Hollywood's Top 10 Most Scandalous True Crime Cases
Oct. 4 2019, Updated 10:20 p.m. ET
True Hollywood tales don't always have a happy ending. These notorious crimes are still mired in controversy! And for more juicy scandal, tune in to Guilt on Freeform, Mondays at 9 p.m.
Marilyn Monroe: The movie star's sudden death was ruled a "probable suicide" after she overdosed on sleeping pills on August 5, 1962, in her Brentwood, California, home. But since then, wild speculation about her death has continued. Conspiracy theories have included the possibility that the mafia murdered her because of her alleged affairs with President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert! Meanwhile, some believe that JFK and Bobby possibly were behind the murder because she threatened to reveal her sexual involvement with them both.
Bruce Lee: On July 20, 1973, Lee met with producer Raymond Chow to talk about a new project. The pair then drove to the home of Lee's friend, Taiwanese actress Betty Ting Pei. When Lee, 32, said he had a headache, Pei allegedly gave him an Equagesic — a combination of aspirin and the muscle relaxant meprobamate. After taking the pill, Lee reportedly decided to take a nap but never woke up. During the martial arts master's autopsy, the only substance found was Equagesic and it was later ruled that he died because of a hypersensitivity to the muscle relaxant in the drug. Still, many conspiracy theorists insist that Lee was murdered, possibly from a martial arts death strike!
Natalie Wood: The actress was found dead shortly after going on a yacht trip off Catalina Island with husband Robert Wagner and Brainstorm co-star Christopher Walken on Nov. 29, 1981. After a debaucherous night of partying on the boat, Wagner and Walken started arguing while Wood went to bed. According to Wagner's rendition of the events, his wife was already missing when he went to say goodnight to her later that day. Hours later, the actress' lifeless body was found floating in the water. Although her death was ruled an accidental drowning, cops reopened the case in 2011 after the boat's captain, Dennis Davern, told NBC News that the fight between Wagner and Walken was what actually led to her death. Wood's cause of death was changed from accidental drowning to "drowning and other undetermined factors."
Biggie Smalls: The rapper, who was born Christopher George Latore Wallace, was killed by an unknown gunman in a March 9, 1997 drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. The 24-year-old, who also known as the Notorious B.I.G., was allegedly killed by an African-American man driving a Chevrolet Impala SS. According to witnesses, the man drew a pistol and fired with four bullets hitting the famed rapper. Still, many believed Wallace's murder was related to that of rapper Tupac Shakur, who died on September 25, 1996 — also in a drive-by shooting — in Las Vegas. The LAPD has never solved Biggie's murder and finally released his autopsy in Dec. 2012.
Elizabeth Short: A 22-year-old woman who was found with her body sliced in half at the waist on January 15, 1947, has become famously known as The Black Dahlia. Short was found mutilated and completely drained of blood in a vacant lot in Los Angeles. The case, which remains unsolved, has intrigued America for decades and been the subject of countless books, articles, and movies.
George Reeves: Although the 1950s Superman star reportedly killed himself, many, including his own mother, suspected foul play! On June 16, 1959, between 1:30 and 2 a.m., Reeves reportedly shot himself in the head in the upstairs bedroom of his Los Angeles home, while his fiancée, playwright Leonore Lemmon, and friends were partying downstairs. Police reported at the time that Reeves, 45, was depressed because he wasn't getting work, but his mother refused to believe it. Some have even suspected that he was murdered over his relationship with married ex-showgirl Toni Mannix, wife of MGM honcho Eddie Mannix.
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Brittany Murphy: In 2009, the actress was suddenly found dead in her Los Angeles home after reportedly suffering from a case of pneumonia and anemia. The condition, combined with a mixture of over-the-counter cold medicine, reportedly caused the Clueless actress to die at just 32-years-old. However, her dad doesn't believe that her death was an accident! In 2013, Murphy's father, Angelo Bertolotti, ordered a lab to test his daughter's hair samples. The test supposedly showed that heavy metals found in rat poison were in her system. "I have a feeling that there was a definite murder situation here," the grieving father said in an interview with Good Morning America. In March 2016, County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter confirmed to Us Weekly that the case of her death could one day be reopened.
Whitney Houston: While the singer's death was ruled an accidental drowning in 2012, police investigator Paul Huebel told The National ENQUIRER he has evidence proving drug dealers killed the singer after she failed to pay the $1.5 million she owed them. "I believe the Beverly Hills police and the Los Angeles coroner are happy to sweep Whitney's death under the rug, calling it accidental and closing their investigation," he said in 2012.
Kurt Cobain: The Nirvana rocker was found dead after he allegedly shot himself in the head in 1994. Despite police ruling the death a suicide, journalists have long claimed he may have been murdered.
Nicole Brown Simpson: The wife of disgraced football star O.J. Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman, were murdered in cold blood in 1994. Simpson was acquitted and vowed to find the true killer, but the bloody deaths have never been explained.
For more juicy crime scandal you can't resist, tune in to Guilt on Freeform, Mondays at 9 pm!