Criminal Investigations - Celebrities and Crime

CRIMINAL
INVESTIGATIONS
CELEBRITIES
AND CRIME
Bank Robbery
Celebrities and Crime
Child Abduction and Kidnapping
Cons and Frauds
Crime Scene Investigation
Cybercrime
Drug Crime
Gangs and Gang Crime
Homicide
Organized Crime
Serial Killers
Terrorism
Unsolved Crimes
White-Collar Crime
CRIMINAL
ww
INVESTIGATIONS
CELEBRITIES
AND CRIME
MICHAEL NEWTON
C O N S U LT I N G E D I T O R : JOHN L. FRENCH,
CRIME SCENE SUPERVISOR,
BALTIMORE POLICE CRIME LABORATORY
Criminal inVestiGatiOns: Celebrities and Crime
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Newton, Michael, 1951-
Celebrities and crime / Michael Newton ; consulting editor, John L. French.
p. cm. — (Criminal investigations)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7910-9402-0 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-7910-9402-2 (alk. paper)
1. Crime—United States—Case studies. 2. Criminals—United States—
Case studies. 3. Murder—Investigation—Case studies. 4. Celebrities
United States—Case studies. 5. Celebrities—Crimes against—United
States. I. French, John L. II. Title. III. Series.
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Inhalt
Foreword 7
introduction 11
1 kidnapped! 15
2 the devil’s Business 23
3 tarnished hero 31
4 stalked! 39
5 let us Prey 47
6 murder in Brentwood 55
7 number one with a Bullet 67
8 sticky fingers 75
9 A shot in the dark 83
10 the Price of fame 91
Chronology 99
endnotes 102
bibliography 103
Further resources 104
index 105
about the author 111
about the Consulting editor 112
6 CHild abdUCtiOns and KidnaPPinGs
Foreword
I n 2000 there were 15,000 murders in the United States. During

that same year about a half million people were assaulted, 1.1
million cars were stolen, 400,000 robberies took place, and more
than 2 million homes and businesses were broken into. All told, in
the last year of the twentieth century, there were more than 11 mil-
lion crimes committed in this country.*
In 2000 the population of the United States was approximately
280 million people. If each of the above crimes happened to a sepa-
rate person, only 4 percent of the country would have been directly
affected. Yet everyone is in some way affected by crime. Taxes pay
patrolmen, detectives, and scientists to investigate it, lawyers and
judges to prosecute it, and correctional officers to watch over those
convicted of committing it. Crimes against businesses cause prices
to rise as their owners pass on the cost of theft and security mea-
sures installed to prevent future losses. Tourism in cities, and the
money it brings in, may rise and fall in part due to stories about
crime in their streets. And every time someone is shot, stabbed,
beaten, or assaulted, or when someone is jailed for having com-
mitted such a crime, not only they suffer but so may their friends,
family, and loved ones. Crime affects everyone.
It is the job of the police to investigate crime with the purpose of
putting the bad guys in jail and keeping them there, hoping thereby
to punish past crimes and discourage new ones. To accomplish this
a police officer has to be many things: dedicated, brave, smart, hon-
est, and imaginative. Luck helps, but it’s not required. And there’s
one more virtue that should be associated with law enforcement. A
good police officer is patient.
7
8 Celebrities and Crime
Patience is a virtue in crime fighting because police officers and

detectives know something that most criminals don’t. It’s not a
secret, but most lawbreakers don’t learn it until it is too late. Crimi-
nals who make money robbing people, breaking into houses, or steal-
ing cars; who live by dealing drugs or committing murder; who spend
their days on the wrong side of the law, or commit any other crimes,
must remember this: a criminal has to get away with every crime
he or she commits. However, to get criminals off the street and put
them behind bars, the police only have to catch a criminal once.
The methods by which police catch criminals are varied. Some
are as old as recorded history and others are so new that they have
yet to be tested in court. One of the first stories in the Bible is of
murder, when Cain killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4:1–16). With
few suspects to consider and an omniscient detective, this was an
easy crime to solve. However, much later in that same work, a
young man named Daniel steps in when a woman is accused of an
immoral act by two elders (Daniel 13:1–63). By using the standard
police practice of separating the witnesses before questioning them,
he is able to arrive at the truth of the matter.
From the time of the Bible to almost present day, police inves-
tigations did not progress much further than questioning witnesses
and searching the crime scene for obvious clues as to a criminal’s
identity. It was not until the late 1800s that science began to be
employed. In 1879 the French began to use physical measurements
and later photography to identify repeat offenders. In the same year
a Scottish missionary in Japan used a handprint found on a wall
to exonerate a man accused of theft. In 1892 a bloody fingerprint
led Argentine police to charge and convict a mother of killing her
children, and by 1905 Scotland Yard had convicted several criminals
thanks to this new science.
Progress continued. By the 1920s scientists were using blood
analysis to determine if recovered stains were from the victim or
suspect, and the new field of firearms examination helped link bul-
lets to the guns that fired them.
Nowadays, things are even harder on criminals, when by leav-
ing behind a speck of blood, dropping a sweat-stained hat, or even
taking a sip from a can of soda, they can give the police everything
they need to identify and arrest them.
In the first decade of the twenty-first century the main tools
used by the police include
Foreword 9
n questioning witnesses and suspects

n searching the crime scene for physical evidence
n employing informants and undercover agents
n investigating the whereabouts of previous offenders when a
crime they’ve been known to commit has occurred
n using computer databases to match evidence found on one crime
scene to that found on others or to previously arrested suspects
n sharing information with other law enforcement agencies via
the Internet
n using modern communications to keep the public informed and
enlist their aid in ongoing investigations
But just as they have many different tools with which to solve
crime, so too do they have many different kinds of crime and criminals
to investigate. There is murder, kidnapping, and bank robbery. There
are financial crimes committed by con men who gain their victim’s
trust or computer experts who hack into computers. There are crimi-
nals who have formed themselves into gangs and those who are orga-
nized into national syndicates. And there are those who would kill as
many people as possible, either for the thrill of taking a human life or
in the horribly misguided belief that it will advance their cause.
The Criminal Investigations series looks at all of the above and
more. Each book in the series takes one type of crime and gives
the reader an overview of the history of the crime, the methods
and motives behind it, the people who have committed it, and the
means by which these people are caught and punished. In this series
celebrity crimes will be discussed and exposed. Mysteries that have
yet to be solved will be presented. Readers will discover the truth
about murderers, serial killers, and bank robbers whose stories have
become myths and legends. These books will explain how criminals
can separate a person from his hard-earned cash, how they prey on
the weak and helpless, what is being done to stop them, and what
one can do to help prevent becoming a victim.
John L. French,
Crime Scene Supervisor,
Baltimore Police Crime Laboratory
* Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Uniform Crime Reports, Crime in the

United States 2000.” Available online. URL: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/
00cius.htm. Accessed January 11, 2008.
introduction
Americans adore celebrities. From the earliest days of Hollywood
filmmaking to the tabloid frenzy over photographs of Angelina
Jolie’s first baby in 2006, the public’s fascination with “superstars”
has fueled a multibillion-dollar infotainment industry where news
and publicity stunts collide, blurring the lines between truth and
fantasy.
But the obsession with celebrity, while trivial, may also have a
darker side. As much as fans love watching singers, actors, athletes,
or high-fashion models on the rise, they also love to watch them
fall. Divorce, disgrace, and death all feed the media machine.
Throughout history, society has nurtured heroes. Royalty and
warriors were the earliest celebrities. Victory in battle might bring
fame and fortune, but the fickle public’s mood could change with
deadly consequences, as in Julius Caesar’s case. Other early celebri-
ties, like Rome’s Caligula, destroyed themselves through madness
and excess.
It is a pattern repeated all too often in the present day.
In the early twentieth century, athletes and explorers joined war
heroes on the short list of celebrities. Achievement was still the key
to fame in those days: Babe Ruth’s home-run record in baseball; Jack
Dempsey’s run of knockouts in the boxing ring; Charles Lindbergh’s
solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Celebrities still had to do
something, but their deeds no longer affected the fate of nations.
By the 1920s and early 1930s, America’s first movie stars had
staked their claim to flamboyant headlines, rating coverage for
both their films and their off-camera scandals. At the same time,
Prohibition and the Great Depression spawned a new breed of
celebrity outlaws such as Al Capone, Dutch Schultz, and “Baby
11
Face” Nelson, whose violent crimes provided a modern equivalent

to ancient Rome’s bloody games in the Coliseum.
Today, while most celebrities become famous through some
achievement—acting, singing, an athletic skill—a new class has
arisen, idolized simply for their appearance (as with supermodels)
or their wealth. Sisters Paris and Nicky Hilton, heirs to the fortune
of hotel magnate Conrad Hilton (1887–1979), offer a case in point,
as both were famous for years as “party girls” before they tried their
hands at film, music, or modeling.
The failures of celebrities excite Americans as much as any of
their notable successes. The most thrilling tales are found where
fame and crime collide.
As much as fans love to watch celebrities excel, they enjoy with
equal zeal watching the famous lose their fortunes, go to jail, or
even die. It does not seem to matter if celebrities are criminals or
victims.
Either way, their pain and suffering is news.
Celebrities and Crime examines that phenomenon, while fol-
lowing the methods used by police and forensic scientists to inves-
tigate crimes involving celebrities. Each chapter surveys a specific
famous case, revealing how celebrity itself affects the justice system
for better or worse.
Chapters 1 through 9 are chronologically arranged, reviewing
some notorious cases from the early 1930s through 2005.
Chapter 1, “Kidnapped!,” examines the still-controversial Lind-
bergh kidnapping to determine if justice was served, and how the
victim’s fame affected the outcome.
Chapter 2, “The Devil’s Business,” recounts the infamous Man-
son Family murders of 1969, which targeted actress Sharon Tate and
other wealthy victims in Los Angeles.
Chapter 3, “Tarnished Hero,” reviews the still-unsolved murder
of actor Bob Crane, star of the TV comedy series Hogan’s Heroes.
Chapter 4, “Stalked!,” spotlights the phenomenon of celebrity
stalkers, including the slayer of ex-Beatle John Lennon and would-
be presidential assassin John Hinckley.
In Chapter 5, “Let Us Prey,” we penetrate the world of million-
aire televangelists to review the crimes of Jim and Tammy Bakker.
Chapter 6, “Murder in Brentwood,” examines the O.J. Simpson
murder case and the very different verdicts obtained in two separate
trials.
Introduction 13
Chapter 7, “Number One with a Bullet,” details the “East-West

feud” between rival rap stars Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.,
which resulted in the death of both artists.
Chapter 8, “Sticky Fingers,” investigates the quality of celeb-
rity justice, highlighted by the shoplifting trial of actress Winona
Ryder.
Chapter 9, “A Shot in the Dark,” examines the mysterious mur-
der of the wife of actor Robert Blake—and the highly controversial
trials that followed.
Finally, Chapter 10, “The Price of Fame,” examines why and
how celebrities are treated differently by the police and courts, in a
society where all persons are said—at least on paper—to be equal.
1
kidnapped!
The world’s most famous baby had been sleeping peacefully since
8 p.m. on March 1, 1932. His live-in nanny checked each hour to
make sure his rest was undisturbed. At 9 p.m. she found him safely
tucked in bed. When she checked again at 10 p.m., his crib was
empty.
She told the boy’s mother, who suggested that his father—a
well-known prankster—might have taken little Charlie as a joke.
Instead of laughing, Charlie’s father rushed upstairs to check the
nursery and then grabbed a rifle and began to search the house and
grounds. He found a ransom note in Charlie’s room, and a ladder
propped against the wall outside.
Police were summoned at 10:25 p.m.
It was too late.
tHe lone eagle

Charles A. Lindbergh Jr. (1902–74), the son of a U.S. Congressman
and a chemistry teacher, was born in Detroit, Michigan. His inter-
est in flight and mechanics drew him into the U.S. Army Air Ser-
vice, and later to worldwide fame. In the 1920s, while flying as a
pilot for one of America’s first airmail routes, Lindbergh decided to
attempt a feat that would put his name in the history books: a solo
flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
At least 80 other pilots had crossed the Atlantic since 1919, but
Lindbergh was the first to make it alone, in a 34-hour nonstop flight
on May 20–21, 1927. On arrival in Paris, Lindbergh received the
French Legion of Honor, but that was only the first of his honors.
15
When Lindbergh returned to the United States, a fleet of navy

warships escorted him to Washington, D.C., where President Calvin
Coolidge gave Lindbergh a Distinguished Flying Cross. Lindbergh
also collected a $25,000 reward (worth $250,000 today), which was
offered in 1919 for the first solo trans-Atlantic pilot. On June 13 a
massive parade was held to celebrate Lindbergh’s visit to New York
City. Two years later, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor
for heroism.
Fame and fortune followed Lindbergh—dubbed the “Lone Eagle”
by reporters—yet he seemed to find his greatest happiness at home.
Lindbergh married Ann Morrow, the only woman he ever dated, and
their first son was born in 1930. Newspapers called Charles III “the
Eaglet.” To escape the press, Lindbergh bought a 390-acre estate
north of Hopewell, New Jersey, where his family lived happily until
the night of March 1, 1932.
Held for Ransom

The ransom note found on the nursery windowsill was riddled with
spelling errors, but its meaning was clear. The kidnapper demanded
$50,000 in cash and warned Lindbergh not to call the police.
In fact, dozens of state and local officers were on the scene
within an hour, trampling over evidence—including two reported
sets of footprints near the ladder found outside—that could have
helped identify the kidnapper. By the time a fingerprint expert
arrived, at midnight, no useful prints remained on the ransom note.
As for the homemade ladder with its top wrung broken, officers
were stumped.
New Jersey State Police, led by Colonel Herbert Schwarzkopf—
father of Gulf War commander “Stormin’ Norman” Schwarzkopf—
soon took charge of the investigation. While the Federal Bureau
of Investigation had no jurisdiction in kidnapping cases, President
Herbert Hoover vowed that he would “move Heaven and Earth” to
recover the Lindbergh baby. Soon, the new Lindbergh Law would
make interstate kidnapping a federal offense, but it came too late
for the Eaglet.
While a $75,000 reward for the child’s safe return brought many
false leads, the Lindberghs received three more ransom demands,
postmarked from Brooklyn, New York. One letter fell into a jour-
nalist’s hands, and copies were sold on street corners for $5 each.
The last angry letter doubled the ransom demand to $100,000.
Kidnapped! 17
Police investigators reconstruct details of the kidnapping at the

Lindbergh estate in Hopewell, N.J., in December 1934. The ladder shown
in the picture is suspected to be the one used in the kidnapping of
the 19-month-old son of world-famous aviator Charles Lindbergh. AP
“Jafsie” and “Cemetery John”

Enter John F. Condon, an elderly eccentric from the Bronx, often
known from his initials (J.F.C.) as “Jafsie.” After writing a letter to
the press, offering $1,000 of his own money for the Lindbergh child,
Condon received an alleged note from the kidnappers. Based on that
note alone, the Lindberghs accepted Jafsie as their go-between with
the abductors.
After tense negotiations, Condon met a man who called himself

John, at New York’s Woodlawn Cemetery. Condon never saw the
stranger’s face, but said he “sounded foreign.” John described him-
self as part of a five-person gang, which had young Charlie hidden
on a boat. Condon demanded proof, and John promised to send the
baby’s sleeping suit. He also agreed to a ransom of $70,000.
A few days later, Condon received a toddler’s sleeping suit by
mail. Although it was a common style, with no specific markings,
Lindbergh identified the suit as his son’s. Condon then arranged to
deliver the ransom on April 2.
That night, Condon and Lindbergh took the money to St. Ray-
mond’s Cemetery in the Bronx. Agent Elmer Irey of the Internal
Revenue Service had recommended payment in obsolete gold cer-
tificates, with their serial numbers recorded.
LA Question of Identity
Researchers still debate the fate of Charles Lindbergh III. The
corpse found in April 1932 lacked one leg and both hands. Its
skull was crushed, and the rest was badly decomposed. Lindbergh
and Betty Gow identified the body from a shirt and a slight defor-
mity of the right foot, while the baby’s doctor refused to confirm
if the child was a boy or a girl.
Detective Ellis Parker—nicknamed “America’s Sherlock Holmes”
—noted that the corpse was 33 inches long, while Charles III
measured only 29 inches two weeks before the kidnapping. Parker
also thought the corpse was too decomposed for a body dead only
one month. He suggested that local bootleggers, disturbed by
intense police activity around Hopewell, had provided a corpse to
“close” the case. Since DNA testing was unknown until the 1980s,
we have no final proof of the dead child’s identity. Because the
corpse was cremated after being identified, it is not available for
DNA testing today.
Over the years, several men came forward claiming to be the
lost Lindbergh child and seeking a share of the family’s estate.
The last, in October 2000, was proved a fraud by DNA testing, but
some researchers still believe the Lindbergh baby lived with a new
family after the kidnapping.
Kidnapped! 19
At the drop, while Lindbergh watched from a distance, Condon

gave $50,000 to “Cemetery John,” as he’d been dubbed, claiming he
could raise no more. Without showing his face, John took the cash
and left a note directing searchers to a boat moored at Martha’s
Vineyard, Massachusetts. Officers soon learned that no such boat
existed. Lindbergh admitted that he had been tricked.
Six weeks later, on May 12, a trucker found part of a toddler’s
corpse in the New Jersey woods, less than five miles from the
Lindbergh home. Police had searched the area in March and found
nothing. Lindbergh and nanny Betty Gow identified the corpse, but
Charlie’s doctor refused, saying that he could not identify the body
“for $10 million.” In fact, he could not even say if the corpse was
male or female.1
Despite that confusion, police launched a murder investigation,
assisted by federal agents. Suspecting an “inside job,” detectives
questioned the Lindberghs’ maid, Violet Sharpe. She lied about her
whereabouts on March 1, and later committed suicide to avoid
re-questioning.
Tracing the Ransom

Agent Irey’s plan paid off when gold certificates from the Lind-
bergh ransom began to surface. Unfortunately, they appeared in
various locations from New York to Minneapolis and Chicago. A
German immigrant named Gerhardt spent $2,980 of the ransom in
New York in May 1932. Police traced Gerhardt much later, and his
son-in-law committed suicide after interrogation, but no charges
were filed.
By then, the case had been “solved.”
In September 1934 police jailed another German immigrant,
Bruno Hauptmann (1899–1936), one day after he passed a ransom
bill at a Bronx gas station. Hauptmann had entered the United
States illegally in 1923, then married and worked as a carpenter.
Police found $14,000 of the Lindbergh ransom money in Haupt-
mann’s garage and later claimed that a board from his attic floor was
used as part of the crude kidnap ladder. They also found Condon’s
phone number written inside Hauptmann’s closet. Some handwrit-
ing experts claimed that Hauptmann wrote the ransom notes, while
others disagreed.
Three facsimiles of handwriting used as evidence against Bruno

