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Saturday, September 01, 2007

Who was Mary Anderson and why did she die? - Seattle P-I
A neatly groomed woman calling herself Mary Anderson ended her life in a luxury boutique hotel in downtown Seattle on an unseasonably hot October day in 1996. At first it looked like a simple case of suicide.
But police soon learned that Mary Anderson was an enigma. Her name was an alias. Her address didn't exist. Her phone contact was a wrong number. Nine years later, her file is the coldest of cold cases - one with low odds of being solved. And yet her death still raises questions: How can a person live to middle age without leaving any ties to the world? What about her drycleaner? The cosmetics counter sales lady? Did they wonder about a troubled woman in their midst? Somewhere, someone must realize she doesn't come around anymore. Even in her death, Mary Anderson has traction, a pull on certain strangers.
...
What we do know is this: She made no phone calls. Ordered nothing from room service. Instead, in some unknown sequence, she put out the "Do Not Disturb" sign, applied pink Estée Lauder lipstick and combed her short auburn hair. She wrote a note on hotel stationery, opened her Bible to the 23rd Psalm and mixed some cyanide into a glass of Metamucil.
Then she drank it.
People who choose cyanide are trying for a clean getaway from this life. With cyanide, there is no question about outcome, or intent.
Her note, its corner tucked under the bottle of Metamucil to keep it from slipping off the hotel desk, read:
"To whom it may concern: I have decided to end my life and no one is responsible for my death. Mary Anderson.
"P.S. I have no relatives. You can use my body as you choose."

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