20 Celebs Who Allegedly Killed Someone

You know how we all picture celebrities gliding through life on red carpets and private jets. Well sometimes their paths cross with tragedy in ways that shock everyone. Over the years plenty of stars have faced allegations of causing someone’s death whether through a split second decision behind the wheel or in the heat of an argument. These cases mix heartbreak with legal battles and they remind us that fame doesn’t shield anyone from real world consequences.

Today we’re looking at twenty such stories where the headlines screamed murder or manslaughter. Some ended in acquittals after tense trials while others led to prison time or quiet settlements. The details pull back the curtain on moments that forever changed these icons and the people around them.

Scott Hall

Scott Hall kicked off his wrestling fame in the 1990s as Razor Ramon in WWE where he captured multiple Intercontinental Championships. Back in 1983 though long before the spotlight found him he got tangled in a violent clash outside a nightclub in Orlando Florida. A man pulled a gun on him during the scuffle and Hall ended up firing it back in what he described as pure self defense.

Investigators reviewed the evidence and decided the shooting fit the self defense claim so they dropped the second degree murder charge against him. Hall went on to build a legendary career in the ring teaming up with legends like Hulk Hogan in nWo but that early brush with the law stayed a quiet part of his backstory. He passed away in 2022 after years of health struggles tied to wrestling injuries.

Caitlyn Jenner

Caitlyn Jenner rose to athletic glory with her gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Olympics and later shared her transition journey in a groundbreaking docuseries. On February 7 2015 she was driving her black Cadillac Escalade on a Malibu highway when it rear ended a Prius at high speed. The impact sent that car swerving into an oncoming truck and tragically killed 69 year old Kimberly Howe who was behind the wheel of the Prius.

Prosecutors pored over dashcam footage and witness statements before clearing Jenner of manslaughter charges since they couldn’t prove reckless driving. Her team settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Howe’s family out of court for an undisclosed amount and Jenner expressed deep regret over the loss. She continued advocating for transgender rights amid the media storm that followed.

Charles S. Dutton

Charles S. Dutton earned acclaim for tough guy roles in films like ‘Menace II Society’ and the TV series ‘Roc’ where he played a family patriarch. As a 16 year old in Baltimore in 1967 he found himself in a street fight that turned deadly when he stabbed a man who came at him with a knife first. Dutton always maintained it was self protection since the other guy struck first with the blade.

The court accepted his guilty plea to manslaughter and handed him a five year prison sentence where he discovered acting through prison theater programs. After his release he channeled that experience into a thriving career directing and starring in projects that explored urban life and redemption. Dutton became a mentor for young actors drawing from his own path to stay out of trouble.

Aaron Hernandez

Aaron Hernandez dazzled NFL fans as a tight end for the New England Patriots catching passes from Tom Brady in Super Bowl runs. In June 2013 his friend Odin Lloyd turned up shot multiple times in an industrial park just blocks from Hernandez’s Massachusetts home. Surveillance video and phone records linked Hernandez to the scene and he faced trial for the first degree murder.

A jury convicted him in 2015 leading to a life sentence without parole and he got acquitted in a separate double murder case tied to a Boston nightclub shooting. While awaiting appeals Hernandez took his own life in his cell in 2017 leaving behind questions about concussions and mental health in football. The Patriots cut him shortly after his arrest ending a promising career.

Johnny Lewis

Johnny Lewis broke out as the biker prospect Half Sack in the FX hit ‘Sons of Anarchy’ earning fans for his raw intensity on screen. In 2011 a motorcycle crash left him with serious brain trauma that doctors said altered his behavior leading to erratic actions and several run ins with police over the next year. Things escalated on September 26 2012 when he broke into his 81 year old landlady’s home in Los Angeles.

Neighbors heard screams and found the landlady beaten to death along with her dog while Lewis lay dead on the driveway from a fall off the roof. Toxicology reports showed no drugs in his system so experts pointed to the head injury as a possible factor in the rampage. His family mourned the loss of the talented actor who had just landed bigger roles before the tragedy struck.

Keith Moon

Keith Moon powered The Who as their wild drummer pioneering explosive solos that defined rock anthems like ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’. On January 4 1970 after a gig at a Hertfordshire pub fans mobbed him demanding encores and he jumped into his Bentley to escape. In the chaos his car rolled backward over his bodyguard Neil Boland crushing him fatally under the wheels.

