Body of Man in LSD Test to Be Exhumed

The body of a scientist who was given LSD in a CIA experiment was exhumed Thursday in an effort to find out whether his death 40 years ago really was a suicide.

Frank Olson, a 43-year-old civilian biochemist involved in biological warfare research at Ft. Detrick, fell 13 stories to his death from a New York hotel room on Nov. 28, 1953.

Although the death was classified as a suicide, relatives have suspected foul play since learning in 1975 about the experiments.

A government commission investigating the CIA indicated that year that the agency had experimented with LSD and other hallucinogens in the early 1950s and that a number of experiments were conducted on unwitting federal employees, including Olson.

Forensic scientists will examine Olson’s body for the presence of drugs and for evidence of injuries that cannot be attributed to the fall, said James E. Starrs, professor of law and forensic sciences at George Washington University National Law Center.

Starrs, who has investigated such long-ago deaths as those of explorer Meriwether Lewis and assassinated Louisiana Sen. Huey Long, said Olson might have been killed because he knew about clandestine CIA activities and his reaction to the LSD made him a security risk.

A final report is expected in about a month.

Olson and four other scientists were given a drink laced with LSD at a cabin near Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland, reportedly on Nov. 19, 1953, according to CIA documents given to the family.

When he returned home to Frederick, he was upset and depressed, said Eric Olson, his son. He told his wife that he was going to quit his job, then came home from work a few days later and said he was being taken to New York to be seen by a mental health professional.

Robert V. Lashbrook, a CIA scientist who was in the hotel room with Olson, said Wednesday that he did not see Olson throw himself out the window, but believes he committed suicide.

Lashbrook, 75, reached at his home in Ojai, Calif., said he was awakened by a noise and saw the window shade flapping.

“This is a long time ago. I was certainly in shock at that time,” Lashbrook said.