There are thousands of murder cases that have been sitting in a file cabinet since the 70’s or 80’s waiting to be pieced together, often to no avail. However, most of these cases are unheard of as they typically involve private citizens. Celebrities do no possess the same privilege, as every aspect of their lives are exposed to the public eye. Today, we’ll look into some famous unsolved deaths of beloved celebrities.
George Reeves
George Reeves as Superman
A man who graced the first appearance of Superman on a television screen, Reeves was the idol of many. However, he suffered a grisly end. It was reported that he shot himself in the head after a late-night party in his abode. Officially, the case was ruled as a suicide, citing his troubled career after the waning popularity of his TV series. Although, many of his close friends and colleagues believed otherwise.
There were several suspects identified with motives. Leonore Lemmon, the lover of Reeves was known to be somewhat emotionally unstable and had argued with Reeves the night he passed. It could also be Tony Mannix whom Reeves was having an affair with before he left her for Lemmon. Eddie Mannix, the Vice President of MGM also has a motive. His wife Tony Mannix’s affair was an open secret in the business.
Jealousy, revenge, or accident? That remains to be answered.
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee practising his stunts
One of the most important figures of the 60’s and 70’s up to his death, the circumstances surrounding his passing were murky and disturbing. Lee passed on July 20, 1973 at the tender age of 32.
Prior to his death, Lee was diagnosed with cerebral edema. The condition was treated sufficiently well enough to warrant Lee continuing his usual diet and routine. On the day of his death, Lee was visiting a friend of his, a Taiwanese actress named Betty Ting Pei. Lee complained of a headache, and Betty gave Lee an Equagesic – a painkiller. A compound in the painkiller was believed to have caused a second cerebral edema contributing towards Lee’s demise and was backed up by the coroner.
Lee went to the guest room to rest and never came down for dinner, prompting Betty to check on him. He was found unresponsive and eventually an ambulance was called.
There were a number of theories that were mostly unfounded such as a secret society that wanted Lee dead – but without specific reasons or evidence to point towards that. Besides that, there was also a rumour that Lee was murdered in self-defense by a prostitute – which made even less sense considering Lee’s capabilities. The last of these but perhaps the most believable one, is the curse of the Lee family. 20 years after his father’s passing, Lee’s son Brandon was accidentally murdered by a supposedly unloaded prop gun on the set of ‘The Crow’. Many believed that the Lee family was cursed going back multiple generations.
Tupac Shakur
The late Tupac Shakur
A revolutionary figure of the hip-hop scene, Tupac was to many a messiah. The night of his passing was a special one. He arrived in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996 to attend a Mike Tyson fight with Suge Knight. The fight ended unceremoniously as Tyson knocked out his opponent in the first round.
As they were leaving the fight an associate of Knight whispered something into Tupac’s ear, prompting him to confront a man named Orlando Anderson whom is tied to a rival gang. Hotel security broke up the fight, and they went about their business.
Suge drove off in his BMW with Tupac in the passenger seat, and was tailed by Tupac’s bodyguard, Frank Alexander. A white Cadillac soon pulled up next to Knight’s car, and promptly fired 14 shots into the car.
The shots mortally wounded Tupac, and in his last moments he continuously yelled at Knight . Until today, no one is held responsible for Tupac’s murder.
Jimi Hendrix
A still of Jimi Hendrix
Esteemed member of the 27 club, Hendrix was discovered dead in his London apartment by paramedics on September 18, 1970. A time-line of the tragic day was established. Hendrix had a small argument with his partner – Monika Dannemann the previous night when he was at a party. Monika wanted to leave, and Hendrix agreed, going to his apartment.
Hendrix requested for some Vesperax (sleeping pill) from Monika who obliged and went to bed. Soon, she awoke and found Hendrix asleep. She left for cigarettes and returned to find Hendrix unconscious in bed. An ambulance was called, and paramedics tried reviving him to no avail. He was declared dead.
That was the version of the story by Monika. According to paramedics, Monika wasn’t even present when they were at the apartment. Also, there was a copious amount of sleeping pills and alcohol in his body that did not match his blood alcohol level. So, that means Hendrix would have had to died almost immediately after ingesting a large amount of alcohol for it to not pass through his blood stream.
Multiple inconsistencies and murky details, Hendrix’s death still haunts us all.
Notorious B.I.G
The notorious B.I.G
Best known as the rival of Tupac and strings of multi-platinum records, Notorious B.I.G’s death eerily happened around the same time as his rival. The rapper passed on March 7, 1996, about 6 months after the untimely demise of Tupac which caused Notorious B.I.G to fear for his life. Commonly referred to as Biggie, as he was leaving the Soul Train Music Awards in LA, a car pulled up to his side and gunned him down. Biggie wasn’t accompanied by bodyguards, but had a few friends in the car. The description is chilling, as the murderer was said to have looked at Biggie right in the eyes before offing him with an automatic pistol. To this day, no suspect has been named.