The Mapmaker's Testimony

Hello, Murder on the Towpath Fans! We want to share a new show you might like, United States of Kennedy.  About the show: United States of Kennedy is a podcast about our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty. Every week, hosts Lyra Smith and George Civeris go into one aspect of the Kennedy story. Listen here and subscribe to United States of Kennedy on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A murder in Georgetown brought together many people. Some were famous. Others deserved to be. Now, Mary's paintings hang in the Smithsonian. Dovey was a civil rights pioneer who became a minister too. Their paths never crossed in the District, but now, their legacies are forever intertwined. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A lost diary and a mysterious phone call cause conspiracy theorists to wonder if Mary knew too much. If so, did the CIA take her out? The theories might seem far-fetched. But unsolved murders beg for explanation - it's embedded in our psychology to want answers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A witness for the prosecution said he saw Ray after Mary's murder. But did he? Dovey's final defense hinges on one important piece of evidence: Ray Crump himself. By then, he'd spent 18 months behind bars, some of it in solitary confinement. Would he go free? And if he did, would he ever recover?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the year before her death, Mary was coming into her own as a painter. She was experimenting with her art and drugs. But what Dovey didn't know at the time of Ray's trial was that Mary was having an affair with a very powerful man: President John F. Kennedy. We've got the love letter to prove it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For a whole year, Dovey retraced Mary’s last steps on the towpath in order to build her defense. Meanwhile, the aggressive, gum-smacking prosecutor portrayed Ray as a ruthless killer without morals. Dovey had to convince the jury that Ray was innocent—otherwise he would face the death penalty.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mary Pinchot came from a rich, eccentric family. The kind of folks who rode horses naked on their estate and hobnobbed with Kennedys. She was fiercely committed to world peace, but ended up marrying a CIA man named Cord Meyer. It was only after a tragic accident that she became known for her distinctive paintings. What started as a hobby became a lifeline in the years before her death.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dovey Johnson Roundtree became a lawyer at a time when no one wanted Black women to amount to anything. She’d grown up with the KKK terrorizing her neighborhood. A lucky break landed her at Spelman. Her intellect got her into Howard Law. But it was her courage that made her take on the daunting case of Ray Crump Jr. — the Black man accused of killing Mary Pinchot Meyer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a baffling mystery in 1964. Mary Pinchot Meyer - a socialite and painter connected to politicians and artists alike - was shot in broad daylight on a Georgetown towpath. Nobody knew what to make of it. A Black man soon became the suspect. But was he her killer or a scapegoat?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1964, Mary Pinchot Meyer was shot in broad daylight in Georgetown, Washington, DC. Just 45 minutes after Mary’s death, her killer had been arrested. Or, so the police claimed. Only one woman dared to defend him: civil rights lawyer Dovey Johnson Roundtree. Join journalist Soledad O’Brien as she unravels the whole story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.