Murder: True Crime Stories - UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2

Episode Date: April 1, 2025

After 43-year-old socialite Mary Pinchot Meyer was found dead near a canal in Washington, D.C., investigators narrowed in on a suspect. But after he was acquitted, people wondered: was there something more sinister at play? Was Mary’s death a tragic one-off murder… or a government conspiracy? 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

This is Crime House. Everyone loves a conspiracy theory. The idea of powerful forces lurking in the shadows, committing sinister crimes. You can't deny it's intriguing. But what off all those hypotheticals are nothing more than a story. After 43-year-old Mary Pinchot Meyer was murdered in Washington, D.C. in October 1964, a lot of people started telling stories. The suspect, his lawyer, the witnesses, the prosecution, they all had a different version of events.

But none held a candle to another theory about who killed Mary, one that tied her murder to the US government. With so many different perspectives and allegations, it becomes hard to separate fact from fiction, and there's a temptation to try to piece them all together. But maybe figuring out the truth isn't the hardest part. Maybe it's learning to live without it. 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. 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 wanna 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 for ad-free and early access to Murder True Crime Stories, plus exciting bonus content, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts.

This is the second and final episode on the 1964 murder of 43-year-old artist and Washington, DC socialite, Mary Pinschow Meyer. Last time, I told you how Mary went from being the unhappy housewife of a CIA agent to a free-spirited artist, and how her life as a new woman was tragically cut short. Today I'll introduce you to the only suspect in Mary's murder investigation and walk you through his trial. Then I'll unravel the shocking allegations that emerged more than a decade after Mary's death. To this day no one is sure if her murder was a random act of violence or a calculated cover-up to protect the president. 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. By October 12th, 1964, 43-year-old Mary Pinschomier had an established routine. Paint in the mornings, then go for a stroll in the afternoon, always alongside Georgetown's Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Washington, D.C., where she lived. A few minutes past noon that day, Mary headed out to the canal. Locals called the walking trail alongside it the towpath. It was flanked by the canal on one side and dense greenery that led to the Potomac River

on the other. Mary arrived there about fifteen minutes later and around 12.20 pm she passed a jogger as she made her way to a secluded part of the towpath. The 30-foot hill and a stone wall obstructed Mary's view of the road above, but she would have been able to hear the rumble of cars in the distance. Five minutes later, at 12.25 pm, a mechanic named Henry Wiggins pulled his tow truck over on the side of that road to fix a car. He stepped out to look for the vehicle, but stopped in his tracks when he heard a piercing

scream come from below. The distant sound of two gunshots followed. He raced to the stone wall and peered over. He was horrified to see a woman, later identified as Mary Pinscho Meyer, lying dead in the middle of the towpath. Her assailant was standing over her. Wiggins noted the man was black and wore a tan jacket, dark hat, and dark slacks. But before Wiggins could call out to him, the man tucked a dark object into his pocket

and disappeared into the wooded overgrowth that led down to the Potomac. Wiggins ran to call the police, and officers arrived at the scene just five minutes later. A dozen men searched the area while the remaining officers sealed off all five exits from the towpath. It only took them four minutes to do all that, which gave Mary's killer only two ways out. He could try to climb the stone wall and get to the road above the canal, but the road was crawling with police officers,

he wouldn't get far before someone caught him. The killer's only other option was to make his way through the dense brush to the Potomac River. Then he'd have to swim across the frigid water and make a run for it on the other side. It didn't take long for the authorities to learn which route he seemingly took. Around 1.15 p.m., about 40 minutes after police began their manhunt, Officer John Warner was making his way through the forest when he came upon a short, skinny black man. His white t-shirt and dark torn pants were soaking wet and covered in brush. Officer Warner also noticed his hand was bleeding and he had a cut above his eye. His appearance was suspicious enough for Warner to ask for his ID. He learned the man was 25-year-old Raymond Ray Crump Jr., resident of Washington, D.C. According to Ray, he had been fishing when he fell asleep and tumbled into the river.

He said the cuts on his hand and above his eye were from trying to climb out of the water. Ray even showed Warner the spot where he supposedly fell in. It was just ten feet away from where Mary's body was found. Given Ray's proximity to the crime scene, Warner wanted to question him further. He led Ray back to where the rest of the officers were gathered. Tow truck driver Henry Wiggins was in the middle of giving a statement to police, but as soon as he spotted Ray he shouted, that's him. The officers on scene didn't waste any time.

