The Mapmaker's Testimony

Summary

Murder on the Towpath with Soledad O’Brien: Episode Summary

Episode: *The Mapmaker's Testimony
Release Date: May 14, 2025
Host: Soledad O’Brien
Produced by: MyCultura and iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction to the Scene

[03:00] Soledad O'Brien
Soledad O’Brien sets the stage by revisiting the picturesque yet pivotal location where Mary Pinchot Meyer was tragically murdered in 1964. Accompanied by her producer Natalie, they walk along the towpath in Georgetown, an area bustling with activity despite its historical significance. O’Brien juxtaposes her cinematic expectations of a secluded crime scene with the reality of a busy public park.

"The place Mary was murdered is actually an open public park. It's amazing how crowded it is."
– Soledad O'Brien [05:03]

The towpath, bordered by the Potomac River and Georgetown’s upscale shops, contradicts the typical isolated settings often depicted in crime dramas. This public accessibility underscores the audacity of the crime and sets the stage for the ensuing legal battle.

Intersecting Lives and Historical Context

[07:08] Soledad O'Brien
O’Brien reflects on how the murder occurred during a period of significant social change in America, emphasizing the deep-seated racial tensions of the 1960s. The intersection of Mary Meyer’s affluent, white background with Ray Crump’s poor, black identity highlighted the era's racial disparities.

"Mary Meyer was just doing what she did every day to take a moment for herself."
– Soledad O'Brien [07:08]

The episode delves into the broader socio-political climate, noting the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which aimed to dismantle segregation and protect African American voters. However, O’Brien points out that legal advancements did not immediately translate to societal acceptance or equality.

The Trial Begins

[15:21] Soledad O'Brien
As summer 1965 unfolds, focus shifts to Ray Crump’s high-profile trial. Bob Bennett, a seasoned lawyer, provides firsthand insights into the courtroom dynamics and the intense media scrutiny surrounding the case.

"Mary Pinchot Meyer was a very prominent, wealthy woman. She was on the social pages and everything."
– Bob Bennett [15:26]

Judge Howard Corcoran, newly appointed and perceived by some as inexperienced for such a critical case, presides over the courtroom. His demeanor is described as patient and deliberative, striving for fairness amidst the trial’s heat.

"Judge Corcoran was a very patient, kind of a laid back Fellow."
– Bob Bennett [16:14]

Prosecution’s Opening Arguments

[19:31] Soledad O'Brien
The U.S. Attorney, Alfred Hantman, launches his case with graphic details of the murder, aiming to instill fear and paint Ray Crump as a violent, unmotivated killer.

"Mary struggled back across the towpath to the canal's edge. She crawled on her hands and knees, tearing at her assailant."
– Alfred Hantman [20:07]

Hantman emphasizes the absence of a fishing rod, a key piece of evidence Ray initially presented as part of his alibi. By highlighting inconsistencies and casting doubt on Ray’s honesty, Hantman attempts to establish a narrative of Ray as inherently untrustworthy.

Defense Strategy and Key Witnesses

[24:35] Soledad O'Brien
Dovey Roundtree, Ray’s civil rights lawyer, adopts a strategic silence, choosing not to make an opening statement to preserve the impact of her witnesses. She focuses on dismantling the prosecution’s circumstantial evidence, particularly the reliability of the testimonies linking Ray to the crime.

"Dovey had to prove them otherwise."
– Soledad O'Brien [12:16]

[27:17] Soledad O'Brien
The defense introduces technical experts to challenge the prosecution’s physical evidence. FBI hair and fiber expert Paul Stombaugh’s testimony about matching hairs lacks the precision of modern DNA testing, making his conclusions speculative.

"The hair on the jacket and cap looked like it could be Ray's hair."
– Paul Stombaugh [30:27]

Under cross-examination, Dovey successfully undermines Stombaugh’s credibility, revealing the limitations of his expertise. Similarly, gunpowder expert Warren Johnson’s analysis of residue fails to conclusively link Ray to the murder weapon, further weakening the prosecution’s case.