Hauptmann. Top: Hauptmann’s signature on an auto registration
card. Middle: Hauptmann’s signature reconstructed from letters cut
out of the ransom note. Bottom: The final ransom note sent to the
Lindberghs. Bettmann/Corbis
Hauptmann refused to confess, despite a doctor’s testimony

that he was badly beaten in jail. He pled not guilty to murder and
kidnapping charges.
A Media Circus
Journalist H.L. Mencken called Hauptmann’s trial “the biggest story
since the Resurrection.” Reporters from around the world flocked
Kidnapped! 21
to Flemington, New Jersey, for the great event. Newsman Tom Cas-
sidy admitted writing Jafsie’s phone number in Hauptmann’s closet,
but authorities still used it as “evidence” against Hauptmann.
Worse yet were the prosecution’s supposed eyewitnesses. Two
Hopewell locals, who had denied seeing any suspicious prowlers
in March 1932, changed their stories and “identified” Hauptmann
at trial, after receiving cash rewards. Jafsie identified Hauptmann
as Cemetery John only after police threatened him with arrest as
an accomplice to murder. Charles Lindbergh likewise said he was
unable to identify “John” in 1932, but later picked Hauptmann by
his voice alone.
Hauptmann denied any part in the crime. He claimed that the
money found at his home came from Isidor Fisch, a fellow immi-
grant who had returned to Germany and died there in 1934. Pros-
ecutors belittled the “Fisch story,” and jurors convicted Hauptmann
on February 13, 1935. He received a death sentence.
In prison, while awaiting execution, Hauptmann still pro-
claimed his innocence. He rejected a newspaper’s $90,000 offer for
a full confession, and later refused Governor Harold Hoffman’s last-
minute offer of a life prison term in exchange for admission of guilt.
Hauptmann died in the electric chair on April 3, 1936.
Aftermath
Although the Lindberghs had five more children between 1932
and 1945, they never recovered from the loss of young Charlie. In
December 1935 they moved to Europe, seeking greater privacy.
There, Charles Lindbergh traveled widely and became friendly
with Herman Göring, commander of Nazi Germany’s air force.
In 1938 Göring gave Lindbergh Germany’s Medal of Honor for
his flight in 1927. American diplomats protested, but Lindbergh
kept the medal and praised Germany’s superior military forces.
As a spokesman for the isolationist America First Committee, he
blamed Jews for advocating war against Germany, and offered to
negotiate a peace treaty with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Lindbergh’s support for Germany damaged his reputation, par-
ticularly after America entered World War II in December 1941.
Semi-retired from public life, Lindbergh published a memoir of
his 1927 flight in 1953, which won the Pulitzer Prize. He died on
August 26, 1974. Ann Lindbergh died on February 7, 2001.
Enduring Controversy
Seven decades after the Lindbergh kidnapping, controversy still
surrounds the case. Published theories include
n a ransom kidnapping by organized gangsters from Chicago or

Detroit
n conspiracy between the Lindberghs’ maid, Violet Sharpe, and
unidentified accomplices
n kidnapping by the Gerhardt family
n kidnapping by Isidor Fisch, a convicted swindler in his native
Deutschland
n deliberate murder by Ann Lindbergh’s jealous sister, disguised as
kidnapping to spare the family from scandal
n accidental death, caused by Ann dropping Charlie, concealed as
a crime to avoid embarrassment
More than a dozen books and countless articles have debated

the Lindbergh kidnapping case. Novelist Max Alan Collins offered
a clever fictional solution in Stolen Away (1991), while two movies
have dramatized the events. Anthony Hopkins—later Hollywood’s
Dr. Hannibal Lecter—played Hauptmann in The Lindbergh Kidnap-
ping Case (1976). Stephen Rea portrayed an innocent Hauptmann in
HBO’s Crime of the Century (1996).
2
The Devil’s
Business
Terror gripped the city of Los Angeles in the summer of 1969. On
two successive August nights, unknown prowlers brutally killed
seven victims in their homes, mutilating the bodies and writing
slogans on the walls in blood. The first attack claimed five lives,
including actress Sharon Tate and millionaire coffee heiress Abigail
Folger. As summer turned to fall, no suspects were identified, and
authorities could suggest no motive for the vicious crimes.
A RISING STAR
Sharon Tate (1943–69) was born in Texas and traveled widely as
a child with her military family. Renowned from infancy for her
striking good looks, she was named “Miss Tiny Tot of Dallas” as
a baby, and later won “Miss Richland, Washington,” at age 16.
She began modeling a year later, while living with her parents in
Verona, Italy.
When a Hollywood film crew came to town, Tate won her first
role as an extra in Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (1962).
A second uncredited part in Barabbas (1962) prompted Tate to leave
Italy for Hollywood, where she appeared on television’s Mr. Ed and
The Beverly Hillbillies. Her movie roles included The Americaniza-
tion of Emily (1964) and Eye of the Devil (1967).
Eye of the Devil was filmed in France, where Tate met 34-year-
old director Roman Polanski, a son of Polish immigrants whose
family suffered Nazi persecution during the Holocaust. Polanski
23
cast Tate as the female lead in his new film, The Fearless Vampire
Killers (1967), and they soon fell in love. When Tate returned to
the United States to star in Don’t Make Waves (1967), Polanski fol-
lowed her.
Meanwhile, Tate’s film career was blossoming. Her fourth movie
of 1967, Valley of the Dolls, received national publicity (much of it
negative). Men’s magazines, including Esquire and Playboy, pro-
moted Tate as a symbol of the “Swinging Sixties.” Newsweek’s
reviewer hated Valley of the Dolls but called Tate “one of the most
smashing young things to hit Hollywood in a long time.”
Tate married Polanski in January 1968, and they bought a home
on Cielo Drive in Los Angeles. The couple entertained frequently,
and their social set included rock stars, Hollywood’s leading per-
formers, and Polanski’s friends from Europe. In December 1968,
Tate announced that her first child would be born in late August
1969.
Meanwhile, she made more films, appearing in Rosemary’s
Baby (1968), The Wrecking Crew (1969), and 12 + 1 (also called The
13 Chairs; 1969). She received a Golden Globe nomination as “New
Star of the Year,” and the Motion Picture Herald named Tate a run-
ner-up for “The Star of Tomorrow.” The future looked bright, with
more movie offers and better reviews for Tate’s new comic roles.
Helter Skelter
Tate entertained friends on the night of August 8, 1969, two weeks
before her child was due. Polanski was in London at the time.
Tate’s guests included Abigail Folger, Folger’s boyfriend Wojciech
Frykowski, and Hollywood hairdresser Jay Sebring. Steven Parent,
a young friend of Tate’s caretaker, was also present when prowlers
arrived, sometime after 11:30 p.m.
The intruders shot Parent in his car, in Tate’s driveway, then
crept into the house. As later described by one who was present, the
gang’s leader told Tate and her friends, “I’m here to do the Devil’s
business.” Folger and Frykowski fled, but both were stabbed to
death on the front lawn. Inside, the gang bound Tate and Sebring,
and then stabbed them both repeatedly. Tate suffered 16 knife
wounds. The killers wrote “PIG” on the wall in Tate’s blood.
While police grilled Tate’s caretaker and Polanski flew home
from Europe, the killers struck again on August 9. Los Angeles
The Devil’s Business 25
residents Leno and Rosemary LaBianca died at their home, stabbed

with knives and a barbecue fork. The slayers left more bloody graf-
fiti: “WAR,” “DEATH TO PIGS,” and “HEALTER SKELTER.”
Aerial view of the home of Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski, where
Mrs. Tate and four other people were found murdered on August 9,
1969. One body is under the sheet in front of the house at the upper
left. Another is in the automobile at the lower right. Another was
found near the swimming pool at the top and two others were found
in the house. AP
Police felt the media’s pressure to solve the murders. Life maga-
zine ran photos of the crime scenes, while newspaper headlines and
TV reports spoke of ritual slayings. L.A.’s police were desperate.
But where were the killers?
Breaking the Case

Despite the evidence recovered from both crimes, police still had
no suspects until November, when they got a lucky break. A car-
theft suspect, Susan Atkins, bragged to cellmates that she had par-
ticipated in the murders. Soon, investigators traced her movements
to the Spahn Ranch in Death Valley, often used in Western films.
There, officers arrested several members of a strange communal
group known as the “Family.”
Its leader, Charles Manson, was a 35-year-old drifter who had
spent most of his life behind bars on various charges. Paroled over
his own objections in March 1967, he had spent the intervening
years immersed in California’s “hippie” subculture, collecting
younger runaways and petty criminals as members of his “family.”
They wandered aimlessly, stole cars, ate out of garbage cans, and
begged for cash. Drugs and bizarre religious practices became the
focus of their lives.
Based on statements from Atkins and other Family members,
police charged Manson, Atkins, and five others with nine counts of
murder. Aside from the seven Tate-LaBianca killings, charges were
also filed in the deaths of musician Gary Hinman (July 1969) and
movie stuntman Donald Shea (August 1969). Linda Kasabian agreed
to testify against her fellow defendants, in return for immunity.
According to Kasabian and others, Manson was obsessed with
the music of the Beatles, a British rock group whose songs allegedly
contained predictions of a coming race war in America. Manson
called the war “Helter Skelter,” the title of one Beatles song (mis-
spelled by the LaBianca killers), predicting that its survivors would
come to Death Valley in search of his leadership.
Beyond that fantasy, Manson hoped to launch Helter Skelter by
blaming African Americans for murders of wealthy white victims.
He sent his “children” out to kill and ordered them to mark their
crime scenes with phrases familiar from the speeches of black
militants.
Deputy sheriffs escort Charles Manson on his way to court in Los

Angeles in August 1970. AP
Jurors convicted Manson, Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and

Leslie Van Houten of the Tate-LaBianca murders in March 1971.
All four were sentenced to death. A second jury convicted and
condemned Charles “Tex” Watson for the same crimes in Octo-
ber 1971. In other trials, Manson and two more family members,
Robert Beausoleil and Steven Grogan, were sentenced to die for
the Hinman-Shea killings. Before any were executed, however, the
U.S. Supreme Court overturned all current death sentences in 1972,
commuting the verdicts to life imprisonment.
Manson and his “children” are now eligible for parole, but only
one has been released from prison. Authorities freed Steven Grogan
on November 18, 1985.
LCruel and Unusual?

More than 35 years after the Manson death penalties were over-
turned, fierce controversy still surrounds American capital punish-
ment. All member nations of the European Union have abandoned
executions, but recent polls in the United States show that 69
percent of Americans support capital punishment—this, despite
the fact that 53 percent believe executions have little or no effect
in deterring violent crimes.
According to official records as researched and tallied by M. Watt
Espy and John Ortiz Smykla, 14,175 persons were executed for vari-
ous crimes in Colonial America and the United States between 1608
and 1972.1 In the latter year, the Supreme Court ruled that all exist-
ing capital punishment statutes violated the U.S. Constitution’s
Eighth Amendment ban on “cruel and unusual punishment.” Later
rulings permitted executions under stricter, more uniform guide-
lines. New laws were passed, and executions resumed in January
1977, with 1,024 inmates killed through May 2006.2
Critics of capital punishment note that 67 percent of all Ameri-
can death-penalty verdicts are overturned on appeal, while DNA
testing has freed more than 100 wrongfully convicted inmates
since the early 1990s. Supporters use various moral, religious, and
economic arguments in favor of executions. Thirty-six of the 50
states presently endorse capital punishment, but three of those
have performed no executions since 1972.
Former L.A. prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi suggests, in his book

Helter Skelter (1974), that the Family killed at least 36 victims,
including one in England and Manson’s biological father in Ken-
tucky. No further charges were filed in the remaining 27 cases.
Aftermath
Roman Polanski continued his career as a film director after wife
Sharon’s murder, drawing criticism in some cases for his graphic
depiction of violence in movies such as Chinatown (1974) and The
Tenant (1976).
Ten years after the Manson trial, when Leslie Van Houten
gathered 900 signatures on a petition supporting her parole, Doris
Tate (Sharon’s mother) fought back with a petition bearing 350,000
names, to keep Van Houten in prison. Over the next 10 years, until
her death in July 1992, Tate attended every parole hearing for her
daughter’s killers and argued successfully against their release.
Thanks to Tate, in 1982 California passed laws permitting crime
victims or their survivors to speak at hearings where convicted
felons are sentenced or considered for parole. Sharon Tate’s sister
Patti continued her mother’s work from 1992 to 2000, founding the
Doris Tate Crime Victims Bureau to promote similar laws through-
out America. Debra Tate, Sharon’s last remaining sister, has since
taken up the cause.
While Charles Manson makes a joke of his periodic parole hear-
ings, other members of the Family still seek release on a regular
basis. Charles Watson has become a minister in prison, with a wife
and children outside who collect donations for his “church.” Susan
Atkins briefly married a preacher and published an autobiography,
Child of Satan, Child of God (1978), describing her religious con-
version. Leslie Van Houten argues for parole on grounds that she
regrets her crimes and has matured in prison.
The reverse side of that coin is seen in other Family members.
On September 5, 1975, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme tried to shoot
President Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California, but her pistol mis-
fired. She later received a life prison term and remains in custody
today. Three months after the bungled shooting, Sandra Good—
Fromme’s roommate and another Family member—was arrested
for sending threats through the U.S. mail. She received a 10-year
sentence and was freed in 1985.
The Manson Family exerts ongoing fascination for the Ameri-

can public. Aside from numerous nonfiction books on the group
and its crimes, Bugliosi’s Helter Skelter has been filmed twice as a
made-for-TV movie—in 1976, with actor Steve Railsback portray-
ing Manson, and again in 2004, with Jeffrey Davies in the starring
role. Michael Perry’s fictional novel Skelter (1994) describes a plot
by Manson’s son to break him out of prison—a scheme that almost
succeeds.
3
tarnished hero
Shortly after 2 p.m. on June 29, 1978, Victoria Berry called at the
Scottsdale, Arizona, home of fellow actor Bob Crane. They had
been scheduled for a luncheon interview at noon, but Crane never
showed. Berry was concerned since he had not called to cancel.
No one answered Berry’s knock, so she tried the front door and
found it unlocked. Calling out Crane’s name, she entered a living
room littered with clothing, magazines, and video equipment.
Berry crossed the room, peered through a window at the back-
yard swimming pool, and saw no one there. Still calling out to
Crane, she moved on to the bedroom, where a figure lay huddled in
Crane’s bed.
At first, she thought it was a girl with long red hair. Then
Berry realized that she was seeing blood, lots of it, soaking through
Crane’s sheets and pillow, even spattered on the wall.
She ran to telephone police.
drumming uP suCCess
Robert Edward Crane (1928–78) was a Connecticut native who
dropped out of high school to play drums with a dance band. That
musical connection led him into radio and television broadcasting,
but fame remained elusive. His first TV job was at a station that
seemed to have no audience. When Crane offered $100 to the first
viewer who called in, no one claimed the free money.
Crane moved his family to Hollywood in 1956, pursuing his
career as a disc jockey. His new show was a hit, with celebrity
guests including Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Bob Hope, and
Marvin Gaye. Soon, Crane earned a reputation as “King of the L.A.
31
Airwaves,” earning more than $100,000 per year, but he craved

something more.
In 1961, at age 33, Crane turned to acting. Before year’s end, he
landed roles in two films, Man-Trap and Return to Peyton Place.
His next big break, in 1963, was a regular part on TV’s popular
Donna Reed Show, but producers wrote him out of the show in
1965, saying his performance as a playboy neighbor of the series
stars was “too suggestive” for a family program.
Naturally, Crane was disappointed by that setback, but success
was just around the corner. He would find it when he took the big-
gest gamble of his career.
A Risky Hit
Twenty years had passed since the end of World War II, but memo-
ries of that devastating conflict still haunted many of its partici-
pants, from combat veterans to survivors of the Nazi Holocaust.
It seemed bizarre, therefore, when writers Bernard Fein and Albert
Ruddy proposed a TV situation comedy involving Allied soldiers
in a German prison camp, similar to the 1953 film Stalag 17.
Somehow, the series was approved at CBS—ironically, with Jew-
ish actors Werner Klemperer and John Banner cast as the camp’s
bumbling Nazis in charge, Col. Wilhelm Klink and Sgt. Hans
Schultz. Bob Crane won the lead role as wisecracking Col. Robert E.
Hogan, who always managed to outwit the foes with a smile.
Against all expectations, Hogan’s Heroes was an instant hit.
Crane received two Emmy nominations (1966 and 1967), but failed
to take home the awards. Werner Klemperer won Emmys for his
performances in 1967 and 1968. Crane’s love affair with actress
Patti Olsen (cast as Klink’s secretary) led him to divorce, and he
married Olsen on the Hogan’s Heroes set in October 1970.
Later that year, network executives decided to shift their audi-
ence focus, seeking younger and wealthier viewers. Despite its
continued high ratings, Hogan’s Heroes was canceled in 1971, along
with several other popular shows. Crane and his cast mates were
stunned.
Worse yet, despite six years of critical success, Crane received
few offers for new film or TV projects. Over the next five years,
he appeared in two movies for children, Superdad (1973) and Gus
Tarnished Hero 33
Bob Crane in costume in a publicity photo for Hogan’s Heroes.

