Many celebrities were involved in tragic accidents that resulted in deaths, while others committed cold-blooded murder. Others were war heroes who served in the military and engaged in combat during wartime. Some celebs have served time in prison stemming from convictions, and others have gotten away with murder; sure, maybe they were wrongly accused, or maybe they just had great lawyers. What do you think about all the celebrity murderers and accidental killers?
Caitlyn Jenner
Olympic champion Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner was involved in a fatal car accident in February 2015. Jenner’s SUV rear ended a white car that was coming to a stop at a red light and sent it flying into oncoming traffic, where it was then struck by a Hummer. The 69-year-old woman driver of the white car was killed, and seven others sustained injuries. However, Jenner was not hurt. Police say that Jenner voluntarily submitted to have his blood drawn for a blood alcohol test and that he was not speeding at the time. After passing a field sobriety test, he initially claimed that he was being chased by paparazzi, and while that’s true, the police do not believe that to be a factor in the accident as Jenner is used to be followed by them and was not nervous while driving because of them. Jenner later released a statement saying, “My heartfelt and deepest sympathies go out to the family and loved ones, and to all of those who were involved or injured in this terrible accident. It is a devastating tragedy, and I cannot pretend to imagine what this family is going through at this time. I am praying for them. I will continue to cooperate in every way possible.”
Johnny Lewis
Michael Jace
Matthew Broderick
In 1987, Matthew Broderick and his then-girlfriend and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off co-star, Jennifer Grey, were on vacation in Ireland. Broderick mistakenly drove the wrong way on a street and crashed into on oncoming vehicle. The driver and passenger (a mother and daughter) in the other car both died from their injuries. Broderick was rushed to the hospital with a badly broken right leg and though Grey only suffered from bruising, she was covered in Broderick’s blood. However, the two were more concerned with the passengers in the other car, and continually asked if they were okay while being treated themselves. This was just a couple weeks before Grey was scheduled to start publicity for her new movie, “Dirty Dancing.” The accident seems to have had a huge impact on Grey. “The juxtaposition of that deep sorrow, the survivor’s guilt, and then being celebrated as the new big thing just didn’t jibe. It didn’t feel good to be the toast of the town,” she said. She also admitted that she never fully recovered from the trauma and effectively turned her back on showbiz at the age of 27. “My head was never the same, my ambition was never the same.” The police never found any evidence of foul play or negligence.
Laura Bush
When Laura Bush was in high school, she ran through a stop sign while she was driving and hit another car, killing its driver, Michael Douglas, who happened to be a close friend, star athlete and popular student at her school. Many years later, she wrote a book and admitted that she and her friend were chatting when she ran the stop sign, though she also claimed that the road was pitch-black, the intersection was unusually dangerous, the stop sign was abnormally small, and the car the victim drove was unsafe. “It was sporty and sleek, and it was also the car that Ralph Nader made famous in his book Unsafe at Any Speed,” she stated. “He claimed the car was unstable and prone to rollover accidents. A few years later, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration went so far as to investigate the Corvair’s handling, but it didn’t reach the same grim conclusions. I was driving my dad’s much larger and heavier Chevy Impala. But none of that would ever ease the night of November 6. Not for me, and never for the Douglases.” Mrs. Bush also revealed that she never attended the funeral because her parents didn’t want to go, so she slept through it.
Snoop Dogg
Rapper Snoop Dogg and his bodyguard were charged with the murder of a rival gang member. They were arrested after the MTV Music Awards in 1993 and after 2 years of house arrest, Snoop and his bodyguard were found not-guilty. Apparently they had acted in self-defense.
Rebecca Gayheart
Rebecca Gayheart, model and actress who came into the spotlight as a spokesperson for Noxzema in the early 1990s, was driving when she struck 9-year-old Jorge Cruz, Jr. as he walked across a street in Los Angeles. He died the following day from his injuries. In 2001 Gayheart pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced to three years of probation, a one-year suspension of her license, a $2,800 fine and 750 hours of community service. Gayheart has had many one-time roles in shows like “Medium,” “CSI: Miami,” and “Ugly Betty” and she’s currently married to Eric Dane, aka Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan from Grey’s Anatomy.
