Marilyn Monroe Mystery: FBI Claims To Have Lost File On Star, Who Died 50 Years Ago This Week

As the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death nears Sunday, speculation around her life and early death rises anew. The latest news around the actress, who died Aug. 5, 1962, is that her FBI files have apparently gone missing, according to the Associated Press.

Along with so other major figures of the 20th century from John Lennon to Martin Luther King Jr., the FBI kept tabs on Monroe. The AP reports that information about the movie star, who is considered by many the most beautiful woman in American history, simply cannot be found.

Oddly, many of the records about her were allegedly filed under "Foreign Intelligence." The AP reports that when they requested details on the FBI's investigation of Monroe during the months leading up to her death via the Freedom of Information Act, they were told the bureau simply doesn't have the records; the same story came from the National Archives. Officials say the records could have been lost during a move.

Finding out just when that move took place, required the AP to file another Freedom of Information request, which is still pending. There are files available on the FBI's website regarding the star, although they've been heavily redacted and censored.

The file that is available begins in 1955 and includes a mention of Norman Mailer's biography of Monroe where he suggests she might have been killed by the government. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was reportedly very interested in Monroe, speculating she was interested in communism.

Monroe's cause of death was ruled as a suicide from an overdose on sleeping pills and other barbiturates. Although she was known to have mood swings and the doctor who performed Monroe's autopsy wrote that her suicide was "very probable," conspiracy theories have still circulated around the circumstances.

TruTv.com delved into the possibility that she had been murdered because of her supposed affairs with some of the most powerful men in the country. It's been suggested that after an affair with President John F. Kennedy, Monroe started to have unrealistic expectations about becoming first lady. When JFK left Monroe, his brother Robert (who was the United States attorney general) is said (though never proved) to have taken up with the bombshell.

The rejection she faced at the hands of the Kennedy brothers might have been enough to make her angry enough to reveal state secrets. It's unlikely the government had Monroe killed because of information she might have divulged, but conspiracy-mongers can't seem to put the notion out of their minds. Actor Peter Lawford, the Kennedys' brother-in-law and a member of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack, is said to have called Robert Kennedy right after discovering Monroe's body.

One of the other most popular theories is that she was killed after getting on the Mafia's bad side. CBS reports that mob boss Sam Giancana -- whose mistress had an affair with JFK -- was seen with Monroe on the last night she was alive and might have given her the drugs that would eventually prove fatal. One author, Jay Margolis, said Monroe was molested during her time at a celebrity hideaway and was killed by her own psychiatrist.

What is certain is that police found Monroe dead on Aug. 5, 1962. She was naked in bed with her clothes on the floor. It's possible the public might never know more than that, although the FBI releasing the files on Monroe, if they could be found, would almost certainly put to bed some of the theories.