Over the years, we’ve witnessed acclaimed actors, musicians, TV personalities, and athletes being brutally murdered for various, yet mostly trivial, reasons. We’ve read about deranged fans, estranged family members, and jealous exes, who became assailants ready to commit the most unthinkable of crimes. Some of those spent the rest of their lives in jail despite the best of efforts of their criminal defense attorneys while the others still walk free due to a lack of evidence. If you want to know the reasons behind the deaths of the following celebs, as well as the details of their will and testament, make sure to stick until the end of our list.
John Lennon - Shot By A Sociopath
John Lennon was murdered only because he was a big thing at the time. As it happened, Mark David Chapman just wanted to become famous when he pulled the trigger and shot the musician in New York in 1980. He was neither a fan nor a hater; in fact, he admitted that the co-founder of The Beatles had been very decent to him while signing an album for him earlier that day. Instead of being famous, Chapman became notorious at no time, and not even the best criminal defense attorney could have helped him avoid jail. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to 20-year-life imprisonment by the court, and he remains there despite his applying for parole nine times so far. We can only hope that he got some treatment for his mental health issues meanwhile.
Christina Grimmie - Shot Dead By A Deranged Fan
It was 2016 and 22-year-old The Voice star was signing autographs at Orlando’s Plaza Live Theater when 27-year-old James Loibl approached her and shot the singer three times. Grimmie’s brother tackled the gunman who eventually broke free and shot himself dead, while the singer was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to a hospital. During the investigation of this horrible murder, it was revealed that Loibl had been obsessed with Grimmie so much that he used to watch her YouTube videos 24/7. He even had undergone an eye surgery and hair transplant but also had his diet altered to get Grimmie to like him. After his friends told him that he would never succeed in his intentions, Loibl took two handguns and a knife and headed to the Orlando concert to do the heinous deed.
Sharon Tate - Stabbed By A Member Of A Cult
Sharon Tate was a model and actress who was best remembered both for her role in the classic movie Valley of the Dolls and for her horrific death. It was 1969, and just over a year since the 26-year-old, and eight-and-a-half months pregnant actress at the time had married acclaimed producer Roman Polanski. The very night when the tragedy struck, Tate had several friends over at her Los Angeles home while her husband was filming in Europe. Minutes after midnight, they were all murdered by the members of a drug-and-murder cult called “Manson Family,” and it was the property’s housekeeper who found the gruesome scene the following morning. Reportedly, Tate was stabbed 16 times and joined with another victim’s body with a cord tied around her neck.
Selena Quintanilla-Perez - Shot By An Ex-Manager
Selena was only six when she first started singing at her dad’s restaurant in Texas. Once the restaurant declared bankruptcy and her family got evicted from their home, Selena with her siblings founded a music band and went on to perform at weddings and parties. At 15, she had her first recording contract signed which earned her critical acclaim and the awards soon started coming from all sides. The following years were nothing less successful until 1995 when her life was cut short after Yolanda Saldivar, the president of her fan club and the manager of her clothing boutique, shot her dead after being confronted for embezzling over $30K from the club and boutiques. Selena died in a hospital following a surgery while Saldivar was arrested and eventually sentenced to life in prison.
Dorothy Stratten - Shot By A Jealous Ex
Dorothy Stratten was a Canadian Playboy mate, model, and a starting actress whose life tragically came to an end at the young age of 20. As it turned out, while still at high school, Dorothy met 26-year-old procurer and club promoter Paul Snider. After dating for two years, the two moved to Los Angeles and got married. At the time, Stratten had already started landing some minor acting roles and in 1981, she won her first major one in a 1981 movie They All Laughed. During the filming, the young actress began a love affair with the film director, Peter Bogdanovich which urged her to ask her husband for a divorce. Unfortunately, Snider was not ready to let her go, and once Stratten came to their former L.A. property, he shot her dead and then committed suicide.
Biggie Smalls - Shot
Christopher Wallace a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G. was a pioneer of the East Coast Gangsta Rap and one of the greatest rappers of all time. But years before launching his music career, Wallace started working as a drug dealer for which he got arrested a number of times and even spent some time in jail. His issues with the law continued despite his huge success in the music industry, and things took a turn for the worse in 1997 when the 24-year-old rapper was shot from an approaching car while traveling in his SUV. The rapper’s entourage rushed him to a hospital, only for doctors to pronounce his death soon after. Despite several witnesses, the identity of Wallace’s assailant remains a mystery and this tragic death is still unsolved.