Moon had been drinking heavily that night and police investigated but ruled it a pure accident with no charges filed against the grieving musician. The band dedicated their next shows to Boland and Moon’s drumming style influenced generations despite his personal demons with substance abuse. He died in 1978 from an overdose leaving a legacy of chaotic genius.

Vince Neil

Vince Neil fronted Motley Crue belting out hair metal hits like ‘Girls Girls Girls’ that packed arenas in the 1980s. In December 1984 after a night of partying he drove his Camaro at over 100 mph on a Los Angeles freeway smashing into a parked Toyota. The crash killed Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas Dingley known as Razzle and seriously hurt two passengers in the other car.

Neil pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter and got 30 days in jail serving only 15 plus five years probation and community service. He paid restitution to the victims’ families and the incident inspired Crue’s album ‘Theatre of Pain’ as a tribute. Neil later got sober and reflected on the night as a turning point in his wild lifestyle.

William S. Burroughs

William S. Burroughs shaped the Beat Generation with novels like ‘Naked Lunch’ blending surreal prose and social critique. In 1951 during a boozy gathering in Mexico City he tried a stunt inspired by William Tell shooting an apple off his wife Joan Vollmer’s head but hit her instead killing her instantly with the bullet. Friends rushed her to a hospital but she didn’t survive the wound.

Burroughs skipped bail and fled to the United States where a judge convicted him in absentia of involuntary homicide giving him a suspended two year sentence. He spent years in exile writing about addiction and loss drawing from the guilt that haunted him. His work gained cult status influencing counterculture figures long after the incident faded from headlines.

Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg built a rap empire with G funk classics like ‘Gin and Juice’ and later branched into TV hosting and cannabis branding. On August 25 1993 in Palms California a dispute over 1000 dollars led to a shooting where his bodyguard McKinley Lee fired at 20 year old Philip Woldermariam hitting him fatally in the back. Snoop had been driving the Cadillac when the shots rang out making him an accessory in the eyes of prosecutors.

The pair hired Johnnie Cochran for the first degree murder trial and after four months the jury acquitted them finding it self defense since Woldermariam reached for a gun first. Snoop’s debut album ‘Doggystyle’ dropped soon after boosting his fame despite the legal cloud. He evolved into a family man and entrepreneur steering clear of further violence.

Don King

Don King promoted boxing megafights featuring Ali and Tyson turning the sport into a spectacle for millions. In 1954 Cleveland police arrested him for shooting 52 year old Hillary Brown twice in his illegal gambling den after Brown tried to rob him at gunpoint. King claimed justifiable homicide since Brown fired first and a grand jury agreed dropping all charges.

Thirteen years later in 1967 King stomped his employee Sam Garrett to death during a collections dispute over 600 dollars. Convicted of second degree murder he served nearly four years before Ohio Governor James Rhodes granted clemency in 1972. King rebounded by launching his promotion company and became synonymous with big gloves and bigger controversies.

Matthew Broderick

Matthew Broderick charmed audiences as the Ferris in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ and voiced Simba in ‘The Lion King’. During a 1987 family trip to Northern Ireland he rented a BMW and veered into oncoming traffic on a narrow road colliding head on with a Volvo carrying two local women. The impact killed Anna Gallagher 28 and her mother Margaret 63 instantly while Broderick suffered a fractured skull and broken ribs.

Irish authorities charged him with causing death by dangerous driving but he pleaded guilty to careless driving paying a 100 pound fine. No jail time followed and he returned to Broadway earning a Tony for ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’. The victims’ family expressed forgiveness years later easing the public scrutiny.

Laura Bush

Laura Bush served as First Lady from 2001 to 2009 championing literacy and supporting her husband’s presidency. Just after turning 17 on November 5 1963 she drove her Chevy Impala through a stop sign in Midland Texas smashing into classmate Michael Douglas’s Corvair. The collision killed the 17 year old Douglas on impact and Bush walked away with minor cuts and bruises.

Police investigated the fatal crash but filed no charges against her given her age and the circumstances of the rainy night. She rarely spoke publicly about it until her memoir where she described the lifelong guilt from losing a friend so young. Bush went on to teach school and raise twin daughters while keeping the incident private.

Phil Spector

Phil Spector revolutionized pop with his Wall of Sound production on hits for the Ronettes and Beatles. On February 3 2003 police found 40 year old actress Lana Clarkson slumped dead in a chair at his Alhambra mansion with a gunshot through her mouth from his revolver. Spector told arriving officers that she kissed the gun and it went off but evidence suggested otherwise.

