30 Celebrities Linked To Violent Deaths

In 1993, the famed rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was arrested and charged with murder in connection with the death of Philip Woldemarian, a member of a rival gang who was shot and killed by Snoop’s bodyguard, McKinley Lee. Snoop and Lee claimed self defense and were ultimately both found not guilty. The rap star was grateful for his “dream team” of attorneys.

The portly comedian was one of the most popular stars of the silent movie era but he was forever tarnished after being accused of killing actress Virginia Rappe, 30, on September 9, 1921. At a Labor Day weekend party, Arbuckle allegedly ruptured Rappe's bladder during a violent sexual attack which caused her death. The screen funnyman went through three trials but wasn't convicted; still, his movie career was ruined by the scandal and he died in 1933 at age 46.

The Hostages actor’s mother, Diane, was shot dead in 1967 when McDermott was just five years old. The death was originally ruled an accident when her then-boyfriend, John Sponza, told cops she had accidentally shot herself. But police reopened the investigation in 2011 after the star contacted them with questions—and they concluded that his mom was actually shot and killed by Sponza (a gangster who himself was shot dead in 1972). At last, McDermott got closure.

In a case of a reality show star gone wrong, former Megan Wants a Millionaire contestant Ryan Jenkins committed suicide in August 2009 in a Canadian hotel room after brutally murdering his wife Jasmine Fiore and dumping her mutilated body in a suitcase in California.

In 1997, The Cosby Show patriarch was devastated when his son, Ennis, 27, lost his life in an attempted robbery in Los Angeles. While Ennis was changing a flat tire on the 405 freeway, armed 18-year-old Ukrainian immigrant Mikhail Markhasev demanded money from him. Prosecutors concluded when Markhasev decided Ennis was moving too slowly, he shot the Cosby kid to death. Markhasev is serving life in prison.

After American silent film director and actor William Desmond Taylor was murdered on February 1, 1922 at his home in Los Angeles, shot in the back, actress Minter, 19, became one of the suspects. Minter’s love letters to the director were found in his bungalow after his death. While many suspected Minter, and/or her mother, Charlotte Shelby, it was never proven. However, Minter had to abandon her screen career in 1923 and died in obscurity in 1984.

The Academy award winning actor for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? was found dead next to his fifth wife, German actress Kim Schmidt, in 1978, three weeks after their marriage. Police decided that Young had shot Schmidt to death in their Manhattan apartment before turning the gun on himself. The motive was never discovered but Young’s career had been going downhill for years due to alcohol problems.

On April 4, 1958, Lana Turner’s daughter Cheryl Crane, 14, stabbed to death the screen legend’s boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, with a kitchen knife. The public soon learned during the media firestorm that Stompanato was an alleged blackmailer and abusive boyfriend to Peyton Place star Turner. Crane was found guilty of justifiable homicide because she allegedly stabbed Stompanato to protect her mother from him. While rumors have persisted that Turner had murdered Stompanato herself, Crane insisted the original verdict was correct in a 1988 memoir.

The rapper, aka Cory Miller, who was part of the group TRU, with his brothers Master P and Silkk the Shocker, got involved in an altercation at the Platinum Club in Harvey, Louisiana, in 2002 that resulted in Steve Thomas, 16, being beaten and shot to death. Miller was ultimately convicted of second degree murder and he’s currently serving a life sentence.

The former Frasier and Cheers star has been devastated by murder twice. In 1968, Grammer’s estranged father was murdered. Then, in 1975, Grammer's sister Karen was raped and murdered by notorious spree killer Freddie Glenn. The murderer of his dad was found not guilty by reason of insanity and spent time in a mental ward; Glenn was convicted of Karen’s and two other murders. “I was supposed to protect her — I could not. It very nearly destroyed me,” Kelsey recalled.

The boxing promoter associated with pitching fights featuring such big names as Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali allegedly ran an illegal bookmaking operation as a young man. He shot a man in the back but it was found to be a justifiable homicide since the guy was attempting to rob him. In 1966, however, King was convicted of second degree murder after he stomped to death an employee who owed him $600, although the judge later reduced the conviction to nonnegligent manslaughter. King was released after almost four years in prison.

Vicious, the bassist for the controversial English punk rock group the Sex Pistols, claimed he woke up to find his girlfriend Nancy Spungen stabbed to death in their room at New York’s Hotel Chelsea in 1978. Both Vicious and prostitute Spungen were heroin addicts. The punk rocker was arrested and charged for Spungen’s killing, but wound up dying of a heroin overdose in 1979 before a trial.

Michael Jordan: The basketball great was shocked when his beloved father, James R. Jordan, was murdered in 1993. Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery attacked Jordan when he had stopped to take a nap in his Lexus coupe; they shot him to death and stole the car. Jordan's body was found weeks later in a South Carolina swamp and his son delivered a tearful eulogy at his funeral. Green and Demery were convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison.

The iconic “wall of sound” record producer known for working with the Beatles, the Ramones, Ike and Tina Turner and the Ronettes was accused of murder in 2003. Actress Lana Clarkson was found shot to death in his mansion, but Spector claimed she killed herself. However, after women testified to having been held at gunpoint by Spector in the past, he was convicted of murder in a second trial in 2009. He’s serving 19 years to life.