The Mapmaker’s Testimony

[32:17] Soledad O'Brien
A pivotal moment unfolds with the prosecution’s presentation of a massive map detailing the towpath and surrounding areas. Created by Joseph Roncesvale, a government engineer, the map is intended to confine the killer’s escape routes, implicating Ray as the sole suspect trapped within these boundaries.

"The map itself covered a substantial area, everything between Key Bridge and Chain Bridge."
– Soledad O'Brien [32:17]

However, Dovey Roundtree expertly counters this claim by highlighting unofficial exits and alternate escape routes Roncesvale had not considered, having never personally walked the towpath. Her intimate knowledge of the area allows her to demonstrate plausible avenues for the real perpetrator to escape, thereby introducing reasonable doubt.

"There’s a little tunnel that you can see pretty clearly. That's not an official exit by any stretch of the imagination."
– Soledad O'Brien [36:10]

This cross-examination reveals the prosecution’s overreliance on technical evidence without practical context, significantly weakening their position and boosting the defense’s argument that Ray was not the only possible suspect.

Courtroom Dynamics and Tensions

Throughout the trial, the contrasting styles of Dovey Roundtree and Alfred Hantman create a palpable tension. Hantman’s aggressive demeanor, including his constant gum chewing, irritates jurors and undermines his otherwise formidable presence.

"He chewed it in a very aggressive way. And I could tell that it irritated one or more of the jurors."
– Bob Bennett [19:31]

In contrast, Dovey’s composed and empathetic approach endears her to the jury, painting Ray as a vulnerable, misunderstood individual rather than a cold-blooded murderer.

"She created a very motherly appearance in the courtroom as a protector of Raymond Crump."
– Soledad O'Brien [18:30]

Strategic Defense Moves

Dovey Roundtree’s refusal to present an opening statement is a calculated move to retain control over the narrative and protect critical elements of her defense strategy. By selectively orchestrating witness testimonies and leveraging her detailed knowledge of the towpath, she effectively chips away at the prosecution’s case, introducing sufficient doubt about Ray’s guilt.

"She was smart. She knew what she was doing."
– Soledad O'Brien [37:46]

Conclusion and Implications

As the episode concludes, the defense’s strategic dismantling of the prosecution’s circumstantial evidence leaves Ray Crump’s fate hanging in the balance. The courtroom battle exemplifies the broader struggles of civil rights-era America, highlighting the challenges faced by African American defendants in a system fraught with racial biases.

"The map actually turned out to hurt him because Dovey Roundtree pointed out that in such a vast area, while there would be a limited number of official exits, it was such that the true murderer could hide in the trees or escape through a non-official exit."
– Bob Bennett [37:16]

The episode promises further revelations and courtroom drama in subsequent installments, as the intertwined lives of Mary Pinchot Meyer, Dovey Roundtree, and Ray Crump continue to unravel.

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Notable Quotes:

• "Mary struggled back across the towpath to the canal's edge. She crawled on her hands and knees, tearing at her assailant."
  – Alfred Hantman [20:07]

• "There's a little tunnel that you can see pretty clearly. That's not an official exit by any stretch of the imagination."
  – Soledad O'Brien [36:10]

• "She created a very motherly appearance in the courtroom as a protector of Raymond Crump."
  – Soledad O'Brien [18:30]

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Conclusion

This episode of Murder on the Towpath masterfully intertwines crime drama with historical context, shedding light on the complexities of a racially charged trial in 1960s America. Through meticulous storytelling and insightful analysis, Soledad O’Brien highlights the enduring impact of this unsolved mystery on contemporary socio-political dynamics.