Bettmann/Corbis
(1976). NBC executives bought the Bob Crane Show in 1975, but
ratings lagged, and it got the axe after only three months on-air.
That failure deepened Crane’s depression and brought to the
forefront a side of his character rarely glimpsed by fans.
The Dark Side

Since his teens, Bob Crane had been obsessed with sex. He talked
about it constantly to friends, collected mountains of pornography,
and barely masked his tendencies in public with off-color jokes and
aggressive flirting. Crane’s constant infidelity and his obsession
with pornographic videotapes—often starring himself with multiple
women—doomed his second marriage. Wife Patti filed for divorce
in 1977.
Finally, even on camera—as when he taped an episode of Celeb-
rity Cooks, in January 1978—Crane could not resist dropping inap-
propriate sexual jokes into every conversation. That show never
aired. By the time it was scheduled for broadcast, on July 10, 1978,
Bob Crane was dead, murdered in his own home.
Crane’s porn addiction led him to Scottsdale resident John
Carpenter (1928–98), a part-time actor and electronics expert who
specialized in video recordings. Carpenter enjoyed socializing with
celebrities, taping their frolics, and—at least in Crane’s case—shar-
ing their girlfriends.
On June 28, 1978, Crane and Carpenter had breakfast together,
then went shopping in Scottsdale for video equipment. Put off by
high prices, Crane borrowed a new recorder from one of his friends,
and then visited a girlfriend’s home for several hours. That night, he
went barhopping with Carpenter, but they failed to meet any will-
ing women. According to Carpenter, they split up and Crane went
home around 2:30 a.m. on June 29.
Murder
Crane’s last hours are shrouded in mystery. Police, summoned by
Victoria Berry, found him beaten to death in bed, with a cord from a
video recorder tied around his neck. A bottle of Scotch whisky stood
on the nightstand, but Berry told detectives Crane never drank
Tarnished Hero 35
LReal-Life CSI: Bloodstain Evidence

Bloodstain pattern evidence may be vital to the reconstruction of
a crime. Using mathematics and physics, forensic scientists can
calculate the force delivered by a blow in feet-per-second or the
movements of the people involved, based on the shape and direc-
tion of blood drops, smears, swipes, wipes, or other stains found
on floors, walls, ceilings, furniture, and so on. Such evidence may
also help investigators track the motions of a victim and attacker
at a crime scene, even when no victim is present and the offender
is unknown. It is most useful in cases involving more than one
killer or victim.
Types of blood-spatter evidence include:
Arterial spurting, distinctive wavelike spurts of blood pro-
duced from severed arteries while the victim’s heart is still
beating.
Cast-off patterns, created when some bloody object (a fist,
club, etc.) is swung with enough force to spray drops of
blood onto surrounding surfaces.
Back spatter, caused by the impact of a weapon or bullet that
makes blood from a fresh wound spurt back toward the
weapon, rather than in the direction of impact, or when
blood sprays from an axe or club as the wielder pulls it
back for another blow. In close-range gunshots, blood may
stain the shooter’s hands or weapon, even the inside of a
gun barrel, which is one reason guns found at crime scenes
should not be picked up by sticking a pen or pencil into
the barrel.
Forward spatter, traveling in the direction of impact from a
weapon or projectile, as when blood sprays from a gunshot
exit wound.
Drip patterns, created when blood drops fall from any height
onto a lower surface, such as pavement or a floor. Parent
drops are the large, roughly circular drops found in drip
patterns, surrounded by smaller cast-off droplets called
satellites. The bigger the drop, the higher the height from
which it fell.
Scotch. No evidence suggested a break-in, causing police to suspect

that Crane invited his killer into the house.
But who was it?
Patti Crane sometimes fought violently with her soon-to-be
ex-husband, but she was in Washington State when he died. From
the extent of Crane’s injuries and bloodstain evidence found at the
scene, Medical Examiner Heinz Karnitschnig profiled the unknown
killer as a “very strong man.”
Unfortunately, Crane’s promiscuous lifestyle offered countless
suspects in the persons of jealous husbands and lovers. One man,
whose girlfriend Crane filmed, had taped a mutilated photo of Crane
on the actor’s door. The severed video cord around Crane’s neck also
suggested a connection to his porn hobby.
Or did it?
Some investigators thought the cord represented a severed
friendship, casting suspicion on John Carpenter. Acquaintances
claimed that Carpenter wanted a closer relationship with Crane
than Crane would tolerate. Some suggested that Carpenter was gay,
and that he may have made advances that disturbed Crane. Was
rejection, then, the motive for Crane’s slaying?
On June 29, three hours before Victoria Berry found Crane’s
body, Carpenter flew to Los Angeles. At 3:10 p.m., he telephoned
Crane’s home and police answered the call. Carpenter identified
himself and answered certain questions, but he never asked why
officers were at Crane’s home.
Scottsdale police later examined Carpenter’s rented car and
found small human bloodstains. The blood was Type B, shared by
Crane and 10 percent of America’s population at large. Carpenter
denied any part in Crane’s murder and could not explain the blood-
stains in his car.
DNA testing procedures for blood did not exist in 1978. British
scientists developed the test in 1985, but when Arizona investiga-
tors tested the stains from Carpenter’s car in 1989, seeking a match
to Bob Crane, the results were inconclusive.
Almost Solved
It was no secret that police suspected Carpenter of killing Crane.
Wherever Carpenter went, the unspoken accusation followed
Tarnished Hero 37
him. In June 1992, when police finally charged him with Crane’s
murder, Carpenter expressed relief that he would have a chance to
clear his name in court.
John Carpenter talks with his attorney in a Los Angeles courtroom

in June 1992. He was charged with the 1978 murder of actor and
friend Bob Crane. Carpenter was acquitted by a jury in 1994.
Douglas C. Pizac/AP
After 14 years of delay, police based their murder charge on a

photograph of Carpenter’s rental car from 1978. The photo showed
a tiny speck of something, barely 1/16 inch in diameter, stuck to
one of the auto’s door panels. The evidence itself was long gone, but
criminalists claimed they could identify it from the photo as human
brain tissue, even though such identification based on a photograph
alone is impossible.
At trial, in 1994, prosecution witnesses offered that photo to
the jury. Defense experts testified that the “speck” could not be
identified as anything without proper laboratory tests. Prosecutors
fired back with a 16-year-old videotape of Carpenter, Crane, and an
unnamed woman in bed. They claimed that Crane had threatened
to break off his friendship with Carpenter, thus ending Carpenter’s
access to beautiful women, which drove Carpenter into a murder-
ous rage.
In fact, however, the state offered no evidence that Crane had
ended his friendship with Carpenter. Their outing on June 28, 1978,
appeared to prove the opposite. Jurors acquitted Carpenter of all
charges. He died four years later, from a heart attack.
In 2002 director Paul Schrader released the film Auto Focus
about Crane’s life and murder. Crane’s son Scott denounced the
film’s portrayal of his father.
4
stalked!
At 10:50 p.m. on December 8, 1980, world-famous musician John
Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, returned home from a recording
session. As they approached the entrance to their apartment build-
ing, The Dakota (near Manhattan’s Central Park), a man stepped
from the shadows and called out, “Mr. Lennon!” As Lennon turned,
the stranger raised a pistol and shot him five times, inflicting fatal
wounds. The gunman then sat down on the curb nearby to wait for
police.
Officers identified the killer as 25-year-old Mark David Chap-
man, a former drug addict and mental patient who claimed a long-
time fascination with Lennon (though he never spoke of it to family
or friends). Chapman had approached Lennon at 4 p.m. the same day
and obtained Lennon’s autograph outside The Dakota.
Chapman told police that he shot Lennon in order to “make a
statement.” Some conspiracy theorists believe he was a hired assas-
sin. At trial, Chapman’s lawyers recommended an insanity plea, but
Chapman insisted that “the little voices inside my head told me to
plead guilty.” He received a prison term of 20 years to life.
stalkers at large
While Mark Chapman’s crime brought to light the dangers of obses-
sive fans, he was not the first celebrity stalker on record—or the
last. Instances of celebrity stalking can sometimes last for years.
Some famous celebrity stalking cases are described in the following
chronology:
39
Legendary musician John Lennon was murdered outside his Manhattan

apartment building on December 8, 1980. Penny Tweedie/Corbis
1949: Ruth Ann Steinhagen wounded pro baseball player

Eddie Waitkus with a rifle shot. Police found photos
of Waitkus at the teenager’s home. She was sent to a
mental institution and released three years later.
1969: Chester Young, obsessed with singer Peggy Lennon of
the Lennon Sisters (no relation to John Lennon), shot
and killed Peggy’s father. Two months later, Young
committed suicide with the same pistol.
Stalked! 41
1981: Seeking to impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom

he was obsessed, John Hinckley Jr. attempted
to kill President Ronald Reagan in March. He
wounded Reagan and three others with pistol fire in
Washington, D.C. Acquitted on grounds of insanity,
he remains confined to a psychiatric hospital (where
he once corresponded with Charles Manson).
1982: Arthur Richard Jackson stabbed actress Theresa
Saldana in March, acting on “orders from God.”
Saldana survived her wounds. Jackson served 14
years and was then extradited to England on robbery
charges.
1983: Michael Perry regarded singer Olivia Newton-John as
“a muse who was granted everlasting life.” Security
officers caught Perry on Newton-John’s property in
1983 and sent him home to Louisiana—where he
killed his parents and three other relatives. Perry
received a death sentence for his crimes.
1984: Ralph Nau also stalked Olivia Newton-John from
1980 to 1984, when he leaped on stage with her at a
concert in Australia. Deported back to Illinois, Nau
murdered his brother and was then declared insane.
1984–1999: Edwin John Carlson stalked country singer Barbara
Mandrell and her family for 15 years, beginning in
1984. He was finally jailed for invading Mandrell’s
home, but she declined to press charges. Back in his
native Minnesota, Carlson faced criminal charges for
stalking a former girlfriend.
1985–2000: Mark Ronald Bailey, a New Jersey accountant, sent
more than 100 threatening letters to actress Brooke
Shields between 1985 and 1999. In September 2000
he was sentenced to 10 years probation, with twice-
weekly counseling sessions.
1988–1998: Margaret Ray, a diagnosed schizophrenic, began
announcing herself as comedian David Letterman’s
wife in 1988. She broke into his house at least eight
times before committing suicide in 1998.
1988–1990: Tina Ledbetter sent 6,000 threatening letters to actor
Michael J. Fox during 1988–90. After Fox took her to
court, she began harassing actor Scott Bakula.
Secret Service agent Timothy J. McCarthy (foreground), Washington

policeman Thomas K. Delehanty (center), and press secretary James
Brady (background) lie wounded on a street outside a Washington
hotel after shots were fired on March 30, 1981, in an attempt to
assassinate President Ronald Reagan. The shooter, John Hinckley Jr.,
is being detained in the background. Ron Edmonds/AP
Stalked! 43
1989: Robert John Bardo shot and killed actress Rebecca

Schaeffer outside her Los Angeles home in July 1989,
after watching her on television. Police found a
“shrine” devoted to Schaeffer in Bardo’s apartment.
He received a life sentence without parole.
ate 1980s– Gary Benson married an employee of comedian Jerry
L
2001: Lewis in the late 1980s. After they divorced, “voices”
told Benson to kill Lewis. He served several jail terms
for threatening Lewis and finally died in prison in
August 2001.
1987–1990: Joni Leigh Penn sent at least 100 letters to actress
Sharon Gless during 1987–89, some including photos
of guns. She received a six-year prison term in 1990
after breaking into a house owned by Gless and hold-
ing police at bay with a rifle for seven hours.
1988: Nathan Trupp murdered five victims in two states,
while stalking actor Michael Landon. Trupp believed
Landon was part of a Nazi conspiracy, though in fact,
Landon’s parents were Jewish. Trupp was confined to
a California mental hospital.
1993: Singer Tina Sinatra sued actor James Farentino in
1993 on charges of stalking and threatening her. The
court issued a restraining order after Farentino pled
“no contest” to the charges.
1995– Robert Hoskins threatened to kill singer Madonna
Present: if she refused to marry him. He received a 10-year
prison term after invading her estate, armed with
a gun, in 1995. Hoskins continues his threats from
prison, now claiming that Madonna is his wife.
1997: Ex-convict John Norman tried to invade director
Steven Spielberg’s estate in June 1997, carrying hand-
cuffs, duct tape, razor blades, and a knife. Norman
first identified himself to police as Spielberg’s adopted
son, then claimed that be believed Spielberg “wanted
to be raped by him.” Norman received a prison term
of 25 years to life in June 1998.
1998–2000: Bernard A. Ortiz received a 10-month jail term in
August 1998 for bombarding singer Linda Ronstadt
with unwanted cards and letters. Arizona police
arrested him again in May 2000 when he violated pro-
bation by approaching Ronstadt at a concert.
1999: Athena Marie Rolando invaded actor Brad Pitt’s home

and played dress-up with his clothes in January 1999.
She was sentenced to 15 hours of community service
and three years probation.
1999: Barry George shot and killed British TV journalist Jill
Dando outside her London home in April 1999. The
obsessed fan received a life sentence.
2000: An Internet stalker known only as “Dina” bombarded
actress Kate Winslet with frightening e-mails in
summer 2000, threatening to “rape her, kill her, and
just hit her.” The e-mails came from a computer at
Aristotle University of Thessalonica, in Greece.
1998–2000: Dante Michael Soiu was committed to a California
mental institution in December 2000, with a
minimum three-year sentence, for sending actress
Gwyneth Paltrow hundreds of unwelcome letters, e-
mails, and gifts since 1998.
2000–2001: Matthew Hooker tormented actress Nicole Kidman
with letters, love poems, and offers to “tutor” her
children between March 2000 and May 2001, when
he was slapped with a three-year restraining order.
Hooker claims that Kidman “flirted” with him at a
bookstore.
2001: Marlon Esracio Pagtakhan received five years proba-
tion, with a judicial restraining order, in May 2001,
after he pled “no contest” to charges of stalking
actress Jeri Ryan (from TV’s Star Trek: Voyager and
Boston Public). His harassment of Ryan included
“hundreds and hundreds” of threatening e-mails.
2001: Michael Willis faced criminal charges in August 2001,
and was held for psychiatric testing, after repeatedly
calling actress Katie Holmes’s father, asking permis-
sion to marry her. Holmes never met Willis, who also
demanded $50,000 from NBC network executives,
claiming anchorman Tom Brokaw was “stealing”
news stories from him.
2002: Juan Carlos Diaz became obsessed with singer Gloria
Estefan after playing a small part in one of her music
videos. Over the next few months, he stalked Estefan
and her husband, while spreading slanderous stories
about them. Miami police arrested Diaz in February.
Stalked! 45
2002: John Hughes, who falsely claims to be actress Meg

Ryan’s husband, was jailed in Los Angeles during May
2002, after he invaded the property of a Ryan fam-
ily unrelated to the star. In 2001, he had served six
months in prison for carrying three guns on Texas
property owned by President George W. Bush.
Fighting Back
While most American stalking victims—an estimated 20,000 per-
sons every year—are not celebrities, the publicity generated by
LProfiling Stalkers
Forensic psychiatrists identify three basic types of stalkers. They
include
n infatuated stalkers who harbor romantic fantasies and pursue
the object of their desire by means that are usually not mali-
cious—although they may annoy, or even frighten, unwilling
recipients
n delusional stalkers imagine some “special link” to their targets,
even when they have never met. Some celebrity stalkers claim
to be lovers or spouses of the stars they harass. “Rejection”
and embarrassment carry a high risk of violent retaliation.
n sadistic stalkers may be the most dangerous. They seek to
“punish” victims—often total strangers—who seem (in their
minds) undeservedly happy or successful. Here, too, violence
is common. Ninety percent of all women killed by former hus-
bands or lovers were stalked beforehand.
While a majority of identified stalkers are men in their 30s or
older, there is no “average” stalker or stalking victim. Celebrities
draw more attention in stalking cases—as in most other aspect of
their lives—but thousands of Americans suffer similar harassment
every day, from former spouses, lovers, employees—or admirers
they have never met.
Unfortunately, as in other cases, psychological profiles of an
unidentified stalker generally do not lead to his or her arrest.
star-stalkers has helped to protect all targets of obsessive love or

hate.
Arthur Jackson used California driver’s license records to locate
actress Theresa Saldana’s home in 1982, but her near-murder pro-
duced new legislation closing those files to the public. Other states
soon followed California’s example.
Seven years later, after Robert Bardo stalked and killed actress
Rebecca Schaeffer, California passed the first anti-stalking law in
American history. Today, all 50 states have similar laws, though
procedures and penalties differ. Forty-one states also have laws
against cyberstalking by means of computers or other electronic
devices. (States without such laws include Idaho, Kentucky, Mis-
sissippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, and West
Virginia.) Interstate transmission of threats via mail, telephone, or
other means is also a federal crime.
All stalking victims must follow certain steps to prosecute their
tormentors. Acts of harassment must be documented, along with
any evidence that may identify the stalker.
Restraining orders, while often ignored by offenders, permit the
arrest of a stalker who violates a court’s instructions. Second and
third arrests also carry more serious penalties than a first offense.
While few noncelebrities can afford bodyguards and security
equipment, most local law enforcement agencies today treat stalk-
ing as a serious offense with a potential for escalating violence. No
victim should suffer in silence.
5
let us Prey
On October 5, 1989, federal jurors in Charlotte, North Carolina,
concluded a five-week felony trial by convicting defendant James
Orson Bakker on 24 counts of fraud and theft. The case, involving
losses of nearly $4 million from various investors, made headlines
worldwide. On October 24, the court fined Bakker $500,000 and
sentenced him to 45 years in prison.
That sentence might have been routine for a leader of organized
crime in New York or Chicago, but James Bakker was no ordinary
criminal. In fact, he was a Christian minister, beloved and trusted
by tens of thousands around the world—a symbol of religious
broadcasting, or televangelism, whose downfall threatened a global
network earning millions of dollars each month.
Before tHe fall

