Who Killed Mary Meyer?

      On Monday October 12, 1964 Mary Pinchot Meyer, a Georgetown artist, finished working on a painting and then set out on her usual daily walk along the C and O canal towpath.  A mechanic working on a car nearby reportedly heard a woman scream for help followed by two gunshots.  The mechanic ran toward the chaos and allegedly sees a black male standing over the body of a white female with a gun in his hand.  The man then ran away.  

     By the time police arrive Mary Meyer is dead from two bullet wounds.  They arrested a black man nearby who fit the general description provided by the mechanic.  His name was Ray Crump, and he was put on trial for the murder of Mary Meyer.  However, Crump was acquitted of the charges and Mary's murder case grew cold.  But the whispers about Mary's death being anything but a random act of violence have never stopped.  So, who was Mary Meyer and who wanted her dead?

     Mary was born into a wealthy New York family.  She attended the prestigious Brearley School and Vassar College before marrying Cord Meyer, a Marine Corp officer from a nice family.  Meyer had lost an eye in the war.  The couple had three children: Quinton, Micheal, and Mark.  In 1951 Meyer took a job with the CIA and the family moved to the nation's capital, becoming a part of the Georgetown social scene.   

     The Meyer's lived outside the city in McLean Virginia where in 1954 John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie moved in next door.  But, on December 18, 1956 nine-year-old Micheal Meyer was hit and killed by a car near the family home.  And in 1958 Mary filed for divorce siting "extreme mental cruelty" as her reason.  After the divorce Mary moved into Georgetown with Quinton and Mark where she was close to her sister Toni and Toni's husband, journalist Ben Bradlee.  The Bradlee's converted their garage into an art studio for Mary.

     Mary reportedly enjoys her freedom as a divorced woman.  She reportedly has an affair with painter Kenneth Noland around this time and allegedly experiments with drugs.  There are also persistent rumors that CIA counterintelligence officer James Angleton began bugging Mary's home after the divorce.  Some say he did this because the CIA didn't trust Mary.  Others think Angleton was obsessed with her personally.  While there are some who think Mary herself was working for the CIA in some capacity, possibly gathering information on people.  

     It is widely believed that Mary was a mistress of President John F. Kennedy, her former neighbor whom she had reportedly known since the 1930s.  It is unclear when their alleged affair began but a 1963 letter from Kennedy to Mary sold at auction in 2016 for nearly $90,000.  The letter was dated October of 1963 just a month before Kennedy was assassinated.  This has led some people to theorize that Mary knew something she shouldn't have known about the assassination that led to her murder less than a year later.  Some have also wondered if Mary had infiltrated Kennedy on behalf of the CIA.

     Mary's brother-in-law Ben Bradlee recalled that CIA official Wistar Janney called him at his office shortly after lunch to report that a woman had been murdered in Georgetown and he was pretty sure it was Mary.  Janney also reportedly called Cord Meyer around this same time.  Meyer was out of town at the time which some people have found suspicious.  The two phone calls have led many people to ask how the CIA learned of the murder so quickly after it happened?  Out of all the women in Georgetown that day what led Janney to assume the victim was Mary Meyer?  Was he there?  

     Later in the evening of the murder Toni and Ben Bradlee went to Mary's house and allegedly found James Angleton there searching for Mary's diary.  It is not known if a diary was ever found.  Why was the CIA so concerned about Mary's diary?  In the months before her death Mary had reportedly told friends that she felt like someone had been in her house and was frightened by it.  Could that have been Angleton as well?  If so, was his motivation personal or professional?  Was this connected to Mary's murder? 

     What do you think?  Was Mary Meyer the victim of a random act of violence?  Did Ray Crump get away with murder?  Was Mary the victim of a jealous stalker who had possibly been in her home?  Was she the victim of a jealous or vengeful ex-husband who was conveniently out of town?  Was Mary working for the CIA?  Was she under surveillance by the CIA?  Did Mary have knowledge or proof of a conspiracy to kill JFK?  Will we ever learn who killed Mary Pinchot Meyer?