Transcript

[Soledad O'Brien]

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[Chiquis Rivera]

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[Soledad O'Brien]

Earlier this year, my producer Natalie and I went to the place where all of this began. So this towpath is. It's very pretty. It runs right along a wall that's about, what, 20ft high, maybe? That's a guess. And between the towpath and the walls is a marsh. I guess the time of year. It's sort of got a low level of water in it. To the left of the towpath as we're walking. And of course, you see the skyline right on the other side of that. It's so pretty. I mean, it really is very beautiful. Is that Georgetown? Yes, Georgetown starts. That must be Georgetown right around here. We wanted to see for ourselves where Mary Meyer and Dovey Rountree intersected. Mary Meyer walked here. Dovey Roundtree hunted for clues here. This might be the only place where the two of them cross paths. Literally, Georgetown overlooks this path. Yeah. I mean, if you looked out the window of a Georgetown dorm, you would see the path. I had this idea of what the towpath would be like. Actually, when I first heard the word towpath, I wasn't even sure what one was. I guess I assumed the towpath was heavily wooded, like in a movie. You know, the slightly ominous scene. It's typically at the beginning of a film noir, within five minutes of watching. You know, from the pacing and the moody lighting, that she's not gonna make it to the end of the film. Just like Mary, who was killed too soon, before her life had run its course. But here's the thing. The place Mary was murdered is actually an open public park. It's amazing how crowded it is. And obviously we're talking many decades ago, but still, like, you're not alone and secluded. There's a lot happening. You don't feel alone. It doesn't feel scary. It doesn't feel quiet.

[Unknown Speaker]

Absolutely feels busy.

[Soledad O'Brien]

When it comes to committing a crime, you would think you might want to do it in a more secluded place. And this absolutely is not something that's unpopulated or shielded from many people's views. Right. You see the joggers kind of above your head on the bridge, and you even see the homeless people's little encampments, because the trees don't even hide those at all. But I thought, having not seen it before, that it would be much more secluded and much more places where you could hide and not. I mean, really, you can see everything. And these days, planes constantly pass overhead. The towpath has long been in the flight path of Reagan. Of course, back then, it was just called National Airport. The path itself is also wider than I thought it would be. We pass people walking their dogs. Soccer players and cyclists were whizzing past us. That afternoon, Natalie and I retraced Mary's steps on her final day. We started at M and 34th street, passed key Bridge, and walked west toward Fletcher's boathouse, crossed the wooden footbridge, and even walked past the tunnel that journalist Lance Morrow would have taken to reach Mary. We use several sources about the crime to figure out where Mary died, But our best guess is roughly 4300 Canal Road. Natalie pinned it on her phone, and we headed that way. So you can see us sort of approaching. That's the X marks the spot right there. Got it. At this point in our walk, the canal was on the right. The Potomac was on the left, Down a slope filled with brush and trees. And that's the spot where she was first shot.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yes.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Even in the Potomac, kayaks like, you're really not alone.

[Unknown Spanish Speaker]

It's like.

[Soledad O'Brien]

It's almost, in a weird way, the.

[Unknown Spanish Speaker]

Most exposed area of the path so far.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Well, it's almost right here. Like being on a beach. Right. The water is to our left, the Potomac. The path has gotten very flat and open. Not too much brush. And the highway is to our right, and it's coming kind of just exposed. Over these last few months, I've read so much about Mary's final walk, the horror and the history of it. She was just doing what she did every day to take a moment for herself. Remember, she'd been going through a lot, Getting divorced, grieving Michael's death. And yet, when it came down to it, this act of violence happened in a public park that people pass every day, not far away from posh Georgetown stores. You'd think there'd be a plaque or something commemorating this death, but it's business as usual on M Street. You can see people deciding which cupcake flavor to get as a treat as pop music blares from the speakers.

[Unknown Speaker]

All right, so.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Salted caramel. It's all a bit jarring, even if we don't know It. The shadow of history is always following us. I don't think there's anybody walking on those streets 15 minutes away who realize that a murder occurred. I don't think there's anybody who's thinking, oh, my gosh, this is a site of a murder. They just don't think that way. Partly because I think we forget so quickly and. And partly because I think it just looks so regular. It doesn't look like a thing at all. It's just a dirt path. And yet, this is where a woman's life ended and where Dovey returned to again and again in the months following Mary's murder to unlock clues that might save Ray Crump's life. In July of 1965, the time had come for Dovey to give everything she had to convince the jury that Ray was innocent. From Luminary Film, Nation Entertainment and Neon Hum Media, this is Murder on the Towpath, a story of two incredible women who never met, but whose lives became forever intertwined by traffic tragedy. I'm your host, Soledad o' Brien. This episode, we take you to the courtroom where we finally hear about Ray's trial. While Dovey was getting ready to defend Ray Crump, the country was changing. So 1965, is this both exciting and depressing year? That's Georgetown professor Marcia Chattelain.