A Michigan native, born in 1939, Jim Bakker felt the call of religion
in his teens. After high school, he enrolled at North Central Bible
College, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There, he met Tammy Faye
LaValley, three years his junior, and they married on April Fools’
Day 1961. Ordained as a minister in 1964, Bakker joined Rev. Pat
Robertson’s small Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia,
pitching in to make its 700 Club the most successful religious TV
program of that time.
In 1974 the Bakkers moved to California, joining televange-
lists Paul and Jan Crouch to create the new Trinity Broadcasting
Network. Soon afterward, Jim and Tammy founded their own PTL
Network, variously translated as Praise the Lord or People That
Love. By the early 1980s their PTL Club program, broadcast from
47
Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker talking to their television audience at

their PTL Ministry in August 1986. Lou Krasky/AP
Let Us Prey 49
North Carolina, aired on nearly 100 television stations, claiming

more than 12 million daily viewers nationwide. Their Heritage
USA Christian theme park, located south of Charlotte, ranked as
the third most successful amusement park in America (after Dis-
ney World and Disneyland). A state-of-the-art satellite broadcasting
system let the Bakkers air their gospel message—and their pleas for
money—24 hours a day.
And the money rolled in. Donations from viewers—whom
Jim Bakker called “Grandma Grunts”—often exceeded $1 million
per week. Although PTL was a nonprofit organization, Jim and
Tammy each drew yearly salaries of $200,000, while Jim paid him-
self more than $4 million in “bonuses” between 1984 and 1987.
Their other assets included a $600,000 home and four condomini-
ums in California, a Rolls Royce automobile, and 47 different bank
accounts. Their house at Palm Springs had gold-plated bathroom
faucets costing $60,000. The Bakkers once spent $100,000 on a
private jet to fly their clothes across country. Even their dogs had
air-conditioned homes.
Author Frances FitzGerald, writing for the New Yorker in April
1987, said that the Bakkers “epitomized the excesses of the 1980s;
the greed, the love of glitz, and the shamelessness; which in their
case was so pure as to almost amount to a kind of innocence.”
But as it turned out, they were not so innocent, after all.
Wages of Sin
Extravagant spending was not Jim Bakker’s only vice. In December
1980 he had a brief affair with church secretary Jessica Hahn, who
later repented and threatened to expose him. Bakker paid Hahn
$265,000 in hush money, but she would not stay silent forever.
Threatened with exposure for adultery, Bakker resigned as PTL’s
president in March 1987. Jessica Hahn posed for Playboy maga-
zine, while former colleagues Reverend Jerry Falwell and Reverend
Jimmy Swaggart denounced Jim Bakker as a “scab and cancer on
the face of Christianity.” In April 1987, Reverend John Ankenberg
broadened the scandal, accusing Bakker of homosexual activity and
stealing millions from PTL. Falwell, meanwhile, took over as PTL’s
caretaker and quickly ran it into bankruptcy.
The Bakkers denied any wrongdoing, but the tide had turned
against them. In May 1987 the Assemblies of God, the Pentecostal
denomination to which Bakker belonged, defrocked Jim as a minis-
LCelebrity Scammer
Modern celebrity is both a blessing and a curse. Great wealth and
fame bring luxury beyond the imagination to “superstars,” but
it may also make them targets for a parasitic breed of conartist
whose every thought is focused on getting something for nothing.
Some stars entrust their cash, their homes—even their lives—to
members of an ever-growing entourage who may not always have
their best interests at heart.
One such con artist, in the latter 1990s, was celebrity invest-
ment counselor Dana Giacchetto, who attached himself to a list
of superstars including Ben Affleck, Courtney Cox, Cameron Diaz,
Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Minnie Driver, Lauren Holly,
Jennifer Lopez, Tobey Maguire, Ben Stiller, and even the rock
band Phish. Many of the stars who met and befriended Giacchetto
trusted him to invest their money, and Giacchetto betrayed that
trust.
Not all of his celebrity friends were robbed. A few reported
that when their investments went bad Giacchetto repaid them,
apparently from his own pocket. In other cases, though, he
took advantage of them to turn a tidy profit. Before his final
exposure and arrest, Giacchetto stole $33,000 from Ben Affleck,
$825,000 from Courtney Cox, $100,000 from Matt Damon,
$300,000 from Lauren Holly, $150,000 from Tobey Maguire, $4.7
million from Phish, and $250,000 from Ben Stiller, among many
others.
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents launched an investiga-
tion of Giacchetto in 1999 and raided his home that November,
missing their suspect but seizing crates of documents. Six weeks
later, authorities arrested Giacchetto as he returned from a trip
to Japan. Prosecutors charged him with stealing more than $9
million from various clients, shuffling money through various
accounts to conceal the thefts and support his own lavish life-
style. Giacchetto’s parents bailed him out of jail, but he violated
terms of his release in April 2000 by flying to Las Vegas. Police
were waiting when he returned to New York—with 80 first-class
Let Us Prey 51
ter. On December 5, 1988, federal prosecutors indicted Jim on mul-

tiple charges of fraud, tax evasion, and racketeering, claiming that
he embezzled some $158 million from the PTL ministry.
airline tickets to various foreign cities, a forged passport, and

$4,000 in cash.
Giacchetto pled guilty on five counts of fraud, received a
prison term of 57 months, and was ordered to pay $9.9 million in
restitution to his victims. The United States Securities Exchange
Commission also charged Giacchetto with swindling noncelebrity
clients of his now-bankrupt Cassandra Group investment firm and
fined him $14.4 million.1
Released from custody in July 2003, Giacchetto signed a
six-figure publishing deal with Simon & Schuster for his tell-all
memoirs, titled You Will Make Money in Your Sleep, but attorneys
for his victims filed litigation to seize the advance payment. In
August 2007 Giacchetto surrendered the book advance, along with
any movie, television, or other rights to his story until such time
as his victims have been fully repaid for their losses.2
Dana Giacchetto, center, leaves the federal courthouse in New

York in this April 2000 photo. Robert Mecea/AP
According to the government, Bakker and his aides had sold PTL
“lifetime memberships” by the tens of thousands between 1984 and
1987, at $1,000 apiece. Each membership entitled its buyer to three
nights per year in a luxury hotel at Heritage USA. In fact, only one
500-room hotel was ever built, meaning that most investors never
got their money’s worth. Bakker kept $3.7 million of the donated
cash for himself, while concealing his theft in fraudulent account
books.
Bakker’s trial began in Charlotte, before Judge Robert Potter, on
August 28, 1989. Defense attorneys claimed that Bakker was enti-
tled to profit from his own business, blaming his excesses on poor
judgment. Jurors disagreed and convicted Bakker in October, where-
upon Judge Potter handed him a 45-year prison sentence. PTL Vice
President Richard Dortch also went to prison, for a shorter term.
In early 1991 a federal appeals court upheld Bakker’s convic-
tion, but canceled his fine and reduced his prison term to 18 years.
Tammy Faye divorced Bakker in 1992. He was paroled to a Salvation
Army halfway house in July 1994 after serving less than five years.
Born Again?
Wealthy evangelist Billy Graham, a longtime friend who bought
Bakker a new house and car, eased Bakker’s reentry to society. In
1995 Bakker addressed a Christian leadership conference, where
10,000 ministers cheered his speech and gave him a 15-minute
standing ovation.
Thus encouraged, Bakker published a book in 1996, in which,
despite its title (I Was Wrong), Bakker attempted to excuse his prior
actions. In print, Bakker claimed that he donated $8 million in per-
sonal book royalties to PTL, and that members of PTL’s governing
board determined all of his income from the ministry, without any
pressure from him.
In July 1996 a North Carolina jury dismissed a multimillion-
dollar class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of some 160,000 PTL
contributors, who donated up to $7,000 each during the 1980s. They
would receive no compensation for their losses.
The Internal Revenue Service was less forgiving. After revoking
PTL’s tax-exempt status, the IRS filed liens against Jim and Tammy
Bakker for some $3 million in unpaid income tax. At press time for
this book, payments on those debts were continuing.
Let Us Prey 53
After divorcing Jim, Tammy Faye married Heritage USA con-

tractor Roe Messner in 1993. (Messner is also subject to an IRS-PTL
lien for unpaid taxes.) Both were later diagnosed with different
kinds of cancer, crediting a combination of prayer and medicine for
their survival into the 21st century. In 1996, Tammy launched a
short-lived TV talk show, but poor health forced her to withdraw.
She died of cancer in July 2007.
Jim Bakker, meanwhile, returned to televangelism in June 2003,
with The New Jim Bakker Show. Despite his apparent reform—and
admissions that he finished reading the Bible for the first time
in prison—some critics remain skeptical of his resurrected faith.
6
murder
in Brentwood
Residents of the affluent Brentwood neighborhood in Los Angeles
resent disturbances. An example of this was the barking dog that
drew attention to a home on South Bundy Drive at 11 p.m. on
June 12, 1994. Neighbors investigated, noting that the dog’s fur
and paws were bloodstained.
Further investigation revealed two bodies sprawled on a nearby
path. Both victims had been stabbed and slashed repeatedly. Patrol
officers reached the scene at 12:13 a.m., followed by detectives and
crime scene investigators.
The victims were identified as 25-year-old Ronald Goldman and
35-year-old Nicole Brown. Brown owned the barking dog and the
home where her body was found. Officers recognized her as the ex-
wife of athlete and actor O.J. Simpson.
Aside from the corpses, police found a man’s knit cap and blood-
stained left-hand glove, bloody size-12 footprints, and scattered
blood drops suggesting the killer was wounded. At 5 a.m., police
went to find Simpson.
tHe all-ameriCan
Orenthal James Simpson was born in July 1947. During 1950–53,
he suffered from rickets, a bone disease that forced him to wear leg
braces. At age 13 he joined a street gang, and was jailed as a juvenile
in 1962.
55
Despite those setbacks, Simpson turned his life around in high

school, starring on the football team. At the University of Southern
California, he won the Heisman Trophy and a place in the College
Football Hall of Fame, twice voted an All-American player.
In 1969 the Buffalo Bills drafted Simpson. He won All-Pro hon-
ors five times, and in 1985 became the first Heisman Trophy winner
elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
While playing football, Simpson launched a second career as an
actor. He played small roles in various TV series (1967–72), then
graduated to movies with Why (1973), and made 12 more films by
1994.
Ironically, in view of later events, Simpson had his greatest
film success playing a detective in the comic Naked Gun series
(1988–94). Producers considered him for The Terminator in 1984,
but decided Simpson was “too nice” to play a killer robot.
Domestic Troubles
Simpson married high-school girlfriend Marguerite Whitley in
1967. They had three children between 1968 and 1977, then sepa-
rated after Simpson began an affair with Nicole Brown. Simpson
married Nicole Brown in February 1985. Their first child was born
eight months later, followed by another in 1988.
In May 1989 Simpson pled “no contest” to charges of beating
Nicole. He was sentenced to 120 hours of community service and
two years probation. The couple separated in February 1992 and
divorced eight months later.
Still, the violence continued. Nicole kept diaries listing 62 inci-
dents of abuse by Simpson. In October 1993 she called police to
remove Simpson from her home. After the divorce, she claimed that
Simpson threatened to kill her if she ever dated other men.
Prime Suspect
When police reached Simpson’s home, a five-minute drive from the
murder scene, they found his car parked with its front wheels on the
sidewalk. Bloodstains marked the driver’s door. Phone calls to the
house brought no response for 40 minutes, so officers climbed the
wall and rang Simpson’s doorbell.
Murder in Brentwood 57
Again, no reply.
In separate bungalows, police found Simpson’s oldest daughter
and a houseguest, Brian “Kato” Kaelin. Kaelin told officers that he
had heard banging sounds behind his bungalow, around 10:45 p.m.
Outside, he had met Simpson rushing to a limousine, bound for a
late flight to Chicago. Police traced Simpson to his Chicago hotel
and informed him of Nicole’s murder. Although apparently upset,
Simpson asked no questions.
Officer Mark Fuhrman found a bloody right-hand glove behind
Kaelin’s bungalow. It matched the left glove from the murder scene.
Another officer found blood drops leading from Simpson’s car, up
the driveway to his house.
Police obtained a search warrant for Simpson’s home at 11 a.m.
Inside, they found a pair of socks in Simpson’s bedroom, stained
with Nicole’s blood. Bloodstains found on and inside Simpson’s car
matched DNA from both victims.
Simpson arrived while the search was in progress, wearing a ban-
dage on the middle finger of his left hand. Simpson said he had cut
his finger before leaving home, then reopened the cut when he broke
a glass in Chicago. Police took blood samples and released him.
Autopsy results proved that Brown and Goldman were stabbed
with a six-inch knife blade. Police learned that Simpson had pur-
chased a knife of that size, but it was “lost.” Detectives never found
the murder weapon.
A limousine driver, scheduled to pick Simpson up at 10:30 p.m.
on June 12, told police he got no answer on the intercom, but he
saw a man of Simpson’s size, dressed in dark clothes, run up the
driveway at 10:50. Simpson emerged moments later, sweating, and
left for the airport. A neighbor confirmed the dark-clad man enter-
ing Simpson’s estate around 10:45.
On June 17 authorities prepared an arrest warrant for Simpson.
Attorney Robert Shapiro agreed to deliver Simpson by 11 a.m., but
they never appeared. Police soon learned that Simpson and a friend,
Al Cowling, were traveling in a white Ford Bronco. Officers declared
Simpson a fugitive at 2 p.m.
At 6:45 p.m. cell phone transmissions led police to the Bronco,
cruising aimlessly through Orange County. As squad cars closed
in, Cowling dialed 911 and told police that Simpson was suicidal,
holding a gun to his head. News helicopters broadcast the “slow-
speed chase” worldwide until Simpson surrendered at 8:45 p.m. An
estimated 95 million TV viewers watched the event from start to

finish.
Simpson hired a team of high-priced lawyers to defend him.
Aside from Shapiro, the stars of the team included celebrity attor-
ney F. Lee Bailey, flamboyant former prosecutor Johnnie Cochran,
and DNA expert Barry Scheck.
The booking mug shot for O.J. Simpson taken on June 17, 1994, after he
surrendered to authorities at his Brentwood estate in Los Angeles.
Simpson was charged with two counts of murder in connection with
the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and acquaintance Ron
Goldman. AP/Los Angeles Police Department
Against that team stood prosecutor Marcia Clark and her assis-
tant, Christopher Darden. Judge Lance Ito would preside over the
televised Simpson trial, in full view of a massive TV audience.
Trial of the Century

Simpson’s trial, beginning on January 24, 1995, was closely watched
by millions. Some 2,000 reporters covered the story, while video
feeds carried the live action to the world at large. The Los Angeles
Times alone published more than 1,000 articles on Simpson’s case.
At any given time during the trial’s 133 days, 91 percent of
America’s TV audience watched the trial in progress. An incredible
150 million watched or listened on radio when jurors finally deliv-
ered their verdict. Talk show host Larry King told his CNN viewers,
“If we had God booked and O.J. was available, we’d move God.”
The prosecution’s case was simple. They claimed Simpson was
a violent, possessive man who beat Nicole while they were married
and threatened her life if she dated after their divorce. Finally, he
carried out his threats.
The defense presented conspiracy theories, claiming that racist
police framed Simpson because he was black and the victims were
white. They accused various detectives of planting evidence and
faking DNA test results.
During eight months of trial, 150 witnesses testified before the
Simpson jury. Experts spent weeks on the DNA evidence, while
footprint specialists matched crime scene tracks to a pair of expen-
sive Bruno Magli shoes in Simpson’s size. The shoes were missing,
and Simpson denied owning any, but photos showed him wearing
them shortly before the murders.
Defense attorneys grilled the prosecution’s experts on their
handling of scientific evidence, charging that police used Simp-
son’s blood to fake crime scene evidence. They noted that one spot
of Simpson’s blood was not collected from the murder scene until
July 3, three weeks after the killings.
Over time, the jury became confused. Foreperson Amanda
Cooley later told reporters, “Witness after witness, day after day,
they lost us. When we went on a break, everybody heaved a sigh of
relief.”
Jurors paid attention, though, when prosecutors asked Simpson
to try on the bloody murder gloves. Nicole bought Simpson two
pairs of the same brand in 1990, and photos showed him wearing
them. However, when Simpson donned the gloves in court (over
another pair of latex gloves), they were too small.
Prosecutors argued that the gloves had shrunk from exposure
to water. When Simpson tried on a new pair—same size, without
rubber gloves underneath—they fit perfectly. Still, Johnnie Cochran
told jurors, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
LReal-Life CSI: DNA

DNA profiling is widely regarded as the last word in personal
identification. According to experts, the odds against two differ-
ent people matching the same complete DNA profile are 100 bil-
lion to one. Earth’s population in 2006 was about 6.5 billion. In
the Simpson case, O.J.’s bloodstain at the Brentwood crime scene
matched only one person in 57 billion—more than nine times
Earth’s total population. It could be no one else’s. So, how could
the jury acquit him?
Four theories explain the outcome:
1. Ignorance. After the trial, prosecutor Marcia Clark described
the jurors as “moon rocks.” One juror, who admittedly
read nothing but horse-racing forms and “didn’t really
understand” those, told reporters, “I didn’t understand
the DNA stuff at all. To me, it was a waste of time.”
2. Conspiracy. Some jurors may have believed defense argu-
ments that police framed Simpson. However, it is physi-
cally impossible to make an unknown killer’s DNA match
that of another person. In order to accept the conspiracy
theory, the DNA evidence must be overlooked.
3. Incompetent prosecutors. Raised by Charles Manson pros-
ecutor Vincent Bugliosi and others, this theory suggests
that the district attorney’s office bungled its presentation
of critical evidence so badly that the jurors could not
understand it.
4. Jury nullification. This term describes a jury verdict that
ignores the facts to make a point. In Simpson’s case, some
observers believe that the jury, dominated by African
Americans, acquitted Simpson to “punish” Los Angeles
police for past mistreatment of minorities.1
And so they did, on October 3, 1995. Despite the state’s “moun-

tain of evidence,” the jurors found Simpson not guilty.
That verdict was highly controversial—a reaction mirrored in
80-plus books and thousands of articles published about the case
since 1995.
Simpson welcomed the verdict—but he still had other trials to
face.
Justice at Last?
While Simpson was cleared of criminal charges, relatives of Nicole
and Ron Goldman filed a civil lawsuit charging him with wrongful
death of their loved ones. That trial began on October 23, 1996, with
some important differences.
First, civil trials do not require proof “beyond a reasonable
doubt,” merely a “preponderance of the evidence.” Second, a major-
ity of jurors in the second trial were affluent Caucasians, while
most of the juror’s in Simpson’s criminal case were African Ameri-
cans. Both of these factors led to a different type of trial.
On February 4, 1997, the new jury found Simpson respon-
sible for killing both victims. They could not send him to jail, but
they ordered him to pay the Brown and Goldman families $33.5
million.
Simpson’s lawyer told the court his client was penniless, unable
to pay the judgment. In fact, Simpson receives $4 million yearly
from a pension fund created during his football career, but that
money was deemed untouchable.
After the civil trial, Simpson moved with his two youngest chil-
dren to a $1.5 million home in Florida. There, he told reporters, “It
will be a cold day in hell before I pay a penny.”
He never has.
Alternate Theories
During and after Simpson’s murder trial, various theories were
offered naming alternate suspects. They include
n Ahitman. This story claims that a professional assassin, hired

by drug dealers whom Brown and her friends had failed to pay for
cocaine, killed Brown and Goldman. Nicole’s best friend was an
admitted addict, and Al Cowlings once worked as a bodyguard

for a notorious drug smuggler who escaped from jail three weeks
before the killings.
n Glenn Rogers. A serial killer, convicted of murders in several
states, Rogers painted Nicole’s home in January 1994 and later
bragged to friends about the killings. Police have found no evi-
dence linking Rogers to the crimes.
n Jason Simpson. Author William Dear, in his book O.J. is Guilty,
but Not of Murder (2000), names Simpson’s oldest son as the
killer. Dear claims Jason—who pled “no contest” to another
assault charge in 1993—had a crush on Nicole but resented her
“swinging” lifestyle. After the murders, Dear claims O.J. con-
cealed evidence to protect his son.
n Kato Kaelin. After Simpson’s trial, a tabloid newspaper named
Kaelin as a suspect. He sued for $15 million and later settled out
of court for an undisclosed amount.
Aftermath
Trouble continues to haunt O.J. Simpson. At last report, Florida
police had answered four domestic dispute calls involving Simpson
and his latest girlfriend, but they filed no charges.
On December 4, 2000, Simpson became embroiled in a “road
rage” incident, allegedly attacking Miami motorist Jeffrey Pattin-
son. Police charged Simpson with assault and battery, but jurors
acquitted him in October 2001.
Still, the publicity continues. In one interview, discussing
Nicole’s death, Simpson mimed stabbing with a banana and mim-
icked the shrill theme from Psycho. His pay-per-view comedy spe-
cial (Juiced, 2003) drew criticism for a sketch where Simpson tries
to sell his alleged murder car to a used-car dealer, saying, “It was
good for me. It helped me get away.”
Others involved in the case also staked a claim to fame. Polls
from 1995 showed that 74 percent of Americans recognized Kato
Kaelin, while only 25 percent knew Vice President Al Gore. Kaelin
pursued that notoriety as a radio talk-show host and in various TV
appearances through 2005.
Prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden both pub-
lished books about the Simpson trial. Clark later became a reporter
for Entertainment Tonight. Darden published a successful novel,

