Editing Jack Parsons (section)

===Death: 1952===
Parsons and Cameron decided to travel to Mexico for a few months, both for a vacation and for Parsons to take up a job opportunity establishing an explosives factory for the Mexican government. They hoped that this would facilitate a move to Israel, where they could start a family, and where Parsons could bypass the U.S. government to recommence his rocketry career. He was particularly disturbed by the presence of the FBI, convinced that they were spying on him.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1p = 179|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 296–297|3a1 = Kansa|3y = 2011|3p = 64}}

On June 17, 1952, a day before their planned departure, Parsons received a rush order of explosives for a film set and began to work on it in his home laboratory.{{sfnm|1a1 = Pendle|1y = 2005|1p = 299|2a1 = Kansa|2y = 2011|2p = 65}} An explosion destroyed the lower part of the building, during which Parsons sustained mortal wounds. His right forearm was severed, his legs and left arm were broken, and a hole was torn in the right side of his face.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1pp = 177–178|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 1–6|3a1 = Kansa|3y = 2011|3pp = 65–66}} Despite these critical injuries, Parsons was found conscious by the upstairs lodgers. He tried to communicate with the arriving ambulance workers, who rushed him to the [[Huntington Hospital|Huntington Memorial Hospital]], where he was declared dead approximately thirty-seven minutes after the explosion.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1pp = 177–178|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 1–6|3a1 = Kansa|3y = 2011|3pp = 65–66}} When his mother, Ruth, learned of his death, she immediately took a fatal overdose of [[barbiturate]]s.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1pp = 178–179|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 6–7|3a1 = Kansa|3y = 2011|3p = 66}}<ref name="Harnisch"/>

Pasadena Police Department criminologist Don Harding led the official investigation; he concluded that Parsons had been mixing [[Mercury(II) fulminate|fulminate of mercury]] in a coffee can when he dropped it on the floor, causing an initial explosion that triggered a larger blast among other chemicals in the room.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1pp = 179–181|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2p = 8}} Forman considered this likely, stating that Parsons often had sweaty hands and could easily have dropped the can.{{sfn|Pendle|2005|p = 301}} Some of Parsons' colleagues rejected this explanation, saying that he was very attentive about safety. Two colleagues from the Bermite Powder Company described Parsons' work habits as "scrupulously neat" and "exceptionally cautious". The latter statement—from chemical engineer George Santymers—insisted that the explosion must have come from beneath the floorboards, implying an organized plot to kill Parsons. Harding accepted that these inconsistencies were "incongruous" but described the manner in which Parsons had stored his chemicals as "criminally negligent", and noted that Parsons had previously been investigated by the police for illegally storing chemicals at the Parsonage. He also found a morphine-filled syringe at the scene, suggesting that Parsons had been under the influence of narcotics. The police saw insufficient evidence to continue the investigation and closed the case as an accidental death.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1p = 181|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 11–12}}

{{quote box|width=246px|bgcolor=lightblue|align=right|quote=John W. Parsons, handsome 37-year-old rocket scientist killed Tuesday in a chemical explosion, was one of the founders of a weird semi-religious cult that flourished here about 10 years ago&nbsp;... Old police reports yesterday pictured the former Caltech professor as a man who led a double existence—a down-to-earth explosives expert who dabbled in intellectual necromancy. Possibly he was trying to reconcile fundamental human urges with the inhuman, [[Buck Rogers]] type of innovations that sprang from his test tubes.|source= —Parsons' obituary in the June 19, 1952 edition of ''The Pasadena Independent''{{sfnm|1a1=Pendle|1y=2005|1p=9|2a1=Pendle|2y=2005|2p=311}}
}}

Both Wolfe and Smith suggested that Parsons' death had been suicide, stating that he had suffered from depression for some time. Others theorized that the explosion was an assassination planned by [[Howard Hughes]] in response to Parsons' suspected theft of Hughes Aircraft Company documents.{{sfnm|1a1 = Starr|1y = 2003|1p = 327|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 13, 301}} Cameron became convinced that Parsons had been murdered {{mdash}} either by police officers seeking vengeance for his role in the conviction of Earl Kynette or by [[Anti-Zionism|anti-Zionists]] opposed to his work for Israel.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1p = 185|2a1 = Kansa|2y = 2011|2pp = 77–79}} One of Cameron's friends, the artist [[Renate Druks]], later stated her belief that Parsons had died in a rite designed to create a [[homunculus]].{{sfn|Carter|2004|p = 184}} His death has never been definitively explained.{{sfn|Carter|2004|p = xxv}}

The immediate aftermath of the explosion attracted the interest of the U.S. media, making headline news in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. These initial reports focused on Parsons' prominence in rocketry but neglected to mention his occult interests. When asked for comment, Aerojet secretary-treasurer T.E. Beehan said that Parsons "liked to wander, but he was one of the top men in the field".{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1pp = 182, 185–187|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 7–10}} Within a few days, journalists had discovered his involvement in Thelema and emphasized this in their reports.{{sfnm|1a1 = Carter|1y = 2004|1pp = 182, 185–187|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2pp = 7–10}}

A private prayer service was held for Parsons at the funeral home where his body was cremated. Cameron scattered his ashes in the Mojave Desert, before burning most of his possessions.{{sfn|Pendle|2005|pp = 300–303}} She later tried to perform astral projection to commune with him.{{sfn|Kansa|2011|pp = 74–79}} O.T.O. also held a memorial service—with attendees including Helen and Sara—at which Smith led the Gnostic Mass.{{sfnm|1a1 = Starr|1y = 2003|1p = 327|2a1 = Pendle|2y = 2005|2p = 300}}