[Howie Mandel]

The White House passes the measure. The Civil Rights act of 1964 is.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Signed at the White House, which is ending Jim Crow segregation in the south in 1965. The Voting Rights act is supposed to secure the right to vote for every American and is considered a victory, particularly for black voters in the South. Those major victories were exciting, but America had far to go to right certain wrongs. But it isn't just about being able to go to a store and to vote. It's thinking about how African Americans are going to be full citizens. How are they going to be selected and seated in juries? How are they going to be able to then advocate for themselves to get loans at banks? Segregation was only now just ending. It would take longer for white people to consider black people their equals. Many people still don't. Dovey felt the weight of all of this. It was the weight of defending Ray in a society that devalued black men. But it was also the weight that she felt whenever she entered a courtroom. Here's historian Alexis Koh.

[Unknown Speaker]

The Civil Rights act has just passed and that abolished segregation. So that means that she has just started to be able to physically walk into these areas. That as a black person, as a woman, that she has been barred by from the courtrooms, from libraries to do research, like every place that you would need access to in order to do the kind of work that she needed to do.

[Soledad O'Brien]

According to Dovey, her mere presence irritated the white judges and lawyers. A year before the trial, the D.C. bar association actually protested her membership. The all white group didn't like a black woman in their midst. Some board members even resigned over Dovey. So while she was fighting for justice for Ray, Dovey also had to fight for herself. She carried all of this with her that morning as she walked into the D.C. circuit Court on July 20, 1965. People wanted her to fail. She had to prove them otherwise.

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[Unknown Spanish Speaker]

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[Soledad O'Brien]

On that hot summer Tuesday in D.C. all eyes were on Ray's trial.

[Bob Bennett]

This was the hottest case in the courthouse.

[Soledad O'Brien]

That's Bob Bennett back in 1965. Bob was a newly minted lawyer working as a clerk.

[Bob Bennett]

It was a big deal and of course the press was there. Mary Pinchot Meyer was a very prominent, wealthy woman. She was on the social pages and everything. And so it had all those characteristics. And yeah, it was a big story.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Bob's a successful lawyer these days and he knows a thing or two about being part of a noteworthy case. In the 90s. He was one of President Clinton's defense attorneys during his impeachment hearings. But Wray's case was one of the first times he was in a courtroom.

[Bob Bennett]

It was an exciting case and yes, I did enjoy it.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Bob was clerking for Judge Howard Corcoran, who'd recently been appointed to the district court bench. President Johnson nominated him and he was confirmed by the Senate in March. Some thought the judge wasn't ready for such a high profile murder case. Guess Dovey wasn't the only one out there with something to prove.

[Bob Bennett]

I mean, Judge Corcoran was a very patient, kind of a laid back Fellow. He was calm, he was deliberative. And because he was new, he wanted to do everything just perfectly right.

[Howie Mandel]

Right?

[Soledad O'Brien]

Dovey knew he wouldn't suffer fools. She had to be exemplary. Crowds of people gathered in the fourth floor courtroom. The space was all wood and cavernous. Thankfully, it was air conditioned, which offset that muggy July heat in the District. There were two tables, one for the prosecutor and one for the defense. Behind the lawyers sat a large crowd who'd come to watch justice be served.

[Bob Bennett]

There were a lot of people sitting in the benches in the rows.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Throngs of journalists were covering the trial. Stylish Georgetown women like Cicely Angleton came for all 11 days. You'll recall her husband, Jim Angleton, was the chief of CIA counterintelligence. Ray's mother, Martha Crump, had her church friends there for support. And sitting in front of all of them were Ray and Dovey. Ray wore a new blue suit. His mother bought it for him for the trial.

