On August 5, 1962, at the age of 36, Marilyn Monroe died of acute barbiturate poisoning, a "probable suicide," according to the Los Angeles County Coroner's office. Yet, nearly 50 years later, conspiracy theories still abound regarding her death. Was it caused by an accidental overdose, or was it part of an elaborate murder plot engineered by the Kennedys,the CIA, or the Mafia?

One theory says she simply lost track of the number of sleeping pills she took that night. Another says her doctors botched things up, with her psychiatrist prescribing a sedative and her internist prescribing barbiturates -- a potentially lethal combination.

The Kennedys also loom large in the mythology. Monroe supposedly told JFK bother-in-law Peter Lawford the day before to "Say goodbye to Jack." Some say a rumored affair between Monroe and the president led to a cover-up murder at the behest of the White House. Investigators suggested that members of the mob disposed of her in an attempt to frame the Kennedys or that the CIA did it to bring the family down.

The first Los Angeles Police Department officer to arrive on the scene described what he saw this way: "Marilyn was lying face down in what I call the soldier's position. Her hands were by her side and her legs were stretched out perfectly straight. It was the most obviously staged death scene I have ever seen....It all looked too tidy."