They took Ray into custody for the murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer. Later in the afternoon, police retrieved a tan jacket from the river, just like Henry Wiggins had described. There was no gun in the pocket, only a pack of palm-all cigarettes. Ray's wife was called into the station and identified the items as his. When police confronted Ray with the evidence, he said, "'It looks like you got a stacked deck.'" Then he burst into tears.

To the detectives interrogating Ray, this hardly seemed like the kind of reaction a cold-blooded killer would have. And that wasn't the only thing that cast doubt on their theory that Ray had killed Mary. There wasn't any physical evidence. He didn't have any hair or blood on his clothing, and there wasn't any gunpowder on his fingers, which wouldn't have washed off in the river. At this point, police hadn't even found the murder weapon. Even so, Henry Wiggins' eyewitness testimony was damning, and Ray's jacket seemed as good as any smoking gun.

After that, the case against Ray moved at breakneck speed. On October 15, 1964, three days after Mary's death, the prosecutor took the case straight to a grand jury. They voted to indict Ray for first-degree murder, which meant he was eligible for the death penalty. And it wouldn't be easy for him to fight it. Because Ray couldn't afford his own attorney, he'd been assigned a public defender, and while his lawyer was passionate and well-meaning, he was inexperienced and didn't ask for more time to prepare a defense. And so the judge set the trial date for November 11, 1964, less than a month away. Ray was right.

It looked like the prosecutor had a stacked deck. Despite the glaring holes in the case against Ray, it seemed like his fate was sealed. But there was one person who refused to give up on him. Ray's mom, Martha. When she learned her son's trial was just a few weeks off, she contacted one of D.C.'s best defense attorneys, Dovey Johnson Roundtree. Besides being an attorney, Roundtree was also an ordained preacher and civil rights activist. She spoke in the courtroom with the same burning urgency as she did at the pulpit on Sundays.

Her abilities had served her well. Eighty percent of her clients who were accused of murder had been acquitted. Martha begged Roundtree for help. She admitted Ray had been in trouble before for petty things like theft and public urination, but on the whole, he was a good person. More than that, he wasn't capable of doing something like this. Not only was he too weak, but he was too slow-witted. She explained that Ray had sustained at least two concussions in the past few years and

struggled with excruciating headaches and blackouts. Sometimes he didn't seem quote, all there. Roundtree was moved by Martha's pleas, but she wanted to visit Ray in jail before agreeing to represent him. When she did, she found he was exactly as childlike as his mom described. she found he was exactly as childlike as his mom described. Ray trembled when Roundtree spoke to him and couldn't fully comprehend the charges he was facing. To Roundtree, he seemed like a man who could barely form a coherent sentence, let alone execute a woman in cold blood.

Still, she knew Mary was a prominent member of the DC community. When people like Mary were killed, juries didn't let their deaths go unpunished. But after seeing Ray in person, Roundtree had no doubt he was innocent. And despite the uphill battle ahead of them, she was willing to give it a shot. She told Martha she'd do everything in her power to save Ray from death. With the Fizz loyalty program, you get rewarded just for having a mobile plan. You know, for texting and stuff. And if you're not getting rewards like extra data and dollars off with your mobile plan,

you're not with Fizz. Switch today. Conditions apply. Details at fizz.ca. Hey everyone, it's Carter with an exciting update. 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 of Killer Minds features a deep dive into the psychology of a notorious murderer, from infamous serial killers to ruthless cult leaders, deadly exes, and terrifying spree killers. Along with Vanessa's immersive storytelling full of high stakes twists and turns, Dr. Engels will be providing expert analysis of the people involved.

Not just how they killed, but why. Killer Minds is a Crime House Studios original. New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts. top of your financial game. Rise to it with the BMO Eclipse Rise Visa Card, the credit card that rewards your good financial habits. Earn points for paying your credit card bill in full and on time every month. Level up from bill payer to reward slayer. Terms and conditions apply. On a crisp October afternoon in 1964, 43-year-old Mary Pinchot-Meyer was murdered in cold blood.

Two days after her death, on October 14th, a memorial service was held on what would have been Mary's 44th birthday. Wealthy residents of Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown area turned up in droves to mourn their friend and neighbor. But between all the tears, there were whispers about what had really happened to Mary. While most people agreed with the police's theory that Mary had been killed by Ray Crump, not everyone was so sure. Especially Mary's friends from the art world, who were struck by how many CIA officials were at the memorial. They wondered if it was because Mary's ex-husband, Cord Meyer, was an important figure at the agency, or if something more sinister going on?