The Trials of Nikki Hill, in 1999.
In 2006 Simpson authored If I Did It, a fictional account of
the murders written as if he had committed them. Unprecedented
negative reaction from the public led the publisher to cancel the
book, and a Florida court then awarded the publication rights to the
Goldman family as partial payment of the amount awarded in their
civil case against Simpson. The book was published with comments
added by the Goldmans in September 2007, under the title If I Did
It: Confessions of the Killer.
Also in September 2007, Simpson landed back in trouble with
the law for his alleged role in a Las Vegas robbery. Simpson and sev-
eral accomplices were arrested and accused of taking memorabilia
from a room in the Palace Station hotel. In November Simpson was
charged with numerous felonies in connection to the case, ranging
from assault with a deadly weapon to conspiracy to commit kidnap-
ping. He awaits trial as of this writing.
Off-Field Crimes
The Simpson case also highlighted the sad truth that star athletes
are just as affected by crime as any other kind of celebrities. Top
players in all sports have committed crimes, been connected to
criminal activity, or become victims at the hands of criminals.
The most notorious scandal in baseball history occurred at the
1919 World Series when eight Chicago White Sox players purposely
lost the series against the Cincinnati Reds. Mob fixer Arnold Roth-
stein arranged for the players to be paid $100,000 to assure the
loss so that gamblers could place sure bets on the winning team.
When the scandal broke, the team earned the nickname “Chicago
Black Sox,” and newly appointed baseball commissioner Judge
Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned all eight players from baseball
for life.
Gambling reared its ugly head again in the 1980s, when it was
learned that baseball’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, gambled on
Cincinnati Reds games while he was the team’s manager. Rose
agreed to a voluntary lifetime ban from baseball, and the scandal
has haunted him ever since. But there were other problems with
baseball in the 1980s, including widespread cocaine abuse, which
“Black Sox” scandal documents, letters, and memos displayed for

an auction. The items were sold to the Chicago History Museum for
$100,000. Nam Y. Huh/AP
wound up hitting the Pittsburgh Pirates the hardest. Several Pirates

players testified in court and were penalized for their drug abuse.
Drugs of a different kind continue to cast a shadow on Major
League Baseball: steroids. Use of these banned, performance-
enhancing drugs have been an issue since the early 1990s. Alle-
gations of steroid use have tainted the home run records of Mark
McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds. Allegations continue today,
and investigations into steroid use are ongoing as of this writing.
In the boxing world, Mike Tyson stands out as one athlete
whose life has been as violent outside the ring as it has been inside
it. Convicted of rape in 1992, Tyson served three years in prison
before resuming his boxing career. In 1997 Tyson was disquali-

fied during a match with Evander Holyfield after he bit off part of
Holyfield’s ear. The two-time heavyweight champ ran afoul of the
law again in 1999, with a conviction for assault, and he pled guilty
on drug charges in 2007. Despite his criminal record, Tyson remains
a widely popular, if very controversial, athlete.
Among gridiron gladiators, Baltimore Ravens Ray Lewis and
Jamal Lewis (no relation) have had run-ins with the law. Ray Lewis
was accused of murder in 2000 but accepted a plea bargain that
sentenced him to one year probation in return for testifying against
others involved. In 2005 another Ravens player, Jamal Lewis, was
sentenced to four months in jail for his role in a drug deal. In 2007
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was at the heart of a
scandal involving dog fighting. Vick eventually pled guilty and was
sentenced to jail time.
On the flip side, Washington Redskins player Sean Taylor
became a crime victim when he was murdered after interrupting a
burglary in his Miami home. Taylor, age 24, was an up-and-coming
player, known for his aggressive playing style. As of this writing, his
murder remains unsolved.
On the basketball court, rape charges sullied the reputation of
widely popular, star shooting guard Kobe Bryant. Drafted into the
National Basketball Association straight from high school, Bryant
had a reputation as a clean-cut player until 2003, when a woman
accused him of sexual assault. Bryant maintained that his encoun-
ter with the woman was consensual but ultimately made an undis-
closed financial settlement with the woman, after which charges
were dropped. During the controversy, Bryant lost several lucrative
endorsement contracts, and some commentators theorized that the
woman had targeted Bryant because of his celebrity, though that
was never proven.
7
number one
with a Bullet
On September 7, 1996, a boxing match between Mike Tyson and
Bruce Sheldon drew many celebrities to the MGM Grand Hotel
in Las Vegas, Nevada. Members of the audience included hip-hop
music star Tupac Shakur and Marion “Suge” Knight, owner of hip-
hop label Death Row Records.
After the main event, Shakur met Orlando Anderson, a member
of the Crips street gang, in the hotel lobby. Anderson had beaten
one of Shakur’s bodyguards a few weeks earlier, and now Shakur got
even, knocking Anderson down and watching while his entourage
stomped him. The fight was caught on videotape.
From the MGM, Shakur and Knight drove toward Club 662,
owned by Death Row. Before they reached it, at 11:14 p.m., another
car pulled alongside and sprayed Knight’s vehicle with bullets. Four
shots struck Shakur, missing the large “Thug Life” tattoo across his
stomach.
Shakur survived for six days at a local hospital, then died on Sep-
tember 13. He was 25 years old, and his murder remains unsolved—
a symbol of the violence that surrounds rap music in America.
“gangsta” art
In hip-hop (or rap) music most lyrics are spoken or chanted,
rather than sung to a melody, and musical accompaniment often
consists of samples taken from existing songs, often from other
musical genres, such as pop, rock, and rhythm and blues. Hip-hop
67
Rapper Tupac Shakur, left, and Death Row Records Chairman Marion
“Suge” Knight in August 1996. Shakur died on September 13, 1996, the
victim of a drive-by shooting. His murder remains unsolved. Frank
Wiese/AP
Number One with a Bullet 69
music emerged among New York City’s African-American popu-

lation in the 1970s. The first successful rap albums were released
in 1979, after which rap’s popularity spread nationwide, and it
went on to become a cultural phenomenon in the 1980s and
1990s. Despite its commercial success, some critics noted that
much hip-hop music celebrates the crime and violence of “gang-
sta” life.
Suge Knight and partner Dr. Dre founded Death Row Records
in 1991, soon becoming a dominant force on the hip-hop scene.
Much of their funding came from an imprisoned drug dealer called
Harry-O. Some headline performers, including white rapper Vanilla
Ice, also claimed that Knight illegally used their money to launch
the new label.
Tension soon sparked between Death Row and rival Bad Boy
Entertainment, owned by Sean “Puffy” Combs.
That feud was only one of several hip-hop battles brewing by
the early 1990s. Death Row’s Tupac Shakur and Bad Boy rapper
Notorious B.I.G. were outspoken enemies, while a state of near-war
existed between rappers on the East and West Coasts of the United
States. Assaults and shootings were almost routine by 1996, when
Shakur made his fateful trip to Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, critics complained that gangsta rap promoted drugs,
abuse of women, and murder. Fans of the music replied that hip-
hop was no more harmful, for its time, than the Beatles or Rolling
Stones were in the 1960s. But the rising death toll indicated that
they might have been wrong.
2Pacalypse
Tupac Shakur was born into the thug life that he sang about, in
June 1971. A child of New York City’s Harlem neighborhood,
he was one year old when police framed his godfather—black
militant Elmer “Geronimo” Pratt—on false murder charges in
Los Angeles. Fourteen years later, his stepfather Mutulu Shakur
received a life sentence for an armored car robbery in which two
policemen were killed.
Tupac’s family moved to California in 1988, and he launched
his show business career as a backup dancer in 1990. A year later,
he released his first rap album, 2Pacalypse Now. A second album
followed in 1993, while Shakur showed a new side to his talent in

various movie roles. In 1993 he formed the group Thug Life to pro-
duce more albums, but trouble haunted him.
In 1991 Shakur sued Oakland police, alleging that officers
brutalized him for jaywalking. The department settled his $10
million claim for $42,000. In October 1993 Shakur shot two off-
duty Atlanta policemen, but charges were dropped when he proved
both officers were drunk and carrying stolen guns. In 1994 Shakur
received a 15-day sentence for assaulting a former employer.
Jurors convicted Shakur of sexual assault in 1995, resulting in a
four-year prison term. The day before that verdict, he suffered five
gunshot wounds at a Manhattan recording studio. He later blamed
Sean Combs and the Notorious B.I.G. for that attack. Paroled after
11 months, Shakur faced a lawsuit from parents of a child killed in a
LThug Life
Tupac Shakur’s famous “Thug Life” tattoo fairly describes the
behavior of some other hip-hop celebrities. A partial list of those
in trouble with the law includes
n Marion “Suge” Knight, co-founder of Death Row records.
Throughout his career, charges of violence and gang affili-
ations have followed Knight. Various Death Row performers
(including Snoop Dogg and Vanilla Ice) accused him of assault-
ing them, while some conspiracy theories implicate Knight
in the deaths of Tupac and Biggie Smalls, as well as other
murders. Knight received probation for weapons and assault
charges in 1992, then got nine years in prison for violating
probation in 1996. Released in 2001, he served 61 days for
violating parole in December 2002. In July 2003 he received a
10-month sentence for assault. In August 2005 he paid a fine
for drug possession. A few days later, in Miami, Knight was
wounded in a drive-by shooting.
n Gerard “D.O. Cannon” Fields, a New York City rapper, was
killed by unknown gunman on August 9, 2003. Four days ear-
lier, a friend of rapper 50 Cent was shot dead near the same
location.
1992 shootout involving Tupac’s entourage. Shakur settled that case

for an estimated $500,000.
At the end of his life, Shakur was recognized as one of America’s
foremost rap artists, with plans for a film production company and a
new drink called Thug Passion. His time ran out before he realized
those dreams, leaving the question: Who shot Tupac?
Notorious
Some investigators blamed the Crips, retaliating for Shakur’s beat-
ing of Orlando Anderson, but others focused on rival rapper Chris-
topher Wallace, known professionally as the Notorious B.I.G. or
Biggie Smalls. Wallace denied involvement in the crime, noting that
n Cordozar “Snoop Dogg” Broadus, a renowned west coast rapper,

faced trial as an accessory to murder in 1993. Jurors acquit-
ted him but convicted his bodyguard. In April 2006, Broadus
and several friends were jailed in London for starting a brawl
at Heathrow Airport. Although released without trial, Broadus
was banned from England.
n Sean “Puffy” Combs, founder of Bad Boy Records, stood
accused of assaulting a rival producer in April 1999. Eight
months later, Combs and a friend were jailed on weapons
charges after a New York shooting. Jurors later acquitted him.
Media reports in 2004 claimed Combs was friendly with mem-
bers of the Gambino Mafia family.
n Marshall “Eminem” Mathers, America’s leading white rapper,
holds numerous Grammies and an Academy Award for his film
8 Mile (2002). In June 2000 he allegedly pistol-whipped his
ex-wife’s boyfriend, later pleading guilty to weapons posses-
sion while assault charges were dropped. Mathers received two
years probation and paid a $100,000 fine. A similar incident,
involving rival rapper Douglas Dail of the Insane Clown Posse,
earned Mathers another year on probation in 2001.
he was in New York when Shakur was shot, but Tupac’s friends
claimed that Biggie hired the gunmen. A friend of Shakur’s who said
he could identify the shooters was later shot by unknown killers in
New Jersey.
Wallace was born in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbor-
hood in 1972. He turned to music after serving 10 months in jail
for selling cocaine and released his first album, Ready to Die, in
1994. Within a year, the Notorious B.I.G. ranked among the nation’s
The bullet-sprayed passenger door of the GMC Suburban in which

rapper the Notorious B.I.G. was riding when he was shot. The 24-
year-old, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, was pronounced
dead at a local hospital shortly after the shooting. Mike Meadows/AP
best-known rappers. Friends called him “King of New York,” after a

gangster film released in 1990.
Despite his critical success, B.I.G. was best known for his role in
rap’s East–West feud of the 1990s. His personal quarrels with Tupac
Shakur highlighted the rivalry between Bad Boy and Death Row
groups nationwide. Despite a friendly meeting at the 1996 MTV
Music Awards, many critics still blamed B.I.G. for Tupac’s murder.
At 1 a.m. on March 9, 1997, while leaving a party in Los Angeles,
Wallace was ambushed and shot six times in his car. He died almost
instantly, while the drive-by shooters escaped. His murder, like
Shakur’s, remains officially unsolved, but early suspicion focused
on Suge Knight and his alleged street-gang associates. Another
theory blames the Crips, claiming that Wallace failed to pay them
for their service as his bodyguards.
“Death is a Commodity”
Sudden death only increased the fame and fortune of Tupac Shakur
and Biggie Smalls, though neither man was able to enjoy it. B.I.G.’s
second album, Life After Death, was released two weeks after his
murder and debuted at No. 1 on the charts.
Employees at the Greenwich Village Tower Records outlet told
the Associated Press that they sold 105 copies of Life After Death
in its first hour. “It’s flying out of here,” one said. “Death is a com-
modity, you know. I have to keep stocking it every five minutes.”
Cashing in on the trend, a car-rental company announced that
they would sell the bullet-punctured door of the vehicle in which
Smalls died. It was for charity, they said, with any proceeds going
to the Challenger Boys & Girls Club of South Central Los Angeles.
The asking price: $4,000.
Tupac Shakur, in death, has been treated with somewhat greater
respect. In 2003, MTV’s countdown of “22 Greatest MCs” listed
Shakur in the top position. A year later, VIBE magazine readers
voted him “the greatest rapper of all time.” In 2005, his album The
Don Kiluminati: The 7 Day Theory took MTV honors as one of the
Top 10 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time. A year later, MTV
ranked Shakur second among its Top 10 MCs of All Time.
Fate has not been so kind to Suge Knight, who filed for bank-
ruptcy in April 2006. Lydia Harris, an investor who owned 50
percent of Death Row Records, claimed that Knight had cheated
her out of $107 million. A court agreed, but bankruptcy makes it

unlikely that Harris will see any cash.
Sean Combs, meanwhile, rides the wave of success, listed by
Fortune magazine in 2002 as one of America’s “40 Richest People
Under 40.” Expanding beyond Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs now
owns a movie production company, a restaurant chain, and his own
clothing line.
8
sticky fingers
The Saks Fifth Avenue department store on Wilshire Boulevard in
Beverly Hills, California, caters to wealthy shoppers. Its prices are
high, and many of its customers spend thousands of dollars per
visit.
Others hope to get the goods for free.
On December 12, 2001, Saks security guards manned their
closed-circuit monitors, tracking a pretty young woman as she
toured the store, stuffing various expensive items into shopping
bags, putting on a hat, draping her arms with designer outfits. She
slipped into a changing room, then emerged to purchase items val-
ued at $3,700.
Guards met her at the exit, checked her bulging bags, and found
another $5,500 worth of stolen merchandise inside. They took her
into custody and called police. Some of them may have recognized
their prisoner. She was Winona Ryder, star of 25 movies in the past
15 years, twice nominated for Academy Awards.
girl, interruPted
Ryder was born Winona Horowitz in 1971, named for her home-
town of Winona, Minnesota. Part of her childhood was spent in a
California “hippie” commune, where her parents befriended LSD
guru Timothy Leary. In junior high school, harassment by ignorant
bullies who mistook her for a skinny boy prompted Winona’s par-
ents to try homeschooling.
Ryder auditioned for her first film role at age 14, and while she
missed that part, she signed to play Rina in the movie Lucas one
year later. The Los Angeles Times called her next role, in the dark
75
comedy Heathers (1987), “a remarkable debut,” and Ryder was well

on her way to success.
More roles followed, including Beetlejuice (1988), Edward Scis-
sorhands (1990), and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992). Ryder received
her first Golden Globe nomination in 1991, for Mermaids. Three
years later, she won that award and received an Oscar nomination
for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Age of Inno-
cence. In 1995 she received another Oscar nomination, this time for
Best Actress, for Little Women.
Despite rave reviews, Ryder missed an Oscar nod for her star-
ring role in Girl, Interrupted (1999), the story of a young psychi-
atric patient, which she also produced, while costar Angelina Jolie
won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In October
2000 Ryder received a star in her name on Hollywood’s Walk of
Fame—an honor for which celebrities pay $15,000 to the Hollywood
Historic Trust.
Ryder seemed unstoppable—until the news from Saks made
global headlines in 2001.
Arrest and Trial

When first detained, Ryder told security guards that the director of
her latest film told her to steal, as preparation for her role. At first,
she claimed the film’s title was Shopgirl, then changed it to White
Jazz. (As it turned out, there was no such film.) When that argument
failed, she offered to charge the items on her credit card, along with
the $3,700 already spent, but store employees refused.
Witnesses told police they had watched Ryder cut the tags from
various expensive items, stuffing the tags into pockets of a coat she
left in the store. She cut herself in the process, leaving bloodstains
on one of her bags. The stolen items included a $1,500 Gucci dress,
a $525 Dolce & Gabbana purse, and an $80 pair of cashmere socks.
Police also found a bottle of narcotic painkillers in Ryder’s purse, for
which she carried no prescription.
District Attorney Stephen Cooley assigned eight prosecutors to
Ryder’s case, filed four felony charges, and demanded that her trial
be televised. Critics called the proceeding a politically motivated
“show trial,” noting that Cooley had accepted more than 5,000
misdemeanor plea bargains in similar cases since 1999, but denied
the same offer to Ryder.
Sticky Fingers 77
Various delays postponed Ryder’s trial, including a June 2002

incident in which she collided with a television film crew outside
the courtroom and fractured her arm. On October 9, 2002, prosecu-
tors dropped their drug charge against Ryder, when her doctor con-
firmed writing the prescription.
Ryder’s trial for burglary, grand theft, and vandalism finally
began on October 23, 2002. Prosecutors played the Saks security
Actress Winona Ryder listens as the verdict is read in her shoplifting

trial on November 6, 2002. Lee Celano/AP
videotapes and called witnesses to describe Ryder’s actions. On

November 6 jurors acquitted her of burglary, but convicted her on
the other two charges. Ryder received a sentence of three years pro-
bation, 480 hours of community service, and a $10,055 fine.
Despite the media hype surrounding Ryder’s case, she served no
jail time. On June 18, 2004, an appeals court reduced her charges to
misdemeanors.
The scandal interrupted Ryder’s promising career. She appeared
in two films during 2002, then took a two-year break before her next
movie, in 2004. She appeared in several films released in 2006 and
2007, with others scheduled for 2008, suggesting that the incident
did not damage her career in the long term.
Want vs. Need