[Bob Bennett]

You know, he looked very young and he wasn't threatening at all. He was a little guy, as I remember it now. He may have. I don't know what his height was, but he had gave the appearance of being smallish and thin. Ish. As I remember it.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Ray was only 5, 5. He looked sharp in his suit, but he was scared. He was visibly. If he was convicted, Ray could face the death penalty. At one point, he reached out to touch Dovey's hand.

[Bob Bennett]

He was one of her children. She acted, if I remember right, very kindly towards him. And she created the image that she was going to take care of this poor fellow who was incorrectly charged. And she created a very motherly appearance in the courtroom as a protector of Raymond Crump.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Seven women, five men sat on the jury. According to Dovey, they were black and white in equal number and came from every walk of life. There was a taxi driver, a social worker, a nurse and a counselor. And then there was the prosecutor representing the state. U.S. attorney, Alfred Hantman.

[Bob Bennett]

He was, he was a very strong prosecutor. He was a very big fellow. He was very aggressive, very capable, very capable.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Hantman was a 25 year veteran of the D.C. criminal Courts. He knew these kinds of cases better than most trial lawyers, prosecuted dozens of them. He was confident. He prevail.

[Bob Bennett]

One thing that just I clearly can never forget is he chewed gum throughout the whole trial. And he chewed it in a very aggressive way. And I could tell that it irritated one or more of the jurors because you'd, you could almost hear it and it wasn't really respectful of the court.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Other proceedings, chewing gum aggressively, didn't exactly win over jurors, or at least annoyed one or two. According to Bennett, it smacked of overconfidence. Hantman took the floor and began his account of what happened that fateful day of October 12, 1964. He recounted the murder blow by blow, growing louder and louder with each gruesome detail. The Washington Post printed all the details of Hantman's opening statement. The assailant shot the victim first in the left temple. Then she was dragged 20 or 25ft toward the embankment. The witness, Henry Wiggins, heard a scream. God, somebody help me. Mary struggled back across the towpath to the canal's edge. She crawled on her hands and knees, tearing at her assailant. He shot her a second time, this time in her right shoulder. The bullet ripped through the main blood vessel leading into her heart. The details were hard to hear then. They're hard to hear now, decades later. Once Hantman had the courtroom horrified, he tore into Ray. According to Hantman, Crump was a killer with no motive. A black man who enjoyed the thrill of violence, who killed for the sake of killing. The jury looked terrified. Hantman's details were graphic. That was the point. It seemed like his strategy was to scare jurors into a guilty verdict. But he didn't just want jurors to think Ray was a mindless killer, a man without a moral compass. He also wanted them to know he was a liar. Hantman brought up the fishing rod.

[Bob Bennett]

And one thing that Hantman did was quite effectively was that Raymond told the police he was fishing. Yet there was no recovery of any fishing equipment.

[Soledad O'Brien]

We know Ray hadn't told the truth. As you might remember, he told Dovey he was with a lover that day. But the woman, Vivian, didn't want to testify because she didn't want her husband to find out. But during Hampan's opening statement, the jury thought Ray was lying because he had killed. Killed Mary. It was a devastating moment in court. Hantman finished his opening statement. The fairest verdict was the guilty one. The US Attorney sat down. It was an unforgettable opening. Usually at this point, a defense lawyer tells their version of events so jurors will believe that the accused is actually innocent. Not, as Hantman argued, a killer who enjoyed the thrill of violence. Dovey rose. Then she did something out of the ordinary, even though everyone was expecting she would. She didn't make an opening statement. It was a bold move. But Dovey had her reasons. She didn't want to give Away the main points of her case. If she did, then Hantman might not call one important witness, a gentleman who mapped out the area where Mary died. So Dovey bided her time and let the witness testimonies begin. Hetman called upon Ray's neighbor, Elsie Perkins to testify about the fishing gear. Elsie and Ray's apartment sat side by side on Stanton Terrace. She testified she saw Ray leaving his apartment at 8 that morning. He was wearing the same cap and jacket that the police found near Mary's body later that day. And mind you, he had no fishing gear with him. She also said she knew Ray owned only one fishing rod. She saw it in a closet in his family's apartment. Later that day, Dovey cross examined Elsie. The Evening Star documented the exchange. Why was Elsie so certain of what Crump wore on the day of the murder? Elsie responded, Mr. Crump's wife and I are in the habit of checking to see who's coming or going. Isn't that being nosy? Dovey asked. You could call it that, the housewife answered. Dovey wasn't getting anywhere. The media didn't think so either. The Washington Star's headline the next day read, meyer witnessed Link's cap to Crump. That didn't sound good. Dovey knew she had to be strategic. Pantman may be aggressive, but maybe she could outmaneuver maneuver him in other ways.

