By Hugh Turley and David Martin
McCabe Publishing
Hyattsville, Maryland
2023
$16.95
www.amazon,com
A Labyrinthine Tale of Murder and Deceit
By Sabina Clarke
The investigation into the strange death of the celebrated author and Trappist monk Thomas Merton continues and reaches new heights with this fascinating and detailed examination by authors Hugh Turley and David Martin—a riveting sequel to their first book The Martyrdom of Thomas Merton.
The authors present a powerful argument supported by new information and detailed analyses to support their thesis that Merton was most likely murdered for speaking out against the Vietnam War.
They quote the Thai police report that states that Merton died of a ‘heart failure’ not by being electrocuted by a faulty fan as disseminated by the mainstream press and they expose outright falsehoods such as the lie most likely from the Abbey spokesperson and printed in a Kentucky newspaper that an autopsy of Merton’s body was conducted in California—when no such autopsy occurred.
Also missing from the Thai police report–as noted by Turley—is that there was no examination of Merton at the scene of the accident and no mention of the gaping wound at the back of Merton’s head—which suggests that Merton may have been shot at close range by a silencer gun. Also there was no mention of Merton’s body being wet in the Thai police report—which would contradict the false narrative that Merton had stepped out of the shower and grabbed the fan and was electrocuted—this latter scenario was manufactured five years after Merton’s death by Brother Patrick Hart in an effort to strengthen the false narrative that Merton was electrocuted.
Brother Patrick Hart, the secretary assigned to Merton before his trip was the longtime secretary to Abbot James Fox—Merton’s nemesis, a conniving character who looms large in the book as one of the principal conspirators.
The mysterious Belgian Benedictine monk Father Francois de Grunne—the last person seen with Merton alive and the discoverer of Merton’s body reappears. His behavior is suspicious—to the point that one may easily pose the question was his job to deliver Merton to the professional assassin?
Both before and after the discovery of Merton’s body—others at the scene commented on de Grunne’s strange behavior and his unusual comments that seemed odd and inappropriate given the tragic circumstances. And in 2017 when Hugh Turley reached out to de Grunne’s Abbey he was given no information about de Grunne —it was as if de Grunne had disappeared into thin air.
Turley expertly and methodically identifies the betrayers of Thomas Merton—and there are many—and the secrecy surrounding their conversations about what information to conceal regarding Merton’s death.
Also peculiar is why Merton was suddenly approved to go on such an extended trip to Thailand and other destinations. This is extraordinary in itself and worth noting since his prior Abbot James Fox denied Merton any excursion outside the Abbey other than a short trip to town for a medical appointment.
Also worth noting is the fact that Merton was asked to sign a document bequeathing all royalties to the monastery upon his death. This appeared to be a precondition for his journey being approved—a document that seemed to have some urgency. The signed document bequeathing all royalties from his literary estate to the Abbey upon his death is significant since Merton had often requested to be transferred to other monastic orders—requests that were repeatedly denied.
There seems to be a Machiavellian plot at the center of Merton’s untimely demise with many players involved—all conspiring to cover up the death of the greatest and most important contemplative of the 20th century. The mystery of his death has lain dormant for years until the scholarship, courage and sleuthing skills of Turley and Martin came upon the scene and uncovered new information that may one day if not sooner crack this case wide open and bring justice to Thomas Merton.