Dr. Morris Jessup was a researcher interested in unexplained aerial phenomena who authored one of the most contentious books of the 1950’s – The Case for the UFO. A significant part of his book focused on how UFOs fly, what is their energy source, enabling them to move so swiftly and carry out very sophisticated aerobatics, such as sudden stops, fast straight twists, etc. He went on to write a further three books on the subject – UFOs and the Bible, The UFO Annual (both 1956), and then in 1957 – The Expanding Case for the UFO. These collated documents along with annotations found later have become known as the Varo Papers.

In 1959, Jessup disappeared mysteriously and was later found dead in his car on the side of the road in Dade County, Florida.  However, a fair number of people think that his death was staged and not a suicide as reported.

ANTIGRAVITY THEORIES

Jessup thought that the world of gravity held the key to important solutions. accurately in the absence of gravity. Additionally, Jessup soon attracted the attention of “US Military Specialists,” including senior US Navy officers, as he stated it in his own words following the publication of the book.

When the US Navy approached Jessup and directly requested information about his book and the anti-gravity technology it claimed, his suspicions grew. When Jessup began speaking with them, they purportedly pressed him for information about the Philadelphia experiment.

The Philadelphia experiment or the Eldridge experiment is not acknowledged as a truth but is rather regarded as a simple story; nonetheless, in UFO sources, it is referred to as absolutely true and offers a great deal of indirect proof of this.

It was allegedly part of a top-secret project to harness electromagnetic fields to render battleships invisible to enemy eyes. The experiment’s target was the USS Eldridge, however something went wrong with the test in 1943 and the ship really vanished.

The Eldridge question frightened Jessup to the point of telling US Navy officials everything he knew about it, and he received what appeared to be a satisfied response. They might have merely wanted to know if Jessup had learned more about this experiment than had already leaked.

It seemed that Jessup believed that many (if not most) reported sightings of UFOs were in fact US warships or aircraft, and that anti-gravity technology had formerly been used, especially in the renowned Eldridge ship project (Philadelphia experiment of 1943).

A FRIGHTENED MAN

As he published more material Jessup became increasingly concerned that what he was doing would have severe consequences for himself and possibly his family. He developed paranoia and a great deal of fear about being monitored. He often thought that various objects in his office were obviously changed from their normal locations, which made him think that someone had entered the area and meticulously checked everything before leaving the house.

MEN IN BLACK

It’s alleged that Jessup received a visit from some beings that we would now refer to as ‘men in black’. Were they government agents or perhaps even extra-terrestrial?  Either way whatever they communicated to him aggravated his already upset mental state.

Jessup was already quite terrified and paranoid, and this visit simply made things worse for him. He started to see men in black suits lurking in the shadows of nearby homes, and the mail and other objects he found in his mailbox had clear indications of having been opened and resealed.

Jessup specifically thought that the “special weapons” department of the US Navy’s special office was watching him.

In July or August of 1958, Jessup sent writer and researcher Ivan T. Sanderson of New York his PX study materials for protection “in case anything should happen to me.” This information included his own private notes and his own annotated copy of the Varo Edition, the only copy of which is known to exist and include his counter-comments.

Morris Jessup experienced an increase in anxiety and irritability every day, which culminated on the evening of April 20, 1959, when his lifeless body was discovered in his own car, which was parked at Florida’s Matheson Hammock Park, Miami.

ASSASSINATION NOT SUICIDE

John Goode, a worker at the park, was the one who discovered the body. Goode quickly contacted the police, who after arrived and noted the scene.

A hose connected to the exhaust pipe had been stuffed through the driver-side window while the car’s engine was still running. Jessup had died as a result of breathing carbon monoxide.

Even while it appeared that Jessup had killed himself, not everyone was so confident in this conclusion. For a start, the setup of the car would have been done in daylight in a public area and yet nobody noticed or intervened.

Towels had been used to seal the windows, yet it was never concluded where these came from.  Jessup’s wife denied they were the family’s and there was no sign that Jessup had recently bought them.

Jessup had been in an unusually good mood the night before and had made arrangements to meet a friend on the day he died. In fact, Jessup had requested that Dr. Valentine to join him for lunch because he had something amazing to show him. As a result of Jessop’s death, Valentine was never made aware of what exactly Jessup had discovered or uncovered.

LACK OF INVESTIGATION

A notable concern regarding Jessup’s death was that it did not seem to be investigated by the police. According to various reports, they failed to interview possible witnesses and did not conduct a thorough investigation. Police Sergeant Obenclain was at the scene just after after Jessup’s body was found, has said for the record,   “Everything seemed too professional.”

The police report stated that all injuries were consistent with suicide but does not provide any evidence or reasoning to support this claim. There is also no mention of an autopsy being completed on Jessup’s body, which would have been standard procedure for any suspicious death in Florida at the time.

Additionally, there is little information about Jessup’s death available from other sources: apparently, the coroner never released a report on it; there are no records at all from local newspapers that cover events like this one; and even the FBI decided against conducting a formal investigation into his suicide.

WHO BENEFITED FROM JESSUP’S DEATH?

THE US NAVY: It has been suggested that although Jessup had become increasingly erratic, he may have found out something that the US Navy wanted to keep quiet.  This may have been something to do with the alleged USS Eldridge or something completely different.

ALIENS:  It has been suggested that since the discovery of the nuclear bomb, advanced extra-terrestrial aliens have been directly in contact with world leading governments to help keep the peace and prevent all out atomic war.  Jessup had become an irritation to the MIB and was silenced.

JESSUP HIMSELF.  According to many reports Jessup had become despondent and disillusioned.  He’d been the victim of a UFO fraud, discredited, divorced and disconnected.  Suicide was certainly an option to solve his problems once and for all.

STILL A MYSTERY

Researchers are still baffled by what took place. Was Jessup assassinated because he had found out too much, or did he actually just kill himself? Either way, there are some very strange facts about his death which, over the decades, have become repeatedly questioned.

It seems improbable that we will ever fully understand the truth behind this intriguing and tragic event.  However it is worth noting that many UFO researchers have allegedly died in unusual circumstances. Some of these are suggested as U.S. Secretary of Defence, James Forrestal, writer Danny Casolaro, journalist Paul Lance, UFO witness Arthur Bryant, nurse Miriam Bush.

It’s also been asserted that researcher Otto Binder contended that at least 137 UFO investigators ‘passed away’ in the 1960s as a result of ‘unexplained’ circumstances. According to Timothy Hood’s 30-year study, since the 1970s there have been countless instances of UFO researchers and investigators being killed, dying suddenly, or falling victim to strange “suicides” or natural causes that are difficult to prove.

This article is just a short summary of the Jessup UFO case.  Several in depth books have been published on the matter including: The Philadelphia Experiment Chronicles: Exploring The Strange Case Of Alfred Bielek And Dr. M.K. Jessup, The Jessup Dimension: From The Philadelphia Experiment, UFOs, and Time Travel to Mothman, Montauk, and Murder by Anna Genzlinger & Andrew Colvin, The Strange Case Of Dr. M. K. Jessup by Gray Barker.