[Bob Bennett]

And a contrast started to develop during the case where you have Dovey, who is sort of soft and grandmotherly or motherly, and you have Hampman, who is this hard charging prosecutor. And Dovey knew exactly what she was doing. She played it up some.

[Soledad O'Brien]

She tried to win over the jury by showing that Ray was a man worth tending to. Not a monster, but a slight, short man who was somebody's son. Hantman brought another witness to the stand. It was one of Ray's friends, Robert Woolbright. Robert was the guy who was supposed to take him to the construction job. That day he stopped by Ray's. But that morning Ray was nowhere to be found. He told the jury he didn't see his friend on the job either. This anecdote didn't make Ray a murderer, but the prosecution was painting a picture for the jury. They were saying Ray was an unreliable man, Shifty, someone who didn't keep his word, Someone whose own friend would testify against him. We still don't know why Robert Woolbright did that. Hantman said all of these testimonies were a textbook case of circumstantial evidence. In other words, he was asking the jury to connect the dots, you don't need to look far. The murderer is in plain sight, right here in the blue suit in front of you. Sounds strange to say it, but Dovey and Hantman saw eye to eye on one thing. There was no direct evidence linking Ray to the crime. Without it, Hantman had to try for a conviction. In a roundabout way, he portrayed Ray as a killer and a liar who was found near Mary's body and hoped the jurors would convict him of murder without direct evidence. Dovey had other plans. At every turn, she was going to point out the lack of evidence that tied Ray to Mary's death. Take the gun, for example. Police never found the murder weapon. After the shooting, 40 police officers combed through 1,500ft of bomb dirt. The park Police even drained the canal, hoping to find a.38 caliber Smith and Wesson laying at the bottom of that murky water. But they didn't. And they certainly never found a pistol on Ray. The government worked hard to find it. And still nothing. Dovey knew there was no real evidence connecting Ray to the crime. She just needed to convince the jury of that, too.

[Unknown Speaker]

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[Unknown Spanish Speaker]

Hola. Todos tienin que provar los nuevos ma crispy strips. The McDonald's es Pollo Echo para dipping. Hablamos de pollo empanisado jugoso Yun poco picante esta tan rico que tienesa propia salsa la creamy chili ma crispy strip dip escremosa dulce y picante a la VEZ dip mordisco dip mordisco riquisimos o puedes poner las cual quiera de nuestra salsas porque es pollo echo Para dipping Nuevos McCrispy strips solo in McDonald's Tucson.

[Unknown Speaker]

Is a city that stays with you. The food here isn't just a meal, it's a legacy. And whether it's the kick of a chiltepin, which is a very hot pepper for those of you who don't know, or enjoying a Sonoran hot dog after a night out on the town, every day dish has a story to tell. And beyond the culinary journey, each neighborhood offers a glimpse into a rich tapestry of cultures blending into the Sonoran Desert. Tucson isn't just a getaway, it's a journey into heritage and a community that feels like home. Learn more@Visit Tucson.org Viva I can't tell.

