Death of Frank Olson

OLSON'S death occurred November 28, 1953, when the 43-year-old biological warfare specialist fell from the thirteenth floor of the Statler Hotel in Manhattan. The Army initially reported his death as suicide resulting from work-related depression, but investigations decades later revealed Olson had been covertly dosed with LSD nine days earlier during a CIA retreat at Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, as part of the MKUltra mind control program.

The CIA experiment was conducted under Dr. Sidney Gottlieb's supervision, with Olson and other Army scientists unknowingly receiving the hallucinogen in their after-dinner drinks. Following the dosing, Olson experienced severe psychological distress and paranoia. CIA officials, concerned about his mental state and potential security breach, arranged for him to see a CIA-approved psychiatrist in New York, Dr. Harold Abramson.

Olson was staying at the Statler Hotel with CIA officer Robert Lashbrook when he fell to his death. Lashbrook claimed Olson crashed through the closed window after running across the room, but never explained why he waited approximately thirty minutes before calling police. The initial investigation was perfunctory, with authorities accepting the suicide ruling without thorough examination of the scene or circumstances.

In 1975, the Rockefeller Commission's investigation into CIA domestic activities revealed Olson's connection to MKUltra experiments. The Ford administration offered the Olson family a settlement and formal apology, but questions persisted about the official account. A 1994 exhumation and autopsy conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. James Starrs found evidence suggesting Olson suffered a blow to the head before his fall, contradicting the suicide theory.

The case remains disputed between those accepting accidental death following drug-induced psychosis and those alleging CIA assassination to prevent Olson from exposing biological weapons programs.