As for Cord, he was a mess. Normally he was known to be aggressive and argumentative, but after Mary's death that tough exterior shattered, at least for a moment. He sobbed for the duration of the funeral, then instructed his sons not to cry about their mom and sent them back to boarding school. Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, far from the prim and proper Georgetown elite, Dovey Johnson Roundtree was evaluating the case

against her client, Ray. On October 28th, 1964, two weeks after he was charged with Mary's murder, Roundtree had officially agreed to be Ray's attorney, and she had her work cut out for her. Not only had the prosecution identified Ray as the only person near the crime scene, but they also had an eyewitness who identified him as the man standing over Mary's dead body. But Roundtree was a skilled attorney. Her first move was to get the trial delayed by almost nine months to July 20, 1965.

Now that she had more time to prepare, Roundtree combed through the thick case file police had assembled, including witness statements from Henry Wiggins and the jogger who passed by Mary that day, whose name was Lieutenant William Mitchell. But nothing they said stood out to Roundtree. So she pivoted to establishing an alibi for Ray. Initially he'd said he was fishing in the river when he fell asleep and tumbled into the water, but police had found his fishing pole at his house. Clearly Ray's story was fake.

Still he stuck by it when Roundtree first interviewed him. But after some prodding from Roundtree, he finally came clean. He said the truth was he was cheating on his wife. That day he and his girlfriend had gone down to the river to drink and fool around. Ray explained that when they were finished he fell asleep at the water's edge. He was jolted awake when he rolled right over into the river. He said he climbed back onto shore to find his girlfriend was gone. He was looking for her when Officer Warner found him. Ray claimed he'd only lied to Warner because he didn't

want his wife to learn about the affair. This was great news for Roundtree. If she could track Ray's girlfriend down, it might just crack the case wide open. But when Roundtree finally got a hold of the woman, her hopes were dashed. Although Ray's girlfriend confirmed his story, she refused to testify. She was married too. She didn't want her husband to find out she was cheating or become a target for the police. So without an alibi, Roundtree was forced to look elsewhere. She decided to start with the scene of the crime itself.

Roundtree and her colleagues headed down to the towpath. They reenacted the attack and ensuing foot search. She was looking for something, anything that could lead her to the true killer. They didn't find anything. But after visiting the crime scene, Rountree began receiving mysterious phone calls. The person on the other line never spoke, and they always called at midnight. During the calls, all Roundtree could hear was heavy breathing followed by the click of them hanging up.

The more Roundtree visited the towpath, the more frequent these calls became. Whoever it was, they were sending a clear message. They were watching, and they wanted Roundtree to stop looking. But Roundtree wasn't the type to back down. As a black female attorney running a large law firm during the time of Jim Crow, she was used to people trying to intimidate her. She never investigated these calls, nor did she learn who was making them. Whoever was harassing her, they weren't going to stop Roundtree from pursuing justice. Still, despite Roundtree's commitment to the case, it felt like her investigation had reached a dead end.

After exhausting all of her options, she decided to review the police files for what felt like the thousandth time. This last resort turned out to be exactly what she needed. When Roundtree first read the witness statements from Henry Wiggins and Lt. Mitchell, she had only caught their descriptions of the killer's clothing. Light jacket, dark hat, dark slacks, which matched Ray's outfit that day. But now Roundtree realized there was a glaring discrepancy. Both Wiggins and Mitchell said the man following Mary was at least 5'8 and 185 pounds.

Ray, on the other hand, was 5'3 and 130 pounds. He was, as Roundtree put it, as slender as a woman. Roundtree was stunned. She believed the police were right. Wiggins and Mitchell had seen the same man, but that man couldn't have been Ray. More than that, Wiggins was 120 feet away from the assailant when he saw him standing over Mary. It would be difficult to identify someone from that far away with any degree of certainty. Roundtree finally knew how she'd throw doubt on the prosecution's case.