[Howie Mandel]

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[Soledad O'Brien]

To build their case, the prosecution brought out technical experts. First, an FBI hair and fiber expert testified the man, Paul Stombaugh, compared a hair taken from Crump's head with hairs found near the scene of the crime. He told the jury they matched. He said there were no dissimilar characteristics. But this was a time before DNA testing, so all the FBI expert could say with that weird phrase was that the hair on the jacket and cap looked like it could be Ray's hair. There was no way of knowing if the strands of hair were genetically identical. Not exactly science. If Ray were tried today, that alone could have changed the course of the trial. Under cross examination, Dovey forced him to admit what was actually true. That hair cannot positively be traced to a particular source. Stambaugh sat back down. Up next was another FBI figure, this time a gunpowder expert named Warren Johnson. He said the gunpowder residue found on Mary's blouse and sweater showed the murderer put a gun up to Mary's body or very, very near contact. But at the same time, no gunpowder compounds were found on the jacket and cap that were supposedly. Hantman argued it was because Ray was wet when the police found him. He suggested Ray had deliberately fallen into the water to clean himself off. Then the prosecution brought out their next bit of evidence and boy, was it big. Literally.

[Bob Bennett]

I remember that Hampman put up on the wall of the courthouse what had to be a 25 foot map.

[Soledad O'Brien]

The Evening Star said it was 30ft long. And some records say the map was as large as 55ft wide. Point is, this map was hard to miss. It's pretty likely the prosecution was resting a large part of their case on the map. Hantman even wanted to keep the map up during the trial, but Judge Corcoran thought it could sway the jury. So every time Hantman examined a new witness about the crime scene, he'd clumsily put the map back up, like a 10th grade geography teacher. The map itself covered a substantial area, everything between Key Bridge and Chain Bridge. It wasn't just the crime scene where Mary died. It included potential exits too, where the killer could have escaped after the murder.

[Bob Bennett]

And his position was that after this came to the attention of the police, that they blocked off every possible exit from the park and Ray was caught in the park that he couldn't get out.

[Soledad O'Brien]

The mapmaker was a lifelong government employee. His name was Joseph Roncesvale and he was an engineer. He testified that there were multiple official exits to the towpath, including Key Bridge, Chain Bridge, Foundry Tunnel and Fletcher's Boathouse. Remember, the police caught ray within 45 minutes of the murder. The police had probably been manning Those exits within 10 to 1515 minutes of Mary's body being found. So essentially, the mapmaker was saying the murderer was trapped in the area. There was no way he could have escaped, so the killer had to be Ray. That's what the prosecution argued. Dovey quickly seized on the mapmaker's argument in her cross examination. She asked him if he had ever walked the towpath area. He hadn't. Dovey's long days traversing the towpath were about to pay off. Unlike the mapmaker, she had been to the towpath a lot by this point. She had memorized its pathways. She listed off all the numerous small and unofficial entry and exit points in the area. And it was clear to me the killer didn't have to leave the towpath through an official exit. Natalie and I noticed that immediately when we walk there, I mean, you're so close to roads on both sides, so, sure, there's not an official exit, but if you walk over here, right. If we head kind of toward the Potomac and we walk through this bramble, there's a path right here. I'm sure that's not an official path, but clearly somebody else has come down here and you can see where they've tucked through there and they could make their way. I mean, it's a 30 foot drop, but. But you could see how you could scoot down there. Not easily. You can also see sort of a tunnel that brings you somewhere other than. Oh, yeah, yeah, Try not to fall off this edge here.

[Unknown Speaker]

So.

[Soledad O'Brien]

But yeah, oh, look at that. There's a little tunnel that you can see pretty clearly. That's not an official exit by any stretch of the imagination. But, but could you get out? You could, could you go down these stairs, maybe run over that way? Could you jump into the water? I mean, those aren't official exits, but are their ways out. You could run across the marsh. You and I, if we go to the other side. But look, I mean, we, you and I could. Could just jump right into this. It's. It's mucky, but it's not, it's not full of water like it is down further. You could run across that and scale up over that wall. I mean, I could hop that.