Phil Hartman - Shot By His Wife
Canadian-American actor and comedian, Phil Hartman had two divorces behind when he married in 1987 his third wife, model, and actress Brynn Omdahl. Unfortunately, the pressure of being a struggling actress and having a very successful actor as a husband was too much for Brynn, and she turned to alcohol and drugs at some point. After watching his wife falling deep into the cycle of addiction even after her several trips to a rehab, Hartman threatened Brynn that he would leave her unless she stopped doing drugs. That very night in 1998, Brynn took cocaine one more time before shooting her husband in his sleep and shooting herself in the mouth.
Marvin Gaye - Shot Dead By His Father
Soul artist Marvin Gaye will always be regarded as one of the top five black musicians in the history. But while his voice touched so many, the singer was struggling with his demons throughout the most part of his career and life in general. Hence, after a severe drug addiction accompanied by depression took a toll on Gaye’s finances, the singer had no other choice but to file for bankruptcy and move back to his parents’ home despite his troubled relationship with his dad. The family feud culminated only a half a year later, in 1984, when Marvin Gaye Sr. shot and killed his son in his bedroom following yet another violent fight. Even though the singer's father claimed that the tragedy had come as a result of self-defense, he was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Rebecca Schaeffer - Shot By A Stalking Fan
The death of Rebecca Schaeffer not only changed Hollywood but also the anti-stalking laws. In 1989, the 21-year-old starlet had already appeared in a few movies and was just preparing for the next one when Robert John Bardo, one of her fans, went to her apartment in West Hollywood. The 19-year-old Bardo, who had been stalking the actress for three years then, expressed his discontent over her revealing scenes in her last movie and left the building, only to return a bit later and shoot her in the chest. Having suffered serious injuries, Schaeffer died soon after being rushed to a hospital. Bardo remains in prison as he was sentenced to life in prison without a possibility of parole despite the efforts of his criminal defense attorney to blame the murder on Bardo’s mental health issues.
Dimebag Darrell - Shot On Stage
In 2004, 24 years after the death of John Lennon, former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darell, was to perform with his new band, Damageplan, in Columbus, Ohio. Shortly after the gig started, 25-year-old Nathan Gale ran to the stage out of nowhere and fired five deadly shots at Darell. After killing three more people and wounding seven, Gale took Darell’s brother hostage just when he tried to disarm him. Three minutes later, Columbus police officers arrived at the scene and killed the gunman with a single shot. Initially, investigators thought that Gale was a Pantera fan who got furious of Darell for leaving the band. The heroic police officer, who played the crucial part in this horrific tragedy, was taken off patrol due to a severe case of PTSD and anxiety disorder.
Reeva Steenkamp - (Unintentionally) Shot By Her Partner
South-African model Reeva Steenkamp was dating a decorated Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius for a year when her life was cut short at the young age of 29 on Valentine’s Day in 2013. The public was shocked by the news but even more by the fact that it was Pistorius who pulled the trigger and shoot Steenkamp behind the closed toilet doors. After spending a week in jail, Pistorius’s criminal defense attorney managed to get the court approve bail for the athlete who claimed that, at the time of the shooting, he believed that it was an intruder in their home. The following year, Pistorius was sentenced to five years in jail for culpable murder, and since then, his sentence was extended a few times, finally reaching 13 years and 5 months in November 2017.
Gianni Versace - Shot Dead By A Spree Killer
The founder of fashion empire Versace, Italian designer Gianni Versace was 50 when he was murdered just outside his Miami property in 1997. Even though he was filthy rich, with $1.4 billion in his bank account, the money had nothing to do with this gruesome murder as it was later revealed that 27-year-old Andrew Cunanan, who murdered the designer, was a spree killer who had already killed four more people around the same time. A week later, following his fifth and final murderer, Cunanan committed suicide - leaving the public wondering about the real reasons behind this horrible crime. The main beneficiaries of the late designer’s will and testament were his niece, whom he often referred to as “My Little Princess,” and his long-term partner Antonio D’Amico.
Bob Crane - Bludgeoned To Death
Robert was a radio host-turned-actor who was best known for his role on CBS' Hogan’s Heroes. In 1978, after the sitcom wrapped up, the actor moved to Arizona to do a show at Windmill Dinner Theater. While there, he failed to appear for a meeting, which made one of his co-stars pay him a visit, only to find Crane’ dead body in a pool of blood in his apartment. Reports said that the actor was bludgeoned to death in his sleep, possibly with a camera tripod. During the initial phase of the investigation, it was John Carpenter, Crane’s friend, who was suspect, but Carpenter’s criminal defense attorney had won the case. In later years, Crane's widow, who was reportedly the only beneficiary of Crane’s will, was also connected to the murder, but until this day, this case remains unsolved.
