Soledad O'Brien

Why would a couple of top CIA officials know about Mary's death before her identity was confirmed? Cicely Angleton says she just happened to hear a news bulletin that October day for reasons unknown. Just like Lance Morrow, she heard about the murder of a white woman on the Georgetown towpath shortly after noon. Cicely Angleton knew Mary liked to take walks there around midday.

Why would a couple of top CIA officials know about Mary's death before her identity was confirmed? Cicely Angleton says she just happened to hear a news bulletin that October day for reasons unknown. Just like Lance Morrow, she heard about the murder of a white woman on the Georgetown towpath shortly after noon. Cicely Angleton knew Mary liked to take walks there around midday.

So upon hearing about the murdered woman, she feared the worst and called her husband, James Angleton, at the CIA.

So upon hearing about the murdered woman, she feared the worst and called her husband, James Angleton, at the CIA.

That account of why the CIA knew of Mary's death early is innocent enough. But another call is far more damning. This call came from within the CIA. It was made by a CIA officer named Wister Janney. If that name sounds familiar, well, that's because you heard it before. Wister Janney is Peter Janney's father.

That account of why the CIA knew of Mary's death early is innocent enough. But another call is far more damning. This call came from within the CIA. It was made by a CIA officer named Wister Janney. If that name sounds familiar, well, that's because you heard it before. Wister Janney is Peter Janney's father.

And one of the linchpins of Peter Janney's argument that the CIA killed Mary is connected to this phone call his father made that day. In his memoir, Ben Bradley reports that he actually learned of Mary's murder when he received a phone call just after lunch from a friend. That friend was Wister Janney, also employed by the CIA. Like we mentioned earlier, the Janneys grew up with the Myers.

And one of the linchpins of Peter Janney's argument that the CIA killed Mary is connected to this phone call his father made that day. In his memoir, Ben Bradley reports that he actually learned of Mary's murder when he received a phone call just after lunch from a friend. That friend was Wister Janney, also employed by the CIA. Like we mentioned earlier, the Janneys grew up with the Myers.

Peter Janney's best friend had been Mary's middle son, Michael, who was tragically hit by a car. And so, years later, when Peter Janney discovered, with horror, that his father had known about the murder hours before anyone else... With that, it dawned on him that his father seemed to know in advance that Mary would be murdered.

Peter Janney's best friend had been Mary's middle son, Michael, who was tragically hit by a car. And so, years later, when Peter Janney discovered, with horror, that his father had known about the murder hours before anyone else... With that, it dawned on him that his father seemed to know in advance that Mary would be murdered.

And so, when Peter read his father had made the phone call to Ben Bradley that afternoon, his conviction that the CIA was behind Mary's death and that his own father was in on the plot became more than a conspiracy. For Jannie, it became a horrifying truth. It tied what he had lived as a child to new information he learned as an adult. For him, it cracked open the case. Listen, we're humans.

And so, when Peter read his father had made the phone call to Ben Bradley that afternoon, his conviction that the CIA was behind Mary's death and that his own father was in on the plot became more than a conspiracy. For Jannie, it became a horrifying truth. It tied what he had lived as a child to new information he learned as an adult. For him, it cracked open the case. Listen, we're humans.

It's really hard to accept that bad things happen randomly, that Mary could get shot on the towpath for no good reason. It makes sense why Janney would take one new piece of information and derive from it a much bigger meaning. Because, as Dr. Pierre says, people who believe in conspiracy theories also tend to believe...

It's really hard to accept that bad things happen randomly, that Mary could get shot on the towpath for no good reason. It makes sense why Janney would take one new piece of information and derive from it a much bigger meaning. Because, as Dr. Pierre says, people who believe in conspiracy theories also tend to believe...

Okay, fine. Outstanding questions about the diary and a mysterious phone call aside, say the CIA did kill Mary. How would it have gone down? You might not be surprised. Janney has a detailed answer for that, too. His theory revolves around another man who claims he was on the towpath the day of Mary's murder, a man named William Mitchell.

Okay, fine. Outstanding questions about the diary and a mysterious phone call aside, say the CIA did kill Mary. How would it have gone down? You might not be surprised. Janney has a detailed answer for that, too. His theory revolves around another man who claims he was on the towpath the day of Mary's murder, a man named William Mitchell.

It would turn out Mitchell was just the kind of character that would make Janney believe Mary's death is tied to a larger web. You see, William Mitchell had gone to the D.C. police the day after Mary's murder to say that he'd been on the towpath that fateful day. Remember the jogger from episode two? Down on the towpath, Dovey and her law partners recreated the scene just before the murder.

It would turn out Mitchell was just the kind of character that would make Janney believe Mary's death is tied to a larger web. You see, William Mitchell had gone to the D.C. police the day after Mary's murder to say that he'd been on the towpath that fateful day. Remember the jogger from episode two? Down on the towpath, Dovey and her law partners recreated the scene just before the murder.

One of them played Ray, another Mary, and another this jogger, William Mitchell. Mitchell said he worked at the Pentagon, specifically for the Department of Defense, just a few miles down the road from Georgetown. And he told the police at midday, just like Mary, he had left work for his daily constitutional.

One of them played Ray, another Mary, and another this jogger, William Mitchell. Mitchell said he worked at the Pentagon, specifically for the Department of Defense, just a few miles down the road from Georgetown. And he told the police at midday, just like Mary, he had left work for his daily constitutional.