[Unknown Spanish Speaker]

Yeah.

[Soledad O'Brien]

I mean, truly, anybody could do that, you know, so this idea that, yes, it's not a. It's not an official exit, but if you're asking, could someone in fact exit, yes, they could. It seems as though Dovey came to the same conclusion back in 1965. The mapmaker was no contest for Dovey. After she listed all the potential unofficial exits, he relented. He couldn't counter her argument. He hadn't been to the towpath. So in open court, he had to admit he wasn't sure there were a fixed number of escape routes. The implications were huge. It meant the fact that Ray was in the area didn't mean that he was guilty. It meant that if the murder was planned, someone could have quickly left the area any number of ways and someone could even have gotten away before the cops started their dragnet. Dovey scored big for Ray's defense. Here's Bob Bennett again and I think.

[Bob Bennett]

That map hurt him because Dovey Roundtree pointed out that in such a vast area, while there would be a limited number of official exits, it was such that the true murderer could hide in the trees or escape through a non official exit. So I think the map actually turned out to hurt him.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Hantman grew visibly angry. He objected. Judge Corcoran Cochran overruled him. The mapmaker's testimony was fair game. Ray's case wasn't looking as hopeless as it had after opening arguments. Dovey was going toe to toe with the gum chewing, aggressive prosecutor. She was smart. She knew what she was doing. Dovey was finding gaps in Hantman's argument. What she didn't know, what only Mary's inner circle knew, was that Mary had had an affair with jfk. Had she known, she might have argued her case differently. But JFK was known to have countless women at his fingertips. Look at Marilyn Monroe. But what JFK and Mary had was not a typical affair.

[Unknown Speaker]

JFK wrote to her and said, you know, you need to give me what I want.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Yes, that's right. JFK wrote Mary Meyer a letter. An epic love letter. Next time you'll get to hear it from Luminary. Murder on the Towpath is a production of Film Nation Entertainment in association with Neon Hum Media. Our executive producers are me, Soledad o' Brien, Alyssa Martino, Milan Papelka and Jonathan Her Hirsch. Lead producer is Shara Morris. Associate producers are Natalie Ryn and Lucy Licht. Senior editor is Katherine St. Louis. Music and composition by Andrew Epen. Sound design and mixing by Scott Somerville. Fact checking by Laura Bullard. Special thanks to Allison Cohen, Sarah Vacchiano, Rose Arce, Kate Mishkin and Mikayla Salell. Foreign.

[Chiquis Rivera]

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[Unknown Spanish Speaker]

My crispy strips the McDonald's ES Pollo Echo para dipping hablamos de pollo empanisado jugoso Yun poco picante estata Enrico que tienes supropia salsa la Creamy Chili McCrispy Strip Dip Escremosa Dulce y Picante a la Vez Dip Mordisco Dip mordisco riquisimos o puedes poner les cual quiera de nuestra salsas porque es pollo echo Para dipping Nuevos McCrispy strips solo and McDonald's.

[Unknown Speaker]

Tucson is a city that stays with you. The food here isn't just a meal, it's a legacy. And whether it's the kick of a chiltepin, which is a very hot pepper for those of you who don't know, or enjoying a Sonoran hot dog after a night out on the town, every dish has a story to tell. And beyond the culinary journey, each neighborhood offers a glimpse into a rich tapestry of cultures blending into the Sonoran Desert. Tucson isn't just a getaway, it's a journey into heritage and a community that feels like home. Learn [e-mail] Viva @ California Psychics, we.

[Howie Mandel]

Know that sometimes you can wake up.

[Soledad O'Brien]

Thinking, I don't know if I'm in the right career ew or the right relationship.

[Howie Mandel]

But whatever your life dilemma, at California Psychics, we'll give you the guidance you.

[Bob Bennett]

Need to feel certain about your life choices.

[Howie Mandel]

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[Bob Bennett]

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[Howie Mandel]

California psychics call 1-800-PREDICT today and get 20 minutes for just $20. You're listening to an iHeart podcast.