Albert Ebosse - Hit By A Fan
In 2014, minutes after JSK lost to USM Alger, Cameroonian football player Albert Ebossé was with his JSK teammates on his way to the changing rooms, when he was hit in the head by a projectile thrown by one of the angry fans. Initially, it was reported that Ebossé passed away a bit later at the hospital due to traumatic brain injury. However, the post-mortem analysis determined that there was a struggle involved and that the wounds actually suggested that the football player was beaten and also stabbed instead of just hit in the head. The identity of the assailant, as well as the details of Ebossé’s will, and testament remain unknown.
Tupac Shakur - Killed In A Drive-By Shooting
One of the most influential rappers ever, Tupac Shakur was 17 when he landed a career in the hip-hop game in 1987. Unlike his career which was nothing but success, Tupac’s private life was marked by legal troubles and inner struggles. From issues with drugs to a number of arrests and jail time, the rapper kept his criminal defense attorney busy for quite some time. Unfortunately, things culminated in 1996, when Tupac was killed in a drive-by shooting by an unknown assailant who fired 13 shots at the rapper. Six days after the incident, Tupac passed away due to internal bleeding at a hospital and this case has remained unsolved until the present day.
Jam Master Jay - Shot In A Recording Studio
Jason William Mizell was a member and a DJ of famous band Run-D.M.C. which shaped the hip-hop music scene during the ‘80s. Since he had previously survived a car accident and even a gunshot, some might have considered Mizell almost immortal, but this proved to be wrong in 2002 when the hip-hop mogul died after suffering deadly injuries following a shooting in a recording studio in Jamaica. On the same occasion, the unknown gunman wounded Urieco Rincon in the ankle who was present in the room. As for 2018, this murder is still a mystery, and the one who was reportedly investigated during the process was a convicted drug dealer.
Robert Johnson - Poisoned By A Jealous Husband Or Not?
The murder of the late blues legend Robert Johnson is yet another one that is still veiled in mystery. But it wasn’t only his death that rose questions; Johnson’s life is the subject of speculations till this day. The reason? Some believe that the late artist sold his soul to the devil in exchange for mastering his guitarist skills. Satanic or not, but the acclaimed musician didn’t get a chance to show everything he had because his life came to a tragic end in 1938 at 27 years old. One of the theories suggests that Johnson was poisoned by the husband of a woman he was flirting with. However, the experts later claimed that the poison in question was too strong and that it would have killed the musician within hours and not days like it was the case. Johnson apparently didn't leave a last will.
Sal Mineo - Stabbed By A Pizza Deliveryman
Born in 1939, Salvator Mineo Jr. became devoted to acting and dancing while still a teen, thanks to his mom who wanted him off the street. At 16, he made his grand debut in the 1955 film Six Bridges to Cross and the Academy Award nomination that came the same year shot him to stardom. However, his career and life were cut short in 1976, when a stranger approached him and stabbed the actor who was on his way home. Even though he was stabbed only once, the actor suffered fatal injuries and he reportedly died on the spot. Three years after this tragic accident, a pizza deliveryman, Lionel Ray Williams, was sentenced to 57 years in prison for the murder but also for a number of robberies. The details of Mineo’s possible will and testament and net worth remain unknown.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy - Assassinated By A Former Marine
John Kennedy was serving as the President of the USA from 1961 until 1963 when he was killed during his visit to Dallas, Texas. At the time, the late President, accompanied by his wife, the governor of Texas, and his wife, was riding a motorcade when he was shot from a sniper’s nest, at least three times, according to the witnesses. JFK passed away at Parklands Hospital later that day and his body was soon loaded to Air Force One. Following a complicated investigation, former marine Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested, but before he even got to the county jail to serve his sentence, he was shot by Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner from Dallas during a live broadcast for the national TV. This famous murderer has led to the greatest number of conspiracy theories.
Gemma McCluskie - Killed & Dismembered By Her Brother
Back in 2012, the world was shocked by the news of the monstrous murder of a 29-year-old British actress, Gemma McCluskie. The EastEnders star was living with her brother Tony at a London apartment when she went missing on March 1st. McCluskie’s colleagues soon took to Twitter, hoping to get any information whatsoever. Unfortunately, it was the police that found the torso of the young actress tossed in a canal a few days later. The late actress’ brother, who was an avid drug and alcohol user, was arrested and following his confession, he was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in jail. During the investigation, it was revealed that before Tony killed his sister with a blunt object and dismembered her body, the two siblings had had a heated row over his addiction.