Brandy Norwood
In 2006 Brandy Norwood (singer, star of TV movie “Cinderella,” and “America’s Got Talent” judge) was involved in a freeway pile-up that caused the death of single mother, Awatef Aboudihaj. Apparently Brandy hadn’t noticed that traffic had slowed considerably, and though Aboudihaj had struck the vehicle in front of her before Brandy hit her rear bumper, witnesses on the scene said the singer claimed responsibility for the accident, repeatedly saying, “I should have stopped.” The man driving behind her said, “she walked in front of traffic, crossing the lanes of speeding cars, then she did it again. People were honking at her to get out of the road.
O.J. Simpson
O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman. Though he was eventually found not guilty, many believe that Simpson literally got away with murder.
Aaron Hernandez
In 2013, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was accused of murdering his friend, Odin Lloyd, who was found dead in an industrial park a mile from Hernandez’s house with gun shot wounds to the back and chest. The Massachusetts State Police obtained a search warrant after evidence surfaced that Hernandez intentionally destroyed his home security system. A cell phone belonging to Hernandez was turned over to police “in pieces” and Hernandez allegedly hired a “team of house cleaners” the same day Lloyd’s body was discovered, raising additional suspicion. On April 15, 2015, Hernandez was found guilty of murder in the first degree, a charge that in Massachusetts automatically carries a sentence of life in prison without a possibility of parole.
John Landis
Director John Landis was charged with involuntary manslaughter after an accident on the set of his film The Twilight Zone caused the deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two children, who were extras. The fatal scene they were filming involved a helicopter and several explosions. It all went wrong when a fireball engulfed the helicopter and one of the helicopter’s blades decapitated Morrow and crushed the other two children. Landis was later acquitted of the charge, but he paid $2 million to each of the families of the children who died.
Oscar Pistorius
Four-time Paralympics gold medal runner and double amputee Oscar Pistorius was tried for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The three fatal shots were fired through a locked bathroom door, and Pistorius claims that he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder hiding in the bathroom. He was found guilty of culpable homicide and is currently serving six years in prison for murder.
Don King
Boxing promoter Don King killed two men in separate incidents. King killed the first man in self-defense when the man was trying to break into his gambling operation. King was convicted of second-degree murder for the second incident, in which he stomped to death an employee who owed him $600.
James Stewart
Legendary actor James Stewart was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force Reserve during World War II. During this time, Stewart participated in several bombings that resulted in the deaths of enemy soldiers and civilians. He received numerous honors for his service, including the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak leaf cluster and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Sid Vicious
Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious stabbed his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, to death in 1978. When first questioned, he claimed to have found Spungen dead on the bathroom floor of their hotel room – but later he admitted that he stabbed her, but did not intend to kill her. Though he was charged with her murder, Vicious never stood trial; he died of a drug overdose while out on bail.
Duane “Dog” Chapman
In 1976, Jerry Oliver was shot to death by one of Dog the Bounty Hunter’s friends when they went to buy marijuana from him. Though Dog was outside waiting in the car at the time, he was still convicted of first degree murder. He served 18 months of a five-year sentence and has been barred from the UK.
Phil Spector
In 2003, Lana Clarkson was found dead from a gunshot wound in Phil Spector’s home. He was charged with the murder, and in 2009, Spector was found guilty and sentenced 18 years to life in prison.
Gig Young
Actor Gig Young and his wife were both found dead in their home in 1978. After surveying the scene, police reported that Young shot his wife and then killed himself.
Jayson Williams
NBA player Jayson Williams accidentally shot to death his limousine driver while he was playing with a shot gun. Williams ended up pleading guilty to aggravated assault.
Amy Locane
