Biographer Andrew Wilson claims that Marilyn Monroe's personal physician, Dr. Hyman Engelberg, concealed his role in the fatal overdose that killed the actress in 1962. The new research suggests that the iconic star may have been a victim of medical negligence rather than the suicide originally ruled by the Los Angeles County coroner.

The 2011 auction discovery of a signed chloral hydrate prescription

In his new biography, I Wanna Be Loved By You: Marilyn Monroe, A Life in 100 Takes, author Andrew Wilson asserts that Dr. Hyman Engelberg deliberately misled authorities regarding the medications used in Monroe's final hours. While Engelberg told Los Angeles police during a 1982 investigation that he had never prescribed chloral hydrate to the actress, a prescription order from 1962 tells a different story. As the report says, this document, which was sold at auction in 2011, bears Engelberg's signature for the very sedative he claimed to have never used.

This discrepancy shifts the focus of the 1962 tragedy from a self-inflicted act to a potential case of professional misconduct. Wilson argues that if the signature is authentic, Engelberg's denial to investigators suggests a cover-up intended to shield himself from the consequences of his prescribing habits. This finding challenges the long-standing official narrative that Monroe's death in her Brentwood home was a solo decision.

The 830 units of medication prescribed in Monroe's final months

The scale of the medication provided to Monroe in the two months leading up to her death raisses significant questions about patient safety. according to Wilson's research, Monroe was prescribed a total of 830 units of medication during that period, a volume the biographer describes as being enough to kill several people. This massive dosage included a combination of Nembutal and chloral hydrate, both of which were used to treat her chronic insomnia.

Wilson draws a modern legal parallel to the death of actor Matthew Perry, noting that individuals who source controlled substances in connection with an overdose can face criminal charges. The biographer posits that if these prescribing patterns had occurred in a modern medical setting, Engelberg could potentially face involuntary manslaughter charges for overprescribing potent sedatives to a vulnerable patient.

A shift from 1964 political conspiracies to forensic negligence

For decades,the death of Marilyn Monroe has been shrouded in political intrigue and unfounded rumors. The earliest major theory emerged from a 1964 pamphlet by Frank A. Capell, which alleged that Monroe was murdered as part of a communist conspiracy involving Robert F. Kennedy. These theories were later bolstered by the writings of Norman Mailer, keeping the focus on high-level political cover-ups rather than medical reality.

Wilson's approach seeks to move past these sensationalist myths by applying a forensic lens to the medical evidence. Rather than looking for shadowy political actors, the biography focuses on the tangible paper trail of prescriptions and the immediate actions taken by medical professionals on the night of August 4, 1962.

The hour-long delay after the Brentwood discovery

Significant questions remain regarding the timeline of events on the night Monroe was found unresponsive . After the housekeeper, Eunice Murray, alerted psychiatrist Ralph Greenson to the situation, Greenson discovered Monroe in her bedroom and subsequently called Dr. Engelberg. However, the report notes that Engelberg delayed calling the police for nearly an hour after pronouncing the actress dead,instead telling officers it was a suicide.

The motivations behind this delay remain unverified. Wilson suggests that Engelberg may have been distracted or panicked due to a difficult separation from his wife at the time, but it is still unknown whether this delay was a result of personal distress or a calculated attempt to control the initial investigation. Whether the scene was a crime scene or a medical failure remains the central, unanswered question of the new research.