Ryder is not the only celebrity who has been caught stealing items
she could easily afford. Far from it. In June 2006 the NNDB Web
site (www.nndb.com) listed 35 famous actors, musicians, and ath-
letes whose public records feature shoplifting charges. A sampling
includes
n Actress Farrah Fawcett, twice arrested during 1970. Both charges

were reduced to trespassing. She paid $390 in fines.
n Musician Courtney Love, who took a T-shirt from Woolworth’s
in 1978.
n Imelda Marcos, former first lady of the Philippines, who stole
hundreds of millions with her husband Fernando, then hid in
the United States to avoid prosecution during 1986–89. Store
cameras caught her stealing buttons from designer clothing in a
posh department store, but no charges were filed.
n John Shannon, Secretary of the Army under President Bill Clin-
ton, charged with stealing women’s clothing on an army base in
August 1993.
n Tennis star Jennifer Capriati, held for stealing jewelry in Decem-
ber 1993. She first called it an “accident,” then told authori-
ties she felt “so fat and ugly” that she wanted to die. Capriati
also faced drug charges in May 1994 and entered voluntary
treatment.
n Olympic gymnast Olga Korbut, arrested for stealing $19 worth
of groceries from a Georgia market in January 2002. She paid a
$300 fine four months later.
Sticky Fingers 79
n Country singer Lynn Anderson, arrested in January 2005 for

stealing a Harry Potter DVD in New Mexico. Previously, Ander-
son was jailed on drunk-driving charges.
Five-Finger Discounts
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office,
more than 10 percent of all Americans are guilty of shoplifting.
Juvenile offenders make up 25 percent of that total, and retailers
lose more than $20 billion to theft every year.
LTo Catch a Thief

Winona Ryder’s case illustrates the modern methods used to catch
shoplifters. First, she was observed for 90 minutes with closed-
circuit security cameras that followed her around the store and
recorded her actions for later use in court. Security guards who
had watched her also testified at Ryder’s trial. The merchandise
recovered from her bags without receipts was evidence of theft.
Bloodstains on one of her shopping bags—an unusual aspect
in theft cases—also supported eyewitness descriptions of Ryder
removing price tags.
In order to convict a shoplifter, the prosecutor must prove
several points. Those include
n Actual theft. A theft is not complete until the shoplifter car-
ries merchandise out of a store without paying for it. Hasty
arrests inside the store generally will not support conviction,
regardless of suspicious circumstances. The thief must be
caught outside the store with stolen items physically in his or
her possession.
n Intent to steal. A theft must be deliberate, rather than acciden-
tal. Shoppers without carts or baskets, who place small items
in a purse or pocket while browsing, may later argue that they
honestly forgot to pay for certain merchandise. Charges filed
in such cases are sometimes thrown out of court, especially
when the defendant is a first-time offender.
(continues)
(continued)
n Title
to property. Prosecutors must prove that merchandise was
stolen from the shop in question, not carried into the store by
a shopper who purchased it elsewhere. Any person might con-
ceivably carry a book, jewelry, small tools, or cosmetics into
stores selling those items, and then be arrested for theft while
leaving. In such cases, proof is supplied by price or security
tags, and by the size or unique nature of the merchandise. (For
example, no rational person would hide a brand-new chainsaw
underneath his coat to carry it inside a hardware store.)
Even when all those elements are present, exclusive stores
catering to celebrities may not prosecute millionaire thieves. The
Internet is rife with anecdotal tales from shopkeepers in Holly-
wood and elsewhere describing anonymous movie stars and other
famous folk who routinely shoplift for “kicks.” In some cases, the
shoplifter’s manager or publicity agent allegedly pays the bills.
Other thieves are deterred by the close attention of sales person-
nel. Some sticky-fingered celebs reportedly escape punishment
because their victims fear bad publicity and loss of wealthy clients,
because prosecution costs more than the items stolen (which, in
most cases, are covered by the store’s insurance), or because of the
demands on store personnel who must appear in court.
Jack L. Hayes International, a security consulting firm, puts the

statistics even higher. During 2004 alone, Hayes reports, security
guards for 27 large retail chains caught 752,629 shoplifters steal-
ing merchandise valued above $441 billion from 12,908 stores. The
average shoplifter stole items worth $150 in a single outing. (Mean-
while, 63,289 dishonest employees stole an average of $671 each in
the same year.)
Some shoplifters are professional thieves, operating in teams
to distract store employees. Others steal to feed their drug habits,
while some only pretend to shoplift, hoping they can later sue the
store for false arrest. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of “normal”
people—including the rich and famous—apparently steal for the
thrill of it.
Sticky Fingers 81
Psychologists describe compulsive theft (kleptomania) as a form

of mental illness or addiction, but most American courts do not
allow insanity pleas in shoplifting cases since motive is deemed
irrelevant.
Penalties for shoplifting generally depend on the value of
merchandise stolen, the defendant’s age, and the number of prior
offenses. State laws establish monetary limits for petty theft (a
misdemeanor) and grand theft (a felony). Generally, misdemean-
ors are punished by fines, probation, community service, and/or a
maximum of 12 months in county jail. Felonies involve state prison
terms and larger fines.
First-time offenders are usually treated more leniently than
defendants with multiple arrests. The normal first-offense shoplift-
ing charge in Los Angeles involves a small fine, community service,
and one to three years probation. For that reason, many critics
regarded the D.A.’s filing of felony charges against Winona Ryder as
a publicity stunt.
9
A shot in the dark
Studio City, located 12 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles,
is named for the movie studios that built their headquarters there
in the 1920s. With 30,000 residents and many stylish shops, it is
sometimes called the “Jewel of the San Fernando Valley.” But crime
presents a danger, even there.
On the evening of May 4, 2001, actor Robert Blake took his
wife of six months to dinner at a restaurant on Tujunga Boulevard,
in Studio City. Blake parked his car on nearby Woodbridge Street,
beneath a burned-out streetlight, and the couple walked arm-in-arm
to the restaurant, two blocks away. They lingered over dinner and
drinks until 9:35 p.m.
Blake later told police that they were halfway to the car when
he discovered that he had left his licensed pistol in their restau-
rant booth. He went back to fetch it while Bonnie went on to the
car. Returning moments later with the gun, Blake found his wife
slumped over in her seat, bleeding from a head wound.
Blake tried to revive her, then ran to the nearby home of a friend,
filmmaker Sean Stanek, ringing the doorbell and pleading for help.
Stanek later described Blake weeping and vomiting. Blake and
Stanek ran back to Blake’s car at 9:50, and then Blake rushed to the
restaurant in search of medical aid. A nurse among the diners left
her meal and found Blake’s wife barely alive, unable to speak.
A phone call brought police and an ambulance racing to the
scene, where officers discovered that Blake’s wife had been shot
once, behind her right ear. She died soon afterward, at a local hospi-
tal, without regaining consciousness.
Blake gave a tearful statement to police, explaining that he car-
ried a gun because his wife had feared someone was stalking her.
83
Detectives listened, unaware that this case would become another

classic mystery of Hollywood.
A Troubled Star
Robert Blake was a second-generation Italian American, born
Michael Gubitosi in September 1933. His parents performed as a
song-and-dance team, billing their children as “The Three Little
Hillbillies.” In 1938 they left New Jersey for California, where
all three children worked as movie extras. Michael—billed as
“Mickey”—had the most success, but there was also much to
overcome.
In later years, Blake told reporters that his parents were “com-
mittably insane,” describing his father as a “sadistic maniac” and
his home as “a very diseased, terrible household.” According to
Blake, he was frequently locked in a closet, forced to eat off the
floor, often beaten, and sexually abused. By the time Blake’s father
killed himself in 1955, Michael was well established as a Holly-
wood child star.
He began working steadily in 1939, as “Little Mickey” in MGM’s
Our Gang comedy features. He filmed 39 episodes in that series
over the next five years, changing his screen name to Bobby Blake
in 1943. Blake also made 53 other films between 1939 and 1950,
including portrayal of “Little Beaver” in 22 episodes of the Red
Ryder series, for Republic Pictures. His dark hair and complexion
often saw Blake cast as a Mexican or Native American character.
Blake joined the army in 1950 and served in Alaska, where he
fell in love for the first time. In later interviews, he admitted acting
“like a madman” and plotting to kill the girl’s father, who opposed
their relationship.
Back in civilian life, Blake resumed his former acting career
and stayed busy, filming 24 movies and 43 television series epi-
sodes between 1952 and 1974. Seventeen of those roles required
him to play Hispanic or Native American characters. Blake also
frequently portrayed detectives or criminals, earning critical
praise for his performance as a real-life mass-murderer in the film
In Cold Blood (1967).
Throughout those busy years, Blake harbored suicidal thoughts
and sought help from psychiatrists. He married actress Sondra Kerr
in 1964 and fathered two children before he and Kerr divorced in
A Shot in the Dark 85
1983. Blake later described their marriage as “a 14-carat disaster,”

featuring “terrible, sick fights.” Sondra told friends that Blake was
obsessively jealous and frequently threatened to kill her. She told
tabloid reporters that when they divorced, Blake “terrorized” her
into granting him full custody of their children.
Before all that, Blake landed his signature role as a tough, wise-
cracking cop on the TV series Baretta (1975–78). When that program
folded, Blake made 13 more films between 1980 and 1997. Another
short-lived TV series, Hell Town (1985), cast Blake as a priest fight-
ing crime and sin in a tough neighborhood.
Blake’s career ranked as one of the longest in Hollywood history.
And then he met Bonnie.
The Con Artist

Bonnie Lee Bakley (1956–2001) was born in New Jersey. She quit
school at 16 to become an actress and model, but failed at both pur-
suits. Instead, she drifted into crime, logging convictions for drug
offenses (1989), check fraud (1995), and possessing false identifica-
tion (1998). Her main con was a “lonely-hearts” scam, wherein she
offered love and nude photos to men who sent her money.
Bakley was also obsessed with celebrities, claiming friend-
ships and romantic affairs with many famous men, including
some she never met. Some called her a stalker. (A DNA test dis-
proved her claim that rock legend Jerry Lee Lewis fathered one
of her children in 1993.) With eight failed marriages behind her,
Bakley was dating actor Marlon Brando’s son in 1999, when she
met Robert Blake.
While dating both men, Bonnie gave birth to her fourth child.
DNA tests confirmed the baby was Blake’s, and they married on
November 19, 2000. It was an unusual marriage. Bakley lived in a
guesthouse behind Blake’s home and continued her lonely-hearts
swindle, charming and robbing numerous men. (The day after her
murder, Bonnie received two boxes filled with love letters and cash.)
Her address book listed dozens of stars, with their yearly incomes.
A “day log” detailed her letters and phone calls to celebrities, seek-
ing new relationships.
Such activities strained Bakley’s marriage to Blake in the same
way it separated her from her family. Although invited by Blake, not
one of Bakley’s relatives attended her funeral.
Too Many Suspects

Police investigating Bonnie Bakley’s strange, often criminal lifestyle
identified hundreds of enemies. Bakley herself claimed several vio-
lent encounters with the men she teased and swindled, but it never
stopped her from pursuing risky pleasures.
Meanwhile, Robert Blake refused to take a polygraph (lie-detec-
tor) test on the night of the murder, saying he was too upset. He also
allegedly referred to the O.J. Simpson case, saying he might fail the
test because he dreamed of killing Bonnie and blamed himself for
not protecting her. Simpson told reporters that he sympathized with
Blake and was “pretty fascinated” by the case.
Los Angeles police commanders, still embarrassed by the
Simpson trial and other scandals, assigned 17 top detectives to
the Bakley murder. On May 5, officers searched Blake’s home and
questioned him again, then issued statements denying that Blake
was a suspect. Despite that announcement, Blake hired criminal
attorney Harland Braun. Detectives refused to discuss what they
found in Blake’s home.
Braun quickly countered media rumors of Blake’s guilt by leak-
ing information on Bonnie, including pages from her address book
and tape recordings of phone conversations wherein she discussed
scamming Blake and other celebrities. Braun described her as an
“evil” person with countless enemies.
Police had no witness to the murder, but others cast doubt on
Blake’s story. The owner of the restaurant where the couple last
dined denied that Blake ever returned for his gun before Bakley was
shot. Employees also said that they had cleared Blake’s table when
he left, and found no gun.
Confusion surrounds the results of two different types of tests
for gunshot residue performed by police on Blake’s hands. Lawyer
Braun told reporters the test results were negative, while police
refused to comment. The official results—like Bakley’s autopsy
report—have never been released.
On May 7, 2001, officers found a Walther PPK pistol in a trash
bin on Woodbridge Avenue near the spot where Blake parked his
car. The gun’s serial number was filed off to prevent a trace. Early
reports said the pistol held three cartridges, two of which were fired,
but the Walther ejects spent shells with each trigger pull.
The reports made no sense, but police test-fired the Walther and
announced that it had killed Bonnie Bakley. They also admitted
Actor Robert Blake appears in Los Angeles Superior Court in October

2002 for a bail hearing. Blake was accused of killing his wife, Bonnie
Lee Bakley. Robert Galbraith/AP
that cartridges left in the gun did not match those found in Blake’s
home. Rumors circulated that a professional hitman, hired by Blake
or someone else, had committed the murder.
Eleven months after the killing, on April 18, 2002, police charged
Blake with murdering his wife. They also charged his bodyguard,
Earle Caldwell, with conspiracy. Blake posted $1 million bail and

was released on April 27, but a judge revoked his bond and returned
Blake to jail on May 1. Ten and a half months later, on March 13,
2003, Blake was freed on $1.5 million bail pending trial.
Throughout the long investigation, Blake and Caldwell both
proclaimed their innocence, describing Bakley as a woman with
many enemies, who made more every day. Some of the letters aired
by Braun from Bonnie’s stash seemed threatening, and Caldwell
described an unknown short-haired man (nicknamed “Buzz Cut”)
whom he saw lurking several times around Blake’s home.
Police dismissed those claims as smokescreens. At a press con-
ference held on the day of Blake’s arrest, police spokesmen said
Blake had killed Bonnie because “he was trapped in a marriage he
wanted no part of.” They spoke vaguely of “physical and signifi-
cant circumstantial evidence,” but gave no details. Harland Braun
replied that anyone who ever met Bakley had motive to kill her.
Trial: Round One

As his trial slowly approached, Blake had trouble keeping lawyers.
Harland Braun and Jennifer Keller both quit when Blake ignored
their warnings to avoid TV interviews, and Thomas Mesereau Jr.
replaced them.
Meanwhile, the tabloids had a field day. Two Hollywood stunt-
men claimed that Blake had offered them money to kill his wife;
one later admitted lying to police. A woman from Washington state
claimed knowledge implicating Christian Brando, who dated Bakley
until she married Blake—and who killed his sister’s boyfriend in
1990, serving half of a 10-year prison term for manslaughter. Blake
himself named Brando as a suspect in Bakley’s death.
Blake and Caldwell won an early round in October 2003, when
Judge Darlene Schempp dismissed their conspiracy charges, call-
ing the prosecution’s evidence “so speculative that it carries little
weight.” Attorney Mesereau announced that he would call 670
witnesses at trial, all supporting Blake’s claim of innocence—but
Mesereau also quit the case in February 2004 in the midst of jury
selection.
Gerald Schwartzbach was next in line to defend Blake, with the
trial postponed once again. When court finally convened in early
2005, Blake faced one charge of killing his wife and two counts of
asking others to kill her. On March 16, 2005, jurors acquitted Blake
of murder and one count of solicitation. They deadlocked 11-1 for
acquittal on the third charge.
District Attorney Stephen Cooley branded Blake a “miserable
human being” and called the jurors “incredibly stupid.” Blake told
LDouble Jeopardy
The U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment states that no person
may be “twice put in jeopardy of life or limb” for the same
offense—meaning that once a defendant is acquitted of a specific
crime, he or she may not be tried again for that offense. Some
notorious American killers have been acquitted in court, and then
sold their confessions to the media.
However, as with most rules, there are loopholes.
First, criminal and civil cases are completely separate. One jury
may find a defendant not guilty of murder, while another panel
may find the same person responsible for wrongful death. Civil
verdicts send no one to prison, but may produce heavy financial
penalties.
Another loophole is the difference between state and federal
charges. Most crimes like arson, murder, and robbery are tried in
state court, but some also have corresponding federal jurisdiction.
For example, in the 1960s, racist southern juries often freed white
defendants who killed or terrorized African Americans. Federal
prosecutors later jailed some of those terrorists for federal crimes
such as conspiracy to violate their victims’ civil rights. Today,
defendants are sometimes convicted of both state and federal
charges related to the same offense, thereby increasing their
penalties.
In rare cases, prosecutors may also appeal an acquittal. That
unusual step is only allowed if (a) the first trial is proved to be a
fraud—as where a defendant bribes the judge or jurors to acquit
him—or (b) where a judge throws out a jury’s guilty verdict and
acquits a defendant from the bench. In the first case, a successful
appeal results in a new trial; in the second, a prosecution victory
reinstates the original jury verdict without further proceedings.
courtroom reporters, “If you live to be a million, you will never ever
in your life meet anyone more blessed than me.”
Trial: Round Two