His first trial ended in a mistrial in 2007 so prosecutors retried him leading to a 2009 conviction for second degree murder and a 19 years to life sentence. Health issues kept him out of prison initially but he served time until his 2021 death from COVID complications. The case exposed his history of threatening women with guns.

Ted Kennedy

Ted Kennedy represented Massachusetts in the Senate for nearly 47 years championing healthcare and civil rights. On July 18 1969 after a party on Chappaquiddick Island his Oldsmobile plunged off a bridge into Poucha Pond drowning 28 year old campaign aide Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy swam free but waited ten hours to report it swimming back to his cottage first.

He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident causing death receiving a two month suspended sentence. A diver recovered Kopechne’s body the next day and an inquest pointed to negligent driving though no manslaughter charge stuck. Kennedy carried the scandal through his career winning reelection despite calls for resignation.

Robert Blake

Robert Blake starred as the baretta detective in the 1970s TV series ‘Baretta’ winning an Emmy for the role. On May 4 2001 his wife Bonnie Lee Bakley sat in his car outside an Italian restaurant in Studio City California shot four times including a fatal round to the head. Blake claimed a stuntman he hired for protection pulled the trigger but prosecutors doubted it.

Arrested in April 2002 he beat the murder charge in 2005 due to unreliable witnesses but a civil jury found him liable for wrongful death in 2005 ordering 30 million dollars in damages. Bakley had scammed men for money and the couple’s marriage lasted just six months. Blake retired from acting living quietly until his 2023 death.

Sid Vicious

Sid Vicious bashed drums for the Sex Pistols fueling punk anarchy with his spiked hair and sneer on tracks like ‘Anarchy in the U.K.’. On October 12 1978 he woke up in his Chelsea Hotel room in New York to find girlfriend Nancy Spungen stabbed in the stomach with a knife from their collection. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene amid signs of a struggle.

Police charged Vicious with second degree murder but he bonded out and spiraled into heroin use before dying of an overdose in February 1979 at age 21. Friends recalled heated fights between the couple and some speculated accidental death during rough play. The Pistols disbanded soon after marking the end of an era.

Chris Benoit

Chris Benoit headlined WWE as the Rabid Wolverine known for precision suplexes and intense rivalries. On June 24 2007 authorities discovered his wife Nancy and seven year old son Daniel strangled in their Fayetteville Georgia home with Benoit hanging dead in the gym. Autopsies confirmed he smothered them before killing himself over 24 hours.

Traces of testosterone in his system raised steroid questions and later tests revealed severe brain damage from wrestling blows like chronic traumatic encephalopathy. WWE pulled him from history erasing mentions and the industry grappled with wrestler safety reforms. Fans mourned the family man they thought they knew.

Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius sprinted to fame as the Blade Runner competing against able bodied athletes in the 2012 London Olympics. On Valentine’s Day 2013 four gunshots rang out from his bathroom in Pretoria South Africa killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp who hid behind the door. Pistorius said he mistook her for a burglar firing through the wood in panic.

His first trial acquitted him of premeditated murder but convicted him of culpable homicide sentencing him to five years. Appeals upgraded it to murder in 2015 bumping his time to 15 years with parole possible after six. He served about half before release in 2024 under strict conditions.

O. J. Simpson

O.J. Simpson rushed to NFL stardom with the Buffalo Bills breaking records and later starred in ‘The Naked Gun’ comedies. On June 12 1994 his ex wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman lay stabbed to death outside her Brentwood condo in Los Angeles. Bloody gloves and footprints tied Simpson to the scene prompting a slow speed Bronco chase watched by millions.

The 1995 criminal trial acquitted him after nine months of testimony highlighting police mishandling but a 1997 civil suit found him liable awarding 33.5 million dollars to the families. He wrote a hypothetical confession book and served nine years for armed robbery in 2008. Simpson died of cancer in 2024.

Brandy Norwood

Brandy Norwood topped R&B charts with self titled albums and starred in ‘Moesha’ as a teen navigating family drama. On December 30 2006 her Land Rover struck a Toyota on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles causing a chain reaction crash that killed 38 year old Awatef Aboudihaj in the Toyota. Norwood claimed the Toyota braked suddenly but witnesses disputed it.

Los Angeles prosecutors declined charges in 2007 citing insufficient evidence for vehicular manslaughter while Aboudihaj’s family sued settling confidentially in 2012. Norwood paused her music career to heal and returned with gospel tinged tracks reflecting on loss. She resumed acting in series like ‘The Game’.

Which of these stories surprised you the most. Share your thoughts in the comments below.