Andres Escobar - Shot Dead By An Angry Fan
After the Columbian soccer player returned to his hometown, days following the defeat of the national team in the 1994 World Cup (where he partially contributed by scoring an own-goal), he went out to a nightclub. A few hours after midnight, Escobar was all alone in his car when three men approached him and shot him six times, leaving him to bleed to death. The assailants repeated “Goal!” after each shot, suggesting that it was the own-goal he scored that triggered this unreasonable revenge. A bodyguard of a drug cartel, Humberto Munoz Castro, was arrested the very next day, and he was sentenced to 43 years in prison following his open confession of the murder. However, Castro was out of jail only eleven years later despite (or maybe because of) other crimes like drug trafficking.
Mikhail Lermontov - Shot In A Duel
Lermontov was a writer, poet, and soldier, who played the crucial part in Russian Romanticism. However, in addition to being a gifted author, Lermontov was also a troublemaker who liked partying and cracking jokes. The person who was often the subject of his jokes was his Cadet School friend Nikolai Martynov, who took offense in Lermontov’s ways that he proposed a duel in 1841. And while the 26-year-old poet accepted the challenge, he didn’t take it seriously, since he reportedly shot into the sky during the faceoff. Unfortunately, Martynov was not joking at all, but instead, he shot the poet straight into the heart. Whether Martynov was punished, we can’t really tell, but we are pretty sure that criminal defense attorneys were not such a big thing back in the 19th century.
Adrienne Shelly - Hanged By A Construction Worker
Unlike many celebs who turn to drugs and alcohol, unsatisfied with their lives and careers, Adrienne Shelly was an accomplished actress as well as a happily married mother of one. So, when her husband found her body hanging from a shower tub at an NY apartment in 2006, he simply couldn’t believe that she was the one to take her own life like the police had initially thought. Hence, after a more thorough investigation, new pieces of evidence started surfacing, including unknown footprints, some money missing, and also the unlocked apartment door, which connected a construction worker Diego Pillco with this horrible crime. The 19-year-old worker from Ecuador was arrested the next day and sentenced to a 25-times life imprisonment following his confession.
Jill Dando - Shot Dead At Her Doorstep
In 1997, Jill Dando was voted BBC Personality of the year, but just two years later, the 37-year-old journalist and presenter was shot in front of her Fulham property and pronounced dead on the arrival at a hospital. Less than a month after this horrific murder, a British man named Barry George was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2001. However, as years went by, new theories started emerging, and George was eventually released from jail in 2008 after his criminal defense attorney had submitted his third appeal. And while this case is still open, a number of people have been found to be potentially involved - from a jealous ex and a delusional fan to a Yugoslav terrorist who may have held a grudge against the presenter.
George Reeves - Killed At His Home
George Reeves was an American actor, best known for portraying the title character in the ‘50s TV series Superman Adventures. On June 16, 1959, the 45-year-old actor was at in his own bedroom when several people present at his L.A. home at the time heard the fatal gunshot. After an hour, the police arrived only to encounter the dead body of the late actor on the bed. Once the news of this horrible incident emerged, the public had divided opinions. While some believed that it was the actor who shot himself after suffering a career decline and a severe depression for quite some time, others were convinced that it was Reeves’ fiancée who took his life. Either way, no one has ever been accused of this crime so far and the case remains unsolved.
Lana Clarkson - Shot By A Record Producer
Actress Lana Jean Clarkson was also a fashion model and at 40, she was pretty much struggling to make ends meet when the news of her murder hit the headlines. Clarkson met record producer Phil Spector in 2003 and went to his Florida home. Shortly after they arrived, she was dead due to a single shot fired in her mouth. And while the producer claimed that the actress’ death came as a result of an unintentional suicide, his driver claimed that it was Spector who left the property with a gun, saying that he thought he killed someone. During the trial, it was revealed that Spector had already been pulling guns at other girls after being ditched by them, and despite his criminal defense attorney's efforts, the producer was still sentenced to a 19-time life imprisonment in 2009.
Abraham Lincoln - Shot By A Confederate Sympathizer
The 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln will always stay best remembered for his success in preserving the Union during the Civil War. He served from 1861 until 1865 when he was assassinated by a Confederate sympathizer and a famous actor, John Wilkes Booth. The tragedy happened at the theater, while the President's bodyguard was having a quick drink at the bar. Having suffered serious wounds, Lincoln was taken to a hospital, where he eventually died following a nine-hour coma. The shooter was missing for 12 days before the police finally caught and shot him after he refused to surrender. Well, at least he didn’t need an expensive criminal defense attorney, right?