A jury acquitted the Baretta and In Cold Blood star of murdering his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley, in 2005. Bakley, a grifter known for exploiting celebrities for money, went out to dinner with Blake and wound up shot to death in his car in Studio City, Calif. Blake claimed he didn’t do it, as he had gone back into the restaurant (to retrieve a gun he’d left there!) leaving Bonnie in the car, where she was presumably shot by someone else. A civil jury found him liable for Bakley’s death, however, and he was ordered to pay her children $30 million.

In 1994, the former football star turned actor’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, were found stabbed to death at her Brentwood, Calif., condo. With an overwhelming amount of evidence pointing towards O.J., he went on trial for their murders. But the star was acquitted in 1996. However, Simpson still wound up in prison--the now 66-year-old ex-athlete has been serving a 33-year sentence for assault, robbery and kidnapping since 2008.

The Godfather movie legend was touched by murder when his troubled son, Christian Brando, shot Dag Drollet, his sister Cheyenne’s boyfriend, to death in 1990. While Christian spent five years in jail for manslaughter after pleading guilty, Cheyenne wound up committing suicide. He was released from prison in 1996 and died of pneumonia in 2008 at age 49, just four years after his famous father’s death.

Before shooting to fame as a rapper, model and actor, Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder after he was involved in a violent robbery at age 16. The future Lone Survivor star was tried as an adult but pled guilty to a lesser charge of assault and served 45 days in prison. Wahlberg said the experience scared him straight because he thought, “This is not the direction I want to go in. I have to start to get my head in the right place.”

The former Cheers actor’s own father was convicted of murder. Charles Harrelson was allegedly a professional hit man who murdered a federal judge in 1979. He was sentenced to life in prison. After an escape attempt failed in 1995, Charles, who was estranged from Woody, died in prison of a heart attack in 2007.

The pretty French singer/actress allegedly shot and killed her boyfriend, skiing hunk Spider Sabich, at his home in 1976. At her trial, she said the gun went off accidentally. The jury convicted her of a lesser charge, criminally negligent homicide, and sentenced her to pay a small fine and spend 30 days in jail. Now 71, Longet has stayed out of the spotlight ever since.

The porn star known for his enormous endowment became as famous for allegedly being involved in Los Angeles’ “Wonderland murders” as he did for his raunchy movies. In 1981, four people turned up dead and in 1982, after Holmes had gone on the run and then had been captured by police, he was acquitted of murder charges. He died in 1988 of AIDS complications at the age of 43.

Oscar-winning Dreamgirls actress and singer’s heart was broken when her mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew were shot to death by her estranged brother-in-law, William Balfour, in 2008. Balfour murdered in a fit of jealous rage at the family's Chicago home when he thought that his wife, Julia Hudson, was dating another man. He was found guilty in 2012. Hudson has said she has learned to forgive Balfour.

Patrick Duffy: In 1986, the Dallas star’s parents, Marie and Terence Duffy, were killed during an armed robbery at the Montana bar they owned. Teen killers Kenneth Miller and Sean Wentz were convicted of the murders and sentenced to 75 years in prison. After Wentz later admitted that he was the sole gunman, Miller was released on parole in 2007.

In 2003, the tennis greats’ half-sister, Yetunde Price, was shot while driving in Compton, Calif. Police believe that her boyfriend, who was in the passenger seat, was the intended victim. Gang member Robert Edward Maxfield pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and received a 15-year sentence in 2006 after his first two trials were hung.

The Hollywood director’s actress fiance Rebecca Schaeffer was shot to death by deranged fan Robert Bardo outside her apartment in 1989. Silbering, now married to actress Amy Brenneman, directed the film Moonlight Mile, based on his experiences getting over the My Sister Sam star’s death. “It was like a natural disaster,” he said. “It was like a tornado came down and plucked her into the sky.” Bardo survived a knife attack in prison and is serving a life sentence.

The Glee actress’ father was stabbed to death after an altercation at a grocery store in the Philippines in 2011. According to police, he accidentally brushed against a drunken man in the store, who picked a fight and ended up stabbing him with an ice pick. Pempengco mourned her father on Twitter, saying that they had been close until her parents separated: "I loved him and I will still love him.”

In one of the most notorious celebrity deaths of all time, the acclaimed Polish director's glamorous wife Sharon Tate was murdered by Charles Manson's "family" in 1969. At the time of her death, she was eight months pregnant with their child. Both perished in the attack at the Polanski/Tate mansion and Charlie and some of his followers were convicted. But Polanski has suffered his own legal problems for years after he pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and fled the U.S.

In September 2012, The Sons of Anarchy star, 28, apparently killed his landlady, 81, before he either fell or jumped off a roof to his own death in Los Angeles. Catherine Davis was found dead inside the home, which appeared to have been ransacked, after neighbors had allegedly heard the elderly woman screaming. Before his death, Lewis had had many run-ins with the law and a history of drug abuse.

In 1991, Theron's mom Gerda killed the Oscar-winner's father in self-defense, and the actress was there to witness the shocking scene. After Theron’s dad came home in a drunken rage with his brother and her dad threatened to kill the rest of the family, and fired a gun into Theron's room, her mother grabbed her own handgun and shot the two men, killing her husband and wounding the brother. The Monster star has never doubted her mother's intention was to protect her, and Gerda never faced prosecution because the attorney general ruled that she had acted in self-defense. However, a relative of Charlize’s dad has questioned her account.