Civil attorneys did not wait for Blake’s acquittal to file civil charges
against him. In May 2001 lawyers for Bakley’s four children sued
Blake and Caldwell for wrongful death, without claiming specific
damages. When they questioned Caldwell, he refused to provide any
answers except his name, citing the Fifth Amendment’s protection
against self-incrimination.
As in the earlier Simpson case, jurors ruled against Blake at trial,
finding him responsible for Bakley’s death on November 18, 2005.
The panel ordered him to pay $30 million as a “message of deter-
rence”—$7.5 million for each of Bakley’s children. A vote of 10-2
excused Caldwell from liability in Bakley’s death.
Afterward, when reporters asked if jurors thought Blake shot
his wife or hired a killer, most simply shrugged. One said, “We just
don’t know.” Jurors did say they were influenced by Blake’s insult-
ing attitude toward the plaintiff’s attorney, calling him “chief” and
a “liar” in court.
Blake filed for bankruptcy on February 3, 2006. Soon afterward,
he moved into a small apartment and announced that he was work-
ing as a ranch hand. His oldest daughter adopted Blake’s baby with
Bakley.
In March 2006 Blake’s lawyers accused the civil jurors of mis-
conduct, claiming that several jurors violated court instructions
and that one failed to disclose that her daughter was imprisoned
for murder. Jurors denied the charges, and Judge David Schacter
rejected Blake’s plea for a new trial.
So far, no money has been paid on the judgment or to Blake’s
latest attorney. On April 10, 2006, Gerald Schwartzbach told Court
TV, “He’s not paying me, and I’m not making much money repre-
senting him. [But] I don’t go away. It’s not over.”
10
the Price
of fame
Celebrities, by definition, are persons celebrated by society. They
reap fame and fortune because of their talent, their appearance, or
their relationship to other rich and famous people. Those fabulous
rewards would not be possible without publicity—but great fame
also has its price.
One risk faced by celebs is the threat of stalkers who harass—or
even kill—their favorite stars (see Chapter 4). Another is the high
rate of celebrity divorce. More than half of all modern American
marriages fail, but the divorce rate is even higher in Hollywood,
where personal relationships often wither in the spotlight.
Celebrities also fall prey to alcohol and drug abuse. Whether
the rate of such abuse is worse among the rich and famous than for
noncelebrities remains unclear, but when a star goes into rehab, it
makes global headlines—a pressure that makes recovery that much
more arduous.
PaParaZZi PaniC
While celebrities are literally lost without media attention, some
relentless photographers (dubbed paparazzi) behave more like stalk-
ers than journalists. In many cases, their behavior is outrageous,
including gross invasions of privacy and physical pursuit that may
cause injury or loss of life.
The film Paparazzi (2004) examines a movie star hounded by
ruthless photographers until he takes violent revenge for their
91
Journalists wait in the rain at Castello Odescalchi in the Italian

lakeside town of Bracciano, where actors Tom Cruise and Katie
Holmes were married in a star-studded ceremony, braving hordes of
paparazzi. Chris Helgren/Reuters/Corbis
The Price of Fame 93
assaults on his family. While that story is fiction, real-life events

keep paparazzi in the news.
Some observers blame photographers for the death of Lady Diana
Spencer, former Princess of Wales, on August 31, 1997. Paparazzi in
several vehicles were chasing Diana’s car in Paris when it crashed
at high speed, killing her and her millionaire boyfriend, Dodi Fayed.
No charges were filed in Diana’s death, but in February 2006 three
paparazzi were fined one euro each for snapping photos of Diana as
she lay dying in the wreckage.
In October 1998, California passed a law designed to limit
paparazzi invasions of personal privacy. While including no crimi-
nal penalties, the law permits civil lawsuits against so-called “stal-
kerazzi” who snap photos on private property or use long-distance
lenses to spy on private moments. If found guilty, a defendant
must surrender all money earned from the sale of such photos.
Seven years later, a new law tripled damages celebrities may collect
if assaulted by photographers. So far, neither law has produced a
court case.
Actress Reese Witherspoon complained to Los Angeles police in
April 2005 after paparazzi surrounded her at her gym, but prosecu-
tors filed no charges in that case.
Actress/singer Linsday Lohan suffered minor injuries on May 31,
2005, when a photographer allegedly rammed her car with his van.
Los Angeles police jailed Galo Ramirez for suspicion of assault with
a deadly weapon, then freed him on $35,000 bail.
Singer Britney Spears suffered repeated incidents with paparazzi
in 2006. First, while fleeing photographers on February 7, she was
caught on film driving illegally with her infant son in her lap,
rather than in a car seat. Three months later, Spears tripped and
nearly dropped the child on a New York sidewalk while mobbed by
paparazzi.
In spring 2006, while actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie awaited
the birth of their first child in Namibia, leaders of that African
country banned paparazzi from stalking the couple. Four who
ignored that order were deported on April 25.
Heiress/actress Paris Hilton blamed paparazzi for a minor car
accident on June 8, 2006, but police dismissed the incident as a case
of careless parking.
Equal Justice?
There is no question that celebrity affects the conduct of police and
prosecutors, jurors and judges. In criminal cases, whether a celebrity
is victim or offender, massive publicity changes everything.
We have seen how celebrity “show trials”—like those in the
Blake, Lindbergh, and Simpson cases—sometimes produce strange
verdicts. It is a fact that wealthy people can afford the best lawyers,
and that famous defendants may sometimes charm juries.
But the reverse is also true. Winona Ryder’s case suggests that she
was treated more harshly than the average shoplifter in Los Angeles
by prosecutors who rely on public votes to keep their jobs. Her suc-
cessful appeal of the felony charges supports that suspicion.
Another strange case involves the death of comedian John
Belushi (1949–1982) in Los Angeles. Belushi was a drug addict
who hated needles, often asking others to inject him with cocaine
or heroin. On March 5, 1982, a friend named Cathy Smith shared
drugs with Belushi, resulting in Belushi’s fatal overdose. Prosecu-
tors charged Smith with first-degree murder (a planned, malicious
slaying), but later accepted a plea bargain to manslaughter. Smith
served 18 months in prison for an offense police probably would
have ignored were it not for Belushi’s “big name.”
Many persons have trouble with the law throughout their lives,
but never make it on TV and rarely rate a mention in the newspa-
per. The very opposite is true for celebrities such as actor Robert
Downey Jr. and singer Courtney Love, whose every argument, traf-
fic offense, or lapse from drug rehab generates tabloid headlines and
special features on entertainment news programs.
How many noncelebrities in America could tolerate such scru-
tiny around the clock?
Getting Away with Murder?

At the other end of the spectrum, many critics say that fame and
fortune help celebrities get away with murder—sometimes literally.
While the Robert Blake and O.J. Simpson cases are most often cited,
other celebrities also have emerged from fatal incidents without any
serious penalty.
Edward “Teddy” Kennedy was elected to the U.S. Senate in
1962, while his brother, John, was President of the United States
and brother, Robert, was Attorney General. On July 18, 1969,

while leaving a late-night party on Chappaquiddick Island, Mas-
sachusetts, Kennedy drove off a bridge and into the water below.
He escaped from the car, but left passenger Mary Jo Kopechne to
drown. Kennedy later said he tried to save Kopechne, then swam
ashore and walked to a friend’s house, where he waited 10 hours
before notifying police of the crash. Kennedy later pled guilty to
leaving the scene of an accident, but a judge suspended his 60-day
jail sentence. Kennedy remained in the U.S. Senate at press time for
this book.
Claudine Longet, a popular singer and ex-wife of TV star Andy
Williams, shot and killed her boyfriend, Olympic skier Vladi-
mir “Spider” Sabich, at their Colorado home on March 21, 1976.
Autopsy results showed that Sabich was shot in the back from six
feet away, while blood tests on Longet revealed cocaine use. Her
diary described many bitter fights with Sabich. Still, she called the
shooting accidental and jurors acquitted her of manslaughter, while
finding her guilty of misdemeanor negligence. She paid a small fine
and served 30 days in jail, allowed to pick the days herself and stay
home on weekends. The Sabich family sued Longet for wrongful
death and settled out of court.
Vince Neil, former lead singer for the band Motley Crüe, was driv-
ing drunk when he crashed his car in 1984, killing passenger Nicho-
las “Razzle” Dingley (drummer for the band Hanoi Rocks). Neil
later pled guilty to manslaughter but served only 30 days in jail.
Rebecca Gayheart, star of films and television, struck and killed
a nine-year-old jaywalker while driving through Hollywood on June
13, 2001. At the time of the accident, she was driving 40 miles per
hour in a 25-mph zone, while passing several cars that had stopped
to let the boy cross Bronson Avenue. Gayheart pled no contest to
misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, receiving a one-year suspen-
sion of her driver’s license, three years probation, a $2,800 fine, and
750 hours of community service (making TV commercials on traf-
fic safety). The victim’s parents sued for wrongful death. Gayheart
settled out of court in 2002 for an undisclosed amount.
Enduring Mysteries
While some celebrity cases provoke laughter, and others outrage, a
few—like the death of Bob Crane—remain as haunting mysteries
and the subjects of dramatic conspiracy theories. Puzzles surround-

ing a celebrity death can enhance that person’s posthumous fame,
but they also raise the question of whether or not celebrity status
can actually interfere with the course of justice for some victims.
Although these cases may be officially closed, alternate theories
keep them open in the public consciousness.
William Desmond Taylor was the star of 25 films and director of
67 more between 1913 and 1921. On February 1, 1922, an employee
found Taylor shot dead in his Los Angeles home. Suspects included
two famous actresses, a starlet’s mother, a neighbor, Taylor’s butler,
and his own brother, but no charges were ever filed.
Paul Bern, a director and screenwriter, was married to movie
star Jean Harlow. Bern was found nude and shot through the head
at the couple’s Beverly Hills home on September 5, 1932. A note
beside his body read: “Last night was only a comedy.” While police
ruled the death suicide, various authors claim it was murder.
LFatty Arbuckle: Blackmail Victim

Because of their wealth and status, celebrities sometimes draw
the attention of criminals, who see them as ready-made victims
willing to pay any amount to protect their public image. The price
of refusal can be high.
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle (1887–1933) was a silent film star who
made 154 comic movies between 1909 and 1921. On September 5,
1921, he hosted a party in his suite at San Francisco’s St. Francis
Hotel with two male friends and several young women. During the
party 26-year-old starlet Virginia Rappe became ill, but the hotel’s
doctor said that she was simply drunk. In fact, Rappe had a disease
that made her violently sick when she drank alcohol. She died
three days later from infection caused by a ruptured bladder.
Maude Delmont, Rappe’s friend, tried to blackmail Arbuckle,
demanding money to suppress her claim that he injured Rappe
while trying to rape her. Arbuckle refused to pay, so Delmont told
her story to police. Newspapers turned the accusation into a major
scandal, harping on the theme of “a fat man’s foulness.” A pros-
ecutor with dreams of becoming governor charged Arbuckle with
rape and murder on September 17.
Suspects named in print include MGM Vice President Eddie Man-

nix, Dorothy Millette (Bern’s former lover, who killed herself
the day after his death), and New Jersey gangster Abner “Longy”
Zwillman (allegedly Harlow’s lover). Harlow died in June 1937,
without speaking publicly about the incident.
Marilyn Monroe, Hollywood’s “blond bombshell” and star of 32
films, died at her Los Angeles home on the night of August 4, 1962.
Medical examiners blamed her death on a drug overdose, either
accidental or deliberate. Various independent investigators believe
Monroe was murdered to stop her from revealing guilty secrets
learned during her love affairs with President John Kennedy and his
brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy.
Jim Morrison, lead singer for the rock band the Doors during
the late 1960s and early 1970s, moved to Paris in March 1971 and
apparently died there four months later, on July 3. No autopsy was
performed, leaving the cause of death unclear, though some authors
Those charges were later reduced to manslaughter. Arbuckle

faced trial three times between November 1921 and March 1922.
Two juries deadlocked without reaching verdicts. The third jury
acquitted Arbuckle and issued a public statement saying: “Acquit-
tal is not enough for Roscoe Arbuckle. We feel that a great injus-
tice has been done him.”
Still, many in Hollywood treated Arbuckle as if he was guilty.
Movie censor Will Hays banned Arbuckle from making films
in April 1922, and then changed his mind eight months later.
Arbuckle made 10 more films between 1922 and 1933, but they
were poorly attended and most are now lost.
The scandal also affected Arbuckle’s personal life. His wife
stood by him through the trials, despite a stalker’s attempt to
kill her, but the couple divorced in January 1925. Arbuckle mar-
ried twice more, in 1925 and 1931, but he never seemed truly
happy. When he died in June 1933, at age 46, friend and come-
dian Buster Keaton blamed a broken heart—the price of fame in
Hollywood.
suspect a drug overdose. Other researchers and dedicated fans insist

that Morrison faked his own death to escape the celebrity rat race
and lives on today under another name.
John Lennon was definitely shot by Mark David Chapman
in 1980. Still, speculation continues regarding Chapman’s true
motives. Author Fenton Bresler, in his book Who Killed John Len-
non? (1989), blames the Central Intelligence Agency for Lennon’s
murder, claiming that Lennon’s opposition to war threatened Amer-
ica’s aggressive foreign policy.
Kurt Cobain, lead singer for the grunge band Nirvana, appar-
ently shot himself in April 1994 after a long struggle with heroin
addiction. Despite an official suicide ruling, several authors insist
that Cobain was murdered. Most conspiracy theorists accuse
Cobain’s wife, singer Courtney Love, of plotting his death. So far,
the only “evidence” of murder is an unsubstantiated claim by punk
rock singer El Duce that Love offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain.
Love denies all such claims, but has not sued the various authors
for libel.
Chronology
1593 March England: Famed playwright Christopher
Marlowe is fatally stabbed in a tavern. His killer
successfully pleads self-defense.
1906 June New York City: Millionaire Harry Thaw
fatally shoots celebrity architect Stanford White.
1919 October Chicago: Eight players on the Chicago
White Sox accept bribes to lose the World Series, earn-
ing their team the nickname “Chicago Black Sox.”
1921 September Los Angeles: Police charge comic actor
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle with killing starlet Virginia
Rappe. Jurors acquit Arbuckle in 1923.
1922 February Los Angeles: Actor-director William
Desmond Taylor is fatally shot at his home. The case
remains unsolved.
1926 May California: Evangelist Aime Semple
McPherson stages a fake kidnapping, surfacing in
Mexico a month later.
1958 March Los Angeles: Cheryl Crane, daughter of
movie star Lana Turner, fatally stabs Turner’s gangster
boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato.
1959 January California: Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer, star
of the Our Gang comedy series, is fatally shot while
arguing with a friend.
1961 April Los Angeles: Country singer Spade Cooley
murders his wife.
1962 August Los Angeles: Screen star Marilyn Monroe
dies from a drug overdose at her home. Despite an
official suicide verdict, theories of murder persist.
1963 December Lake Tahoe, Nev.: Kidnappers hold
Frank Sinatra Jr. for ransom, releasing him on pay-
ment of $240,000.
1964 December Los Angeles: A hotel manager shoots
singer Sam Cooke. Police rule the killing self-defense.
99
1969 August Los Angeles: Members of Charles Manson’s

gang kill seven persons, including actress Sharon Tate.
1976 February Hollywood: Actor Sal Mineo dies from
stab wounds. Jurors convict his killer in March 1979.
March California: Singer Claudine Longet fatally
shoots her boyfriend, Olympic skier Spider Sabich.
1978 June Scottsdale, Ariz.: TV star Bob Crane is fatally
beaten at his home.
October New York City: Nancy Spungen suffers
fatal stab wounds in a hotel room shared with her
boyfriend, punk rocker Sid Vicious. The case remains
officially unsolved.
1980 December New York City: Stalker Mark Chapman
murders musician John Lennon.
1981 March Washington, D.C.: John Hinckley Jr. shoots
President Ronald Reagan in hopes of impressing
actress Jodie Foster.
1982 March Los Angeles: A religious-fanatic stalker stabs
actress Theresa Saldana, who starred in Raging Bull
(1980).
1984 March Los Angeles: Soul singer Marvin Gaye Jr. is
fatally shot by his father.
1989 July Hollywood: A stalker murders actress Rebecca
Schaeffer.
1990 May Los Angeles: Christian Brando, son of actor
Marlon Brando, kills his sister’s boyfriend. He is later
convicted of voluntary manslaughter.
1992 February World heavyweight boxing champion
Mike Tyson is convicted of a rape that occurred the
previous year and sentenced to six years in prison;
he serves three.
1993 August Los Angeles: Police charge rapper “Snoop
Dogg” with murder. Jurors acquit him based on
evidence that his bodyguard fired the fatal shots.
1994 June Los Angeles: Police accuse athlete-actor
O.J. Simpson of killing his ex-wife and a male friend.
Jurors acquit Simpson of murder in October 1994. A
civil jury awards survivors $8.5 million in February
1997.
Chronology 101
1996 September Las Vegas: Rap star Tupac Shakur

suffers fatal gunshot wounds shortly after brawling
with members of the Crips street gang.
1996 November California: Actor Robert Downey Jr.
receives a three-year prison term on drug and weapons
charges. Upon release, he violates parole and returns
to prison in August 1999. Two more drug arrests fol-
low, in November 2000 and April 2001.
1997 March Los Angeles: Gunmen kill rapper the
Notorious B.I.G., a rival of Tupac Shakur.
2001 May Los Angeles: Police charge actor Robert Blake
with killing his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley. Jurors acquit
him of murder in March 2005. A civil jury finds him
liable in November 2005, ordering payment of $30
million to Bakley’s family.
2002 January New Orleans: Rapper C Murder fatally
shoots an underage fan at the Platinum Club.
Convicted in October 2002, he successfully appeals
for a new trial in March 2006.
February Pakistan: American actor Erik Audé is
imprisoned for smuggling opium. He was freed in
2004 following the confession of an Armenian man
who duped him into transporting the drugs.
2003 August Popular Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe
Bryant is accused of sexual assault in a case that mars
his clean public image; the charges were eventually
dropped.
2005 June Los Angeles: Jurors acquit singer Michael
Jackson of child molestation charges.
2007 August Atlanta: Falcons quarterback Michael Vick
pleads guilty to charges involving illegal dog fighting
and accepts a prison sentence.
September The trial of star record producer Phil
Spector for the murder of Lana Clarkson ends in a
hung jury; a new trial was not yet scheduled at this
writing.
endnotes
Chapter 1 http://findarticles.com/p/article
1. Ludovic Kennedy, Crime of the s/mi_qn4161/Is_20021201/ai_
Century (New York: Penguin n12857813 (accessed January 14,
Books, 1996), 281. 2008).
2. Gimbel, Barney. “A Tarnished
Chapter 2 Celebrity Moneyman’s New
1. Death Penalty Information Scam,” CNNMoney.com. http://
Center, “Executions in the money.cnn.com/magazines/fort
U.S. 1608–2002,” http://www. une/fortune_archive/2006/10/1
deathpenaltyinfo.org/ESPYyear. 6/8388684/index.htm (accessed
pdf (accessed January 10, 2008). January 14, 2008).
2. Clark County (Ind.) Prosecuting
Attorney. “The Death Penalty,” Chapter 6
http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/ 1. Vincent Bugliosi, Outrage:
html/death/dpusa.htm. The Five Reasons O.J. Simp-
son Got Away With Murder
Chapter 5 (New York: Island Books, 1997),
1. Smith, Philip. “Star Scams: Celeb- pp. 180–193.
rity Con Man,” Sunday Mirror,
102
bibliography
Bugliosi, Vincent. Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O.J. Simpson Got
Away With Murder. New York: Island Books, 1997.
Bugliosi, Vincent, and Curt Gentry. Helter Skelter. New York:
W.W. Norton, 1974.
Crockett, Art, ed. Celebrity Murders. New York: Pinnacle, 1990.
Edwards, Mona, and Jody Handley. Captured!: Inside the World of
Celebrity Trials. Santa Monica, Calif.: Santa Monica Press, 2006.
Graysmith, Robert. The Murder Of Bob Crane. New York: Crown,
1993.
Harvey, Davie. Obsession: Celebrities and Their Stalkers. Dublin:
Merlin, 2003.
Kennedy, Ludovic. The Airman and the Carpenter. New York: Viking,
1985.
King, Gary. Murder In Hollywood. New York: St. Martin’s Paperbacks,
2001.
Meloy, J. Reid, ed. The Psychology of Stalking. San Diego: Academic
Press, 1998.
Sanders, Ed. The Family. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2002.
Sauerwein, Stan. Celebrity Stalkers. Canmore, Alberta: Altitude,
2006.
Scott, Cathy. The Killing of Tupac Shakur. Las Vegas: Huntington
Press, 2002.
Shepard, Charles. Forgiven: The Rise and Fall of Jim Bakker and the
PTL Ministry. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1989.
Sullivan, Randall. Labyrinth. New York: Grove Press, 2003.
Time-Life Books. True Crime: Death and Celebrity. New York: Time-
Life UK, 2004.
103
Further resources
Books
Ellis, Chris, and Julie Ellis. The Mammoth Book of Celebrity Murder.
New York: Carroll & Graf, 2005.
Olsen, Marilyn. Arrested!: Celebrities Caught in the Act. Long Island
City, N.Y.: Hatherleigh Press, 2003.
Sifakis, Carl. Crimes and the Rich and Famous. New York: Checkmark
Books, 2001.
Online
Arresting Images (celebrity mugshots)
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/mugshots/index.html#theLinks
Crime Library
http://www.crimelibrary.com
People in Hot Water (news about crime and celebrities)