The only question was, would it convince a jury? With Ray's court date quickly approaching, Brown Tree didn't have much time to agonize over that question. On July 20, 1965, the court convened for the trial of Raymond Crump Jr. in the murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer. The courtroom was packed. On one side were Martha's black friends from church, on the other were DC's white elite. The optics were clear and the building hummed with tension. But the prosecutor, Alfred Hantman, resented the assumption that Ray's arrest was

the product of racism. Hantman insisted his case was based on the evidence against Ray and nothing more. With a 25-year career under his belt, Hantman had no doubt Ray would be proven guilty. Hantman was so confident, when he stood for his opening statement, he told the jury exactly what they wouldn't hear from him. Hantman acknowledged there wasn't any blood linking Ray to Mary. He also admitted authorities had never found the murder weapon despite an extensive search. But Hantman reassured the jury that those didn't matter. He had 50 pieces of circumstantial evidence to back him up, and they painted a gruesome

picture. According to Hantman, the day Mary was murdered, she had no idea she was being stocked by Ray. She only realized someone was following her when they put a pistol to her head and pulled the trigger. Hantman insisted that after Ray killed Mary, he threw his cap and jacket into the river. When Ray saw the police searching the area, he jumped into the water and hid until he thought the coast was clear. Then Ray climbed back onto shore and ran straight into law enforcement. Hantman's theory hinged on two main arguments. The first was that police had sealed off all five exits to the towpath in just four minutes,

which just wasn't enough time for anyone to escape. And since Ray was the only person they found on the towpath, he was the only one who could've possibly killed Mary. To demonstrate this, Hantman showed the jury a 55-foot-wide map of the towpath drawn by a park ranger. The ranger explained the painstaking lengths he'd gone to to faithfully recreate the scene to scale. But when Dovey Roundtree cross-examined the Ranger, he admitted he'd never actually

been there. He'd recreated the map based on government records. Roundtree had been to the towpath, though. She explained to the jury that it was like a jungle. How could the ranger be certain there was no unofficial exits to the towpath? The ranger admitted he couldn't. And just like that, Roundtree destroyed one of Hantman's first arguments. If the police had missed an exit, it was possible another suspect really had eluded them after all. With the exit theory up in flames, Brown Tree continued to tear Hantman to shreds. Next up on the chopping block was his star witness, the tow truck driver Henry Wiggins. Brown Tree grilled Wiggins on what he saw that day, from the assailant's clothing to his

movements, but most importantly, she questioned the discrepancy in size between the 5'8 killer Wiggins saw and the 5'3 defendants sitting in the courtroom. Finally, Wiggins snapped. He told Roundtree, I didn't look at him that hard. It was a devastating blow to Hantman. Wiggins wasn't sure Ray was the man he'd seen, and the prosecution couldn't prove Ray was the only person on the towpath. So who was to say he was Mary's murderer? By the last day of the trial, Roundtree had managed to poke holes in every one of the

prosecution's arguments, and her efforts paid off. After only eleven hours of deliberation, the jury came back with a verdict, not guilty. Ray was a free man. It was an enormous relief for him and his family. After a year behind bars, he was finally going home. But there was one question hanging over the courtroom that day. If Ray Crump didn't kill Mary-Meyer, then who did? Visa and OpenTable are dishing up something new. Get access to primetime dining reservations

by adding your Visa Infinite Privilege Card to your OpenTable account. From there, you'll unlock first-come, first-serve spots at select-top restaurants when booking through OpenTable. Learn more at opentable.ca visa dining. Hey, it's Dan Cummins. If you love bizarre jaw-dropping stories, I have a recommendation for you. On Time Suck, I dive deep into wild topics like the rise of the NXIVM cult, the strange and horrific online world of incels, and even the origins of conspiracies like QAnon. With over 120 million downloads, Time Suck brings you deeply researched stories about everything from creepy true crime to

notorious cults to controversial pop culture icons. And I deliver it all with a mix of humor, irreverence, and fascinating facts. Recent topics include how the Mooneys cult grew into one of the largest in modern history, the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton, and the ridiculous beliefs and choices of the San Francisco witch killers. If that's not enough, every other week includes a short suck, a bite-sized story perfect for when you want just a dose of captivating entertainment. If you're curious about the weird, the wild, and the truly strange, tune in to Time Suck.

New episodes drop every Monday wherever you listen to podcasts. Join the cult of the curious and follow now. On July 30, 1965, 26-year-old Raymond Crump Jr. was acquitted in the murder of 43-year-old Mary Pinchot Meyer. Since he'd been facing the death penalty, it was a huge relief for his family, and a big win for his lawyer, Dovey Johnson Roundtree. If Mary's family and friends felt like there'd been a miscarriage of justice, they didn't show it.

Although she'd been beloved by many in the DC community, the reaction to Ray's acquittal was silence. The spies, journalists, and politicians she socialized with quickly turned their attention to the communist threats abroad and the news cycle focused on other events. But while it seemed like Mary's loved ones had moved on from her death, some were biding their time until the moment was right. In 1976, twelve years after Mary's murder, one of her old friends, James Truitt, a former reporter for Newsweek, was interviewed by the National Enquirer.

