Imagine being the first person on the scene of a gruesome murder after the police. As the coroner, you’re not there to solve the murder, just to examine the body. But how can those worlds not overlap? They might today, but they didn’t six decades ago.
“Coroners in the 1960s existed in the shadows. They were never anyone famous,” author Anne Soon Choi tells A&E True Crime.
That changed with Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the chief medical examiner-coroner for Los Angeles County, starting in 1967. Noguchi would wind up investigating some of Hollywood’s most famous death cases—Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood and, most infamously, the Manson Family murder victims, including Sharon Tate. He quickly became known as the “coroner to the stars.”
There are all sorts of ways to become famous in Hollywood–and Noguchi wanted to be famous.
Though forensic science has existed in some capacity for thousands of years, Noguchi was one of the pioneers in bringing this element of investigation mainstream, connecting the evidence on scene with a profile of a potential suspect. This wasn’t without controversy. His suspicions on one’s manner of death raised more than a few eyebrows, especially among detectives who felt he may have overstepped. His penchant for garnering media attention also drew a few naysayers. But Noguchi insisted his interest in how people died was a service he did to help the living.
“He wanted to warn the public,” says Choi.
Choi, author of L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood tells us more about Noguchi, who is now 98 years old, and how investigating some of Hollywood’s deceased elite affected him.
He was a pioneer of forensic medicine, with extensive medical training. Can you tell me about that?
He’s a trained pathologist. The idea that you use science to explain death was emerging [when he began his career]. For example, Noguchi was the first coroner in the U.S. to use an electronic microscope to look at bullet casings.
Sometimes the coroner was not a trained medical person. Noguchi was heralded for what people called the ‘the perfect autopsy’ after he completed a 6-hour autopsy on Robert Kennedy. [It was] perfect in that he did not miss a single detail.
You say that Dr. Noguchi was more than just the coroner—he was also profiling the killers. Was that typical for a coroner to do at that time?
No, [the Manson case] was the first time a coroner did this. Coroners deal with the dead body; it’s not their job to hypothesize how the alleged murder happened. He takes this on as part of the coroner’s job, and it ruffles a lot of people’s feathers.
It takes the police a really long time to solve the [Manson Family murders] case. After his work as a coroner is done, and he’s just waiting to testify, he does a profile of the killer. From being at the crime scene, he has some sense of what and who the killers are, their make-up. He puts something together and calls a press conference.
Why did he feel he had the background to make forensic profiles of criminals?
The coroner’s office had already embraced the psychological autopsy under Marilyn Monroe. [Noguchi] was already thinking along the lines of unexplained death [and the state of mind of the deceased]. It wasn’t a big leap to go from there to think about what the killer was like [in a murder case].
There was a long period of time from when the murders happened until members of the Manson family were arrested. Psychologists were weighing in. And Noguchi saw this as an opportunity [for] the coroner’s office to have more publicity.
Do you think he was using what autopsies showed him as a way to help contribute insights to the criminal investigation? Or was he just making a lot of educated guesses?
He was using his experience and the autopsies to create his profile [of the killer]. But he was accused of not being qualified enough. The sheriff’s department and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) really pushed back against him, but this was the moment when the coroner’s office took a big step toward being a public-facing office.
Was he ever on good terms with the police?
Everybody’s territorial. The LAPD and sheriff’s department had a love/hate relationship with Noguchi, until he served their needs. They need the coroner because the coroner has first jurisdiction over the body. It’s key to their prosecution.
What are some other things Noguchi revealed during other famous cases?
Well into the early ’90s, there was this belief that even movie stars should have privacy, so someone famous could die of a drug overdose, but all these people would get involved so it wouldn’t be revealed to the public. But Noguchi believed his work with the dead was for the living. Especially with famous people, like [actor] William Holden. He was an alcoholic. He drank too much and fell down and hit his head, [causing his death on November 12, 1981]. Noguchi wanted to reveal the drinking aspect of his death, so people knew it was dangerous. But SAG (the Screen Actors Guild, the powerful union representing entertainers) didn’t want him to reveal that, so they were really angry with him during that time period.
Two weeks later he does the same thing with [actress] Natalie Wood [who drowned in a boating accident on November 29, 1981]. At a press conference, he informs the public she had six or seven glasses of champagne.
[Editor’s Note: Noguchi’s report stated Wood’s death was an accidental drowning and hypothermia. Based on her blood alcohol level, she was slightly intoxicated, which Noguchi speculated may have led to her slipping and falling off her yacht.]
Not only does SAG get upset, but Frank Sinatra [with whom Wood had at one point been romantically involved] got upset. He wrote a letter to ask for Noguchi to be removed [from his position].
It’s strange to think about because celebrities have no private lives anymore. This idea that a death is supposed to end any kind of inquiry is outdated. Now people want to know every detail about a person’s death.
Related Features:
Spotting Secret Death-Scene Clues: A Retired Coroner Tells All
A Retired Medical Examiner on One of His Most Unusual Autopsies
How Is Time of Death Determined for a Crime-Scene Victim? Hint: It Usually Involves Bugs