http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/sections/people_hot_water/
main500656.shtml
104
index
Page numbers in italics indicate Biggie Smalls. See The Notorious
images. B.I.G.
blackmail 96–97
a Black Sox scandal 63, 99
Affleck, Ben 50 Blake, Robert 83–90, 87, 101
America First Committee 21 blood-spatter evidence 35, 36
Anderson, Lynn 79 Bonds, Barry 64
Anderson, Orlando 71 boxing 64–65
Ankenberg, John 49 Brando, Christian 85, 88, 100
anti-stalking law 46 Brando, Marlon 100
Arbuckle, Roscoe “Fatty” 96–97, Braun, Harland 86, 88
99 Bresler, Fenton 98
assault 64 Broadus, Cordozar Calvin. See
Assemblies of God 50–51 “Snoop Dogg”
Atkins, Susan 26, 28, 29 Brokaw, Tom 44
Brown, Nicole 55, 56
Atlanta Falcons 65
Bryant, Kobe 65, 101
Audé, Eric 101
Bugliosi, Vincent 29, 60
Auto Focus (film) 38
Bush, George W. 45
B C
Bad Boy Entertainment 69
Caldwell, Earle 88, 90
Bad Boy Records 71
California personal privacy law 93
Bailey, Mark Ronald 41
capital punishment. See death
Bakker, Jim 47–53, 48 penalty
Bakker, Tammy Faye 47, 48, 52, Capriati, Jennifer 78
53 Carlson, Edwin John 41
Bakley, Bonnie Lee 83, 85–86, 101 Carpenter, John 34, 36–38, 37
Bakula, Scott 41 Cassidy, Tom 21
Baltimore Ravens 64 Central Intelligence Agency 98
bankruptcy 90 Chapman, Mark David 39, 98,
Banner, John 32 100
Bardo, Robert John 43, 46 Chappaquiddick incident 95
baseball 63–64 check fraud 85
the Beatles 26 Chicago White Sox 63
Beausoleil, Robert 28 Child of Satan, Child of God
Belushi, John 94 (Atkins) 29
Benson, Gary 43 Christian Broadcasting Network
Bern, Paul 96–97 47
Berry, Victoria 31, 34 Cincinnati Reds 63
105
106 celebrities and Crime
civil cases, criminal cases v. 89 Distinguished Flying Cross 16

Clark, Marcia 59, 62–63 DNA profiling 60
Clarkson, Lana 101 dog fighting 65, 101
C Murder 101 Doors 97
Cobain, Kurt 98 Doris Tate Crime Victims Bureau
cocaine abuse 63–64 29
Cochran, Johnnie 58, 60 Dortch, Richard 52
College Football Hall of Fame 56 Downey, Robert, Jr. 101
Collins, Max Allen 22 Dr. Dre 69
Combs, Sean “Puffy” 69, 71, 74 drug charges 64, 65, 85, 101
compulsive theft 81 drug overdose 94, 97–98
Condon, John F. “Jafsie” 17–19, 21
Congressional Medal of Honor 16 E
Cooke, Sam 99 Eighth Amendment 28
Cooley, Amanda 59 Eminem 71
Cooley, Spade 99 equal justice 94
Cooley, Stephen 76, 89 Espy, M. Watt 28
Coolidge, Calvin 16 Estefan, Gloria 44
Cowling, Al 57 European Union 28
Cox, Courtney 50
Crane, Cheryl 99 F
Crane, Robert Edward 31–38, 33, false identification 85
100 Falwell, Jerry 49
Crane, Scott 38 Farentino, James 43
Crime of the Century (HBO televi- Fawcett, Farah 78
sion program) 22 Fayed, Dodi 93
criminal cases, civil cases v. 89 Federal Bureau of Investigation
Crips street gang 71, 73, 101 (FBI) 16, 50
Crouch, Pat 47 federal laws 89
Crouch, Paul 47 Fein, Bernard 32
cyberstalking 46 Fields, Gerard “D. O. Cannon” 70
Fifth Amendment 89, 90
D Fisch, Isidor 21
Dail, Douglas 71 FitzGerald, Frances 49
Damon, Matt 50 Folger, Abigail 24
Dando, Jill 44 football 65
Darden, Christopher 59, 62–63 Ford, Gerald 29
Davies, Jeffrey 30 Foster, Jodie 41, 100
Dear, William 62 Fox, Michael J. 41
death penalty 21, 28 fraud 50–52
Death Row Records 67, 69, 70, Fromme, Lynette “Squeaky” 29
73–74 Frykowski, Wojciech 24
Delehanty, Thomas K. 42 Fuhrman, Mark 57
Delmont, Maude 96
delusional stalkers 45 G
Diaz, Juan Carlos 44 Gambino Mafia family 71
Dingley, Nicholas “Razzle” 95 gambling 63
Index 107
gangsta rap 69–74 I

Gaye, Marvin, Jr. 100 If I Did It: Confessions of the
Gayheart, Rebecca 95 Killer (Simpson) 63
George, Barry 44 In Cold Blood (film) 84
Gerhardt 19, 22 Insane Clown Posse 71
Giacchetto, Dana 50–51, 51 Internal Revenue Service 18, 52
Gless, Sharon 43 Internet stalking 44
Golden Globe Awards 24, 76 Irey, Elmer 18
Goldman, Ronald 55 Ito, Lance 59
Good, Sandra 29 I Was Wrong (Bakker) 52
Göring, Herman 21
Gow, Betty 18, 19 J
Graham, Billy 52 Jack L. Hayes International 80
Grogan, Steven 28 Jackson, Arthur Richard 41, 46
Jackson, Michael 101
H jaywalking 70
Hahn, Jessica 49 Jews 21
Harlow, Jean 96–97 Jolie, Angelina 93
Harris, Lydia 73–74 Juiced (film) 62
Harry-O 69
Hauptmann, Bruno 19–21 K
Hays, Will 96 Kaelin, Brian “Kato” 57, 62
Heisman Trophy 56 Karnitschnig, Heinz 36
Helter Skelter 26 Kasabian, Linda 26
Helter Skelter (Bugliosi) 29 Keaton, Buster 97
Helter Skelter (movie) 30 Keller, Jennifer 88
Heritage USA Christian theme Kennedy, Edward M. “Teddy”
park 49 94–95
Hilton, Paris 93 Kennedy, John F. 94–95, 97
Hinckley, John, Jr. 41, 42, 100 Kennedy, Robert F. “Bobby” 94–
Hinman, Gary 26 95, 97
Hinman-Shea murders 28 Kerr, Sondra 84–85
hip hop music. See rap star Kidman, Nicole 44
murders kidnapping 15–22, 99
Hitler, Adolf 21 King, Larry 59
Hoffman, Harold 21 Klemperer, Werner 32
Hogan’s Heroes (television show) kleptomania 81
32 Knight, Marion “Suge” 67, 68, 70,
Holly, Lauren 50 73–74
Holmes, Katie 44 Kopechne, Mary Jo 95
Holyfield, Evander 65 Korbut, Olga 78
Hooker, Matthew 44 Krenwinkel, Patricia 28
Hoover, Herbert 16
Hopewell, New Jersey 16 L
Hopkins, Anthony 22 LaBianca, Leno 25
Hoskins, Robert 43 LaBianca, Rosemary 25
Hughes, John 45 Landis, Kenesaw Mountain 63
Landon, Michael 43 Morrison, Jim 97–98

Leary, Timothy 75 Morrow, Anne. See Lindbergh,
Ledbetter, Tina 41 Anne
Legion of Honor (France) 15 Motion Picture Herald 24
Lennon, John 39, 40, 98, 100 murder 65
Lennon, Peggy 40 murder, solicitation of 88–89
Lennon Sisters 40
Letterman, David 41 N
Lewis, Jamal 65 National Basketball League 65
Lewis, Jerry 43 Nau, Ralph 41
Lewis, Ray 65 Neil, Vince 95
lie detector 86 The New Jim Bakker Show (televi-
Lindbergh, Anne Morrow 16, 21 sion show) 53
Lindbergh, Charles A., Jr. 15–22 Newton-John, Olivia 41
Lindbergh, Charles A., III 15, 18 Norman, John 43
Lindbergh kidnapping 15–22, 17 The Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case Smalls; Christopher Wallace)
(film) 22 69–73, 101
Lindbergh law 16
Lohan, Lindsay 93 O
“lonely hearts scam” 85–86 O. J. is Guilty, but Not of Murder
Longet, Claudine 95, 100 (Dear) 62
loopholes 89 Olsen, Patti 32, 34
Love, Courtney 78, 98 Ono, Yoko 39
opium smuggling 101
M Ortiz, Bernard A. 43
Madonna 43 overdose 94, 97–98
Maguire, Tobey 50
Mandrell, Barbara 41 P
Mannix, Eddie 97 Pagtakhan, Marlon Esracio 44
Manson, Charles 26, 27, 28, 29 Paltrow, Gwyneth 44
Manson Family murders 23–30, paparazzi 91–93
25, 100 Paparazzi (film) 91
Marcos, Fernando 78 Parent, Steven 24
Marcos, Imelda 78 Parker, Ellis 18
Marlowe, Christopher 99 Pattinson, Jeffrey 62
Mathers, Marshall. See Eminem Penn, Joni Leigh 43
McCarthy, Timothy J. 42 Perry, Michael 30, 41
McGwire, Mark 64 Phish 50
McPherson, Aime Semple 99 Pitt, Brad 44, 93
Medal of Honor (Germany) 21 Pittsburg Pirates 64
Mencken, H. L. 20 Platinum Club 101
Mesereau, Thomas, Jr. 88 Playboy magazine 49
Messner, Roe 53 Polanski, Roman 23–24, 29
Millette, Dorothy 97 polygraph test 86
Mineo, Sal 100 Potter, Robert 52
Monroe, Marilyn 97, 99 Pratt, Elmer “Geronimo” 69
Chapter Title 109
Pro Football Hall of Fame 56 Shapiro, Robert 57, 58

psychological profiling 45 Sharpe, Violet 19, 22
PTL Network 47, 49, 52 Shea, Donald 26
publicity 94 Shields, Brooke 41
Puffy. See Combs, Sean “Puffy” shoplifting 75–81
Simpson, Jason 62
R Simpson, O. J. 55–63, 58, 86, 100
racketeering 52 Sinatra, Frank, Jr. 99
Railsback, Steve 30 Sinatra, Tina 43
Ramirez, Galo 93 Skelter (Perry) 30
ransom 15, 16 Smalls, Biggie. See The Notorious
rape 64–65, 100 B.I.G.
Rappe, Virginia 96, 99 Smith, Cathy 94
rap star murders 67–74 Smykla, John Ortiz 28
Ray, Margaret 41 “Snoop Dogg” 71, 100
Rea, Stephen 22 Soiu, Dante Michael 44
Reagan, Ronald 41, 100c Sosa, Sammy 64
Robertson, Pat 47 Spahn Ranch 26
Rogers, Glenn 62 Spears, Britney 93
Rolando, Athena Marie 44 Spector, Phil 101
Ronstadt, Linda 43 Spencer, Diana 93
Rose, Pete 63 Spielberg, Steven 43
Rosemary’s Baby (film) 24 Spungen, Nancy 100
Rothstein, Arnold 63 stalkers 39–46
Ruddy, Albert 32 Stanek, Sean 83
Ryan, Jeri 44 state laws 89
Ryan, Meg 45 Steinhagen, Ruth Ann 40
Ryder, Winona 75–78, 77, 94 steroid use 64
Stiller, Ben 50
S Stompanato, Johnny 99
Sabich, Vladimir “Spider” 95, suicide 98, 99
100 Supreme Court, U.S. 28
Saldana, Theresa 41, 46, 100 Swaggart, Jimmy 49
Schacter, David 90
Schaeffer, Rebecca 43, 46, 100 T
Scheck, Barry 58 Tate, Debra 29
Schempp, Darlene 88 Tate, Doris 29
Schrader, Paul 38 Tate, Patti 29
Schwartzbach, Gerald 88, 90 Tate, Sharon 23–24, 100
Schwarzkopf, Herbert 16 tax evasion 52
Sebring, Jay 24 Taylor, Sean 65
sexual abuse 84 Taylor, William Desmond 96
sexual assault 70, 101 televangelism 47–53
sexual obsession 34 Thaw, Harry 99
Shakur, Mutulu 69 theft 79–81
Shakur, Tupac 67–71, 68, 73, 101 threats, interstate transmission
Shannon, John 78 of 46
Thug Life 70 Washington Redskins 65

The Trials of Nikki Hill (Darden) Watson, Charles “Tex” 28, 29
63 weapons charges 101
Trinity Broadcasting Network 47 White, Stanford 99
Trupp, Nathan 43 Whitley, Marguerite 56
Turner, Lana 99
Who Killed John Lennon? (Bresler)
12 + 1 (film) 24
98
2Pacalypse Now (rap album) 69
Tyson, Mike 64–65, 100 Why (film) 56
Williams, Andy 95
U Willis, Michael 44
United States Securities and Winslet, Kate 44
Exchange Commission 51 Witherspoon, Reese 93
unsolved crimes 95–98 World War II 21
The Wrecking Crew (film) 24
V wrongful death civil suits 90,
Valley of the Dolls (film) 24
95
Van Houten, Leslie 28, 29
Vanilla Ice 69
Vicious, Sid 100
Y
Vick, Michael 65, 101 Young, Chester 40
You Will Make Money in Your
W Sleep (Giacchetto) 51
Waitkus, Eddie 40
Wallace, Christopher. See The Z
Notorious B.I.G. Zwillman, Abner “Longy” 97
about the author
A former public school teacher (grades 6–8, 1979–86), Michael New-
ton has published 202 books since 1977, with 12 more scheduled
for release from various houses through 2010. His first nonfiction
book—Monsters, Mysteries and Man (Addison-Wesley, 1979)—was
a volume for young readers on cryptozoology and UFOs. His recent
reference works include The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (2d edi-
tion, 2006) and seven other books from Facts on File (2000–07),
plus the FBI Encyclopedia and an Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology
(McFarland, 2004 and 2005). His history of the Florida Ku Klux
Klan, The Invisible Empire (University Press of Florida, 2001), won
the Florida Historical Society’s 2002 Rembert Patrick Award for
Best Book on Florida History. A full list of Newton’s published and
forthcoming titles may be found on his Web site at http://www.
michaelnewton.homestead.com.
111
about the
Consulting editor
John L. French is a 31-year veteran of the Baltimore City Police
Crime Laboratory. He is currently a crime laboratory supervisor. His
responsibilities include responding to crime scenes, overseeing the
preservation and collection of evidence, and training crime scene
technicians. He has been actively involved in writing the operating
procedures and technical manual for his unit and has conducted
training in numerous areas of crime scene investigation. In addition
to his crime scene work, Mr. French is also a published author, spe-
cializing in crime fiction. His short stories have appeared in Alfred
Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and numerous anthologies.
112

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CRIMINAL

Copyright © 2008 by Infobase Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in

Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased

You can ﬁnd Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at

Text design by Erika K. Arroyo

Cover: Metal garage door mural emblazoned

Printed in the United States of America

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

All links and Web addresses were checked and veriﬁed to be

I n 2000 there were 15,000 murders in the United States. During

Patience is a virtue in crime fighting because police officers and

n questioning witnesses and suspects

* Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Uniform Crime Reports, Crime in the

Face” Nelson, whose violent crimes provided a modern equivalent

Chapter 7, “Number One with a Bullet,” details the “East-West

tHe lone eagle

When Lindbergh returned to the United States, a fleet of navy

Held for Ransom

Police investigators reconstruct details of the kidnapping at the

“Jafsie” and “Cemetery John”

After tense negotiations, Condon met a man who called himself

At the drop, while Lindbergh watched from a distance, Condon

Tracing the Ransom

Three facsimiles of handwriting used as evidence against Bruno

Hauptmann refused to confess, despite a doctor’s testimony

n a ransom kidnapping by organized gangsters from Chicago or

More than a dozen books and countless articles have debated

residents Leno and Rosemary LaBianca died at their home, stabbed

Breaking the Case

Deputy sheriffs escort Charles Manson on his way to court in Los

Jurors convicted Manson, Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and

LCruel and Unusual?

Former L.A. prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi suggests, in his book

The Manson Family exerts ongoing fascination for the Ameri-

Airwaves,” earning more than $100,000 per year, but he craved

Bob Crane in costume in a publicity photo for Hogan’s Heroes.

The Dark Side

LReal-Life CSI: Bloodstain Evidence

Scotch. No evidence suggested a break-in, causing police to suspect

John Carpenter talks with his attorney in a Los Angeles courtroom

After 14 years of delay, police based their murder charge on a

Legendary musician John Lennon was murdered outside his Manhattan

1949: Ruth Ann Steinhagen wounded pro baseball player

1981: Seeking to impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom

Secret Service agent Timothy J. McCarthy (foreground), Washington

1989: Robert John Bardo shot and killed actress Rebecca

1999: Athena Marie Rolando invaded actor Brad Pitt’s home

2002: John Hughes, who falsely claims to be actress Meg

star-stalkers has helped to protect all targets of obsessive love or

Before tHe fall

Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker talking to their television audience at

North Carolina, aired on nearly 100 television stations, claiming

ter. On December 5, 1988, federal prosecutors indicted Jim on mul-

airline tickets to various foreign cities, a forged passport, and

Dana Giacchetto, center, leaves the federal courthouse in New

After divorcing Jim, Tammy Faye married Heritage USA con-

Despite those setbacks, Simpson turned his life around in high

estimated 95 million TV viewers watched the event from start to

Trial of the Century

LReal-Life CSI: DNA

And so they did, on October 3, 1995. Despite the state’s “moun-

n Ahitman. This story claims that a professional assassin, hired

admitted addict, and Al Cowlings once worked as a bodyguard

n a ransom kidnapping by organized gangsters from Chicago or

n Ahitman. This story claims that a professional assassin, hired

n Actress Farrah Fawcett, twice arrested during 1970. Both charges

n Country singer Lynn Anderson, arrested in January 2005 for