The truth about MARILYN MONROE'S DEATH

A medical examiner known as the 'celebrity coroner' cast doubt on her final hours

- Words: Sarah Marinos.

When Dr Thomas Noguchi arrived at the LA coroner's office on a Sunday morning in August 1962, he found a note from the chief coroner. He had to conduct an urgent autopsy on a 36-yearold woman who'd died the night before.

Dr Noguchi, a newly appointed deputy coroner, noted the woman was his age... and her name was Marilyn Monroe. He told himself it couldn't be the Hollywood star, but as he began to read the police report, he realised he was about to perform an autopsy on the world's most famous woman.

Dr Noguchi, who became known as "the celebrity coroner" strode into the autopsy room and gently removed the sheet covering the body.

"He was momentarily paralysed with disbelief," says Anne Choi, author of LA Coroner. "The body on the table really was Marilyn Monroe. He paused, took a deep breath and then started examining every inch of her body with a magnifying glass."

The actress' naked body had been found face-down on her bed at her home by her housekeeper. Marilyn's hand was resting on a phone and her bedside table was littered with an empty bottle of sleeping pills and sedatives. The police report noted that on the day she died, Marilyn spoke to her psychiatrist, who described her as "very despondent".