While Mary's obituary had described her as a friend of the Kennedy family, the article claimed she was much more than that. In his interview, Truitt confirmed Mary's affair with John F. Kennedy. Not only that, but Truett said Mary and Kennedy had smoked marijuana together in the White House. Truett revealed that Mary had kept a diary with the details of her relationship with the president. Shortly after her death, Mary's close friends had rifled through her house looking for it. When Mary's sister

found the diary, she handed it over to James Angleton, the chief of counterintelligence at the CIA. He destroyed it. Truett didn't say why Mary's friends had gone on a frenzied hunt for the diary, but the implications were clear. The details inside were so scandalous, dangerous even, they could never see the light of day. Truett's allegations single-handedly catapulted Mary's story from a local affair to the national spotlight because when it came to her murder, there were more mysteries than the identity of her killer. And someone out there was determined to bring those secrets to the surface.

Back in the early 60s, Mary had befriended Timothy Leary, known as the father of the psychedelic befriended Timothy Leary, known as the father of the psychedelic movement. According to Leary, he and Mary had gone on several acid trips together and spoke at length about peace, love, and the unrealized potential of psychedelics. When Leary read the National Enquirer article about Mary, he wasn't surprised to hear she and Kennedy had smoked marijuana together.

He claimed that Mary had once told him she wanted to learn how to administer LSD to a friend who was, quote, a very powerful man. After reading the article, Leary wondered if Kennedy was the powerful friend Mary had been alluding to. To Leary the possibility was thrilling, but it also raised some horrifying questions. In his memoir, Leary writes that Mary called him the day after Kennedy's assassination. Apparently she thought the CIA believed the president was, quote, changing too fast and were worried they couldn't control him, which made Leary fear the worst.

Was it possible the CIA had been responsible for Kennedy's assassination and Mary's murder? Now Leary has never directly accused the CIA of either of these attacks. He's also never stated that Mary and Kennedy did in fact take LSD together. However, after Ray was acquitted, Leary did hire a private investigator to look into this theory. Although the investigation didn't yield any answers, Leary's not the only one who believes there's more to Mary's death than meets the eye. In 2012, Peter Janney, who was childhood friends with Mary's sons, published a book that took Leary's allegations to the next level.

Now, Peter's theory is a bit out there, so take it with a grain of salt, but here's what he alleges. According to Peter, Mary and Kennedy didn't just have an affair. They were madly in love. And after they took LSD together, Kennedy was inspired to change course on the Cold War. After what felt like war-mongering madness, Kennedy wanted to improve relations with the Soviet Union. But the CIA was staunchly opposed to any peacemaking efforts with the Soviets, so when they realized they couldn't control Kennedy, they had him killed. When they pinned the assassination on Lee Harvey Oswald, Mary saw through the lies and

launched her own investigation into Kennedy's death. She confronted her ex-husband Cord with her findings, and he informed James Engleton, the chief of counterintelligence at the CIA. At some point after that, CIA officials decided to terminate Mary to prevent her from revealing the truth. They chose the towpath she walked every day to carry out the attack and pin the murder on Ray Crump. Peter's theory is certainly compelling, but most mainstream journalists are understandably critical of it.

They describe his book as a leap of faith and point out the many holes in his story. For example, there's no evidence that Kennedy ever did LSD or wanted to scale back the Cold War. In the end, it seems like Peter's story, like so many others, only raised more questions about what happened to Mary. But while we may never know the truth about Mary's death, we do know the truth about her life. As an adult, Mary was forced to put aside her desires and take on the role of a dutiful housewife.

And yet, even after her marriage fell apart and she lost her middle child, Mary managed to break down those barriers and reclaim her life. But if there's one way to remember Mary best, it's probably through her art. Mary's final painting, titled Half-Light, hangs in the third floor of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It's a circle divided into four colorful quadrants. One is olive green, one pastel blue, and the other two auburn and lavender. While the piece is balanced, it gives the sense that there's much more going on under the surface, just like the artist who created it. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy and this is Murder True Crime Stories. Come back next week for the story of another murder and all the people it affected.

Murder True Crime Stories is a CrimeHouse original powered by PAVE Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media, at Crime House on Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review, and follow Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference. 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. We'll be back next Tuesday. 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, True Crime Stories team, Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Natalie Pertsofsky, Laurie Maranelli, Sarah Carroll, Nick Gogger, Sheila Patterson, and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening. What drives a person to murder?