8 Celebrities Whose Deaths Remain a Mystery: From Natalie Wood to Marilyn Monroe and More

On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah died in a plane crash in the Bahamas at the age of 22.

The late Princess of R&B and her crew boarded a small twin-engine Cessna 402B after they finished filming her "Rock the Boat" music video. The chartered plane, which was carrying Aaliyah and eight other people, crashed a few yards from the airport's runway shortly after takeoff.

During a coroner's inquest into the crash in 2003, the pathologist who performed autopsies on the crash victims said Aaliyah died from severe burns and a blow to the head. They also testified that pilot Luis Antonio Morales, who was not certified to fly the plane but had been hired by the charter company a few days before the accident, had "cocaine in his urine and traces of alcohol in his stomach."

In the years after Aaliyah's death, several conspiracy theories emerged, leaving the masses even more puzzled.

In music journalist Kathy Iandoli's book Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah, she quoted Kingsley Russell, who previously alleged he watched Aaliyah "be taken" onboard the fatal flight despite the singer reiterating she did not want to be on the tiny plane and that she had a headache at the time.

"They took her out of the van; she didn't even know she was getting boarded on a plane," Russell said, claiming Aaliyah was knocked out after consuming the pill a team member produced. "She went on the airplane asleep."

Iandoli added, "The only thing I've taken with me is that after 20 years, I can finally say that Aaliyah didn't want to get on the plane. That makes me feel a little better, but not much. This didn't have to happen. She should still be here, and I think that's the saddest part about it. She deserved better."

In 2024, a viral TikTok theory linked J. Cole's song "She Knows" to the deaths of Aaliyah, Michael Jackson and Lisa Lopes, alleging Sean "Diddy" Combs, Beyoncé and Jay-Z were involved in the demises. All three coincidentally died on the 25th day of different months and years, but no further evidence supported the claims.

Whitney Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, was found unresponsive and face down in a bathtub at her Atlanta home on January 31, 2015. She died on July 26, 2015, at the age of 22.

Nearly a year later, the Fulton County Medical Examiner released a toxicology report, which found alcohol, anti-anxiety medications and several drugs — including marijuana, morphine and a "cocaine-related substance" — in her system.

"The underlying cause of death is the condition which starts the downhill course of events leading to death and in this case is the immersion associated with drug intoxication," the medical examiner's office said in the statement. "The pneumonia and encephalopathy are more immediate causes which resulted from the immersion and drug intoxication."

However, the medical examiner could not determine whether Brown's death was intentional or accidental, ruling it "undetermined."

On the other hand, her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her boyfriend, Nick Gordon, alleging Brown "died due to a violent altercation with Defendant" and that he "injected her with a toxic mixture." He was later found legally responsible for Brown's death in a civil case and was ordered to pay more than $36 million in damages, though no criminal charges were filed against him.

Brittany Murphy was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor of her Los Angeles home on December 20, 2009, and was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center a few hours later. She was 32.

According to a coroner spokesperson, the Uptown Girls actress experienced flu-like symptoms, which were left untreated, in the weeks leading up to her death. The official autopsy report revealed her cause of death was pneumonia, with iron-deficiency anemia and "multiple drug intoxication" from prescription and over-the-counter medication as contributing factors.

Over a decade later, HBO Max released the documentary What Happened, Brittany Murphy? to further explore and clear up long-running conspiracy theories about Brittany's passing, including the speculations her mother, Sharon Murphy, or her husband, Simon Monjack, could have caused her death.

But five months after the tragedy, Simon was found dead in their home at the age of 40. His cause of death was the same Brittany's.

"My theory is that the mother did the job on both of them," Brittany's father, Angelo Bertolotti, speculated in a 2013 interview with People, adding the matriarch had a financial motive to poison and murder both Brittany and Simon.

Sharon denied the claim, while experts said Angelo's accusations were likely groundless. No toxicology reports also confirmed Angelo's theory.

On June 16, 1959, George Reeves was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head in an upstairs bedroom of his Los Angeles home. He was 45.

According to a police report, Reeves' fiancée, Leonore Lemmon, strangely told her guests the Adventures of Superman actor was planning to shoot himself after he came downstairs to tell everyone to be quiet.

"He is getting the gun out now, and he is going to shoot himself," she reportedly uttered upon hearing a bedside drawer open.

Although they heard a gunshot, Lemmon and the people partying at the house "waited 45 minutes before calling the police," per The Daily Beast. The authorities later found two gunshot holes in the carpet and one in the ceiling, though witnesses claimed they only heard one shot.

His death was ruled a suicide, but there are still speculations it was possibly a homicide.

Oscar-winning actor Heath Ledger was found dead inside a Manhattan apartment on January 22, 2008, at the age of 28. Authorities ruled his death as "accidental abuse of prescription medications" after anti-anxiety medications, sleeping pills, oxycodone and hydrocodone were detected in his system.

Some speculated his portrayal of Joker contributed to his death, but fans refuted the claims and noted Ledger was already struggling with insomnia and anxiety long before filming.

On August 4, 1962, a naked Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her bed at her Los Angeles home following an apparent barbiturate overdose. While her death was ruled a suicide, biographers, journalists and even her fans speculated a foul play was involved.

Some assumed her involvement with the Kennedy family due to her rumored affair with both John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert F. Kennedy led to her demise. Others theorized the CIA had something to do with her death.

In 1982, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office reviewed the case but found no evidence to support the conspiracy theories surrounding the s-- icon's death.

A Natalie Wood's death on November 29, 1981, was ruled an accidental drowning, but the ambiguities surrounding the investigation and the findings led to speculations she did not die by accident.

The Tomorrow Is Forever actress went on a boat trip with actor Robert Wagner on the southwest coast of Los Angeles, Calif., to enjoy a weekend after Thanksgiving. Actor Christopher Walken and captain Dennis Davern were also aboard Splendour, a 55-foot yacht.

Wood went missing around 11:05 p.m. on November 28, 1981, but the authorities were reportedly only informed about her status the following day. They found her body, which had bruises on her arms and lower legs and a cut on the cheek, floating a mile away from the yacht.

At the time, the coroner concluded that she had been drinking when she slipped, fell and drowned. However, after the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reopened the investigation in 2011, the cause of death was changed to "drowning and other undetermined factors."

Wagner also became a person of interest, but no charges have ever been filed against the Two and a Half Men star or anybody else.

Tupac Shakur died in a drive-by shooting on September 7, 1996. He was riding a BMW being driven by Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip and opened fire.

He died six days after the shooting.

In September 2023, Duane "Keffe D" Davis was arrested and charged with murder for orchestrating the killing. Still, the conspiracy theories had continuously bounded the case.