coming up. I've got some exciting news. Crime House Studios is launching a new original show called Killer Minds.
Hosted by licensed forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Engels and Crime House's Vanessa Richardson, each episode features a deep dive into the psychology of a notorious murderer. From serial killers to cult leaders, deadly exes, and spree killers. Killer Minds is a Crime House Studios original. New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts.
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Chapter 2: How did Mary's personal life influence her public persona?
Through it all, Mary held on to hope that the UWF would start a new world order. But despite her faith in the organization, Cord was becoming less certain that peace was possible. It was hard to argue for a united global government when the world had split in two. East versus West. Communism versus capitalism.
Lines were being drawn, and Cord started to think that maybe a Cold War was one battle worth fighting for. And there was one organization that seemed poised to bring the U.S. and its allies to victory. The Central Intelligence Agency. Thanks to Cord's family connections, it wasn't too difficult for him to get in touch with the man in charge, Deputy Director Alan Dulles.
Before long, Cord landed a coveted interview with the agency. Dulles offered Cord a job on the spot, but there was a catch. The position was so top secret, he couldn't even tell Cord what it was until he accepted. Cord didn't hesitate. Whatever the CIA was doing, he wanted in. If 31-year-old Mary had any questions or concerns about her husband becoming a government agent, she didn't show it.
By this point, she'd been a stay-at-home mom for four years. Her feelings about the CIA weren't clear, but it seemed like Mary was willing to follow cord wherever he went. So in 1951, the Myers packed up their family and moved from New York City to Washington, D.C. To succeed in the CIA during the Cold War, a man needed certain qualities.
For example, a hatred of communism, a flexible interpretation of the law, and an appreciation for good scotch. It was just a matter of time until Cord Meyer had all three. Being in the CIA must have been thrilling, initially at least. While Dulles couldn't tell Cord what his actual job title was during the interview, it quickly became clear. Cord was a spy.
Namely, he was tasked with infiltrating academic groups and labor unions and steering them toward capitalist ideals. Whether that meant taking over leadership, bribing the group, or keeping tabs on people who sounded like dissidents, well, it was all in the name of keeping the country safe. Officially, Cord's department was called the Department of Plans.
Unofficially, it was called the Dirty Tricks Department. But Mary didn't know any of that. While she was aware Cord was in the CIA, his role as a spy was confidential. It's not clear if Mary ever caught on, but given how clever she was, it's hard to believe she didn't have at least some idea of what Cord was doing.
Either way, when they first moved to DC, it seemed like things were going well for the Meyer family. Although Cord was still busy at work, he was able to spend more time at home with Mary and the boys. Plus, they gained a new set of familiar neighbors. A little while after the Myers came to D.C., John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie moved in next door.
For whatever reason, Cord and John didn't get along, but Mary and Jackie hit it off right away. Beyond the Kennedys, the Myers built a tight-knit circle of friends. The group included James Angleton, chief of counterintelligence at the CIA, James Truitt, an eccentric journalist for Newsweek, and his wife Anne, an accomplished sculptor.
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Chapter 3: What were the circumstances surrounding Mary Meyer's death?
Since her divorce from Cord, Mary had regained much of the confidence and self-reliance she'd lost during her marriage. As the counterculture movement made more progress in the 60s, people started to turn to psychedelics to expand their horizons. Mary embraced the changing tides and leaned on mind-altering drugs like LSD to fully reinvent herself.
She even befriended the leader of the psychedelic movement, Harvard professor Timothy Leary. With her new lease on life, Mary started to take herself less seriously. Friends described her as courageous and foolhardy. She enjoyed skinny dipping, sunbathing nude, and one winter, she went skating on thin ice across the local Old Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
By that point, Mary was very familiar with the C&O Canal. By 1964, at 43 years old, she developed a routine. She'd paint in the mornings, then walk along the path between the canal and the river in the afternoons. By then, the area was overgrown and neglected, but Mary found beauty in the trees and wildlife around it.
And unlike many other women in Georgetown, Mary wasn't afraid of the drifters who hung around the area. At around noon on October 12, 1964, Mary decided she was satisfied with the work she'd done on her most recent painting. She hung the canvas to dry, put on her favorite blue sweater, and left for her daily walk. But she wasn't the only person on the path that day.
And whoever was watching Mary was determined to make sure she never made it home alive. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories. Come back next week for part two of our series on the murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer. Murder True Crime Stories is a CrimeHouse original powered by Pave Studios.
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Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team, Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benidon, Natalie Pertzofsky, Lori Marinelli, Sarah Carroll, Nick Gauger, Sheila Patterson, and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching.
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