Believe it or not, several famous folks have been accused of killing other people. Many were involved in tragic accidents that resulted in deaths, while others committed cold-blooded murder.
1. Michael Jace
The actor was arrested yesterday and charged with the shooting death of April Jace, his wife of nine years.
2. Don King
The boxing promoter killed two men in separate incidents. King killed the first man in self-defense when the man was trying to break into his gambling operation. King was convicted of second-degree murder for the second incident, in which he stomped to death an employee who owed him $600. A judge reduced the charges from second-degree murder to manslaughter and King received a pardon from the Ohio Governor after doing almost four years in prison.
3. Rapper C-Murder
Corey Miller, brother of Percy “Master P” Miller, uncle of Romeo, and cousin of producer Mo B. Dick – is currently serving a life sentence for murder. He was convicted of second degree murder following the 2002 beating and shooting of a 16 year-old fan, Steve Thomas, at a Louisiana nightclub.
4. Snoop Dogg
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The rapper and his bodyguard were charged with the murder of a rival gang member. Snoop Dogg was defended by Johnny Cochran and was acquitted after years of court battles.
5. Gucci Mane
In 2005, he and his companions shot at a group of men who were attacking them, killing one. He claimed he and his group fired in self-defense. The murder charge was eventually dropped due to insufficient evidence.
6. Jayson Williams
The NBA player accidentally shot to death his limousine driver while he was playing with a shot gun. Williams ended up pleading guilty to aggravated assault.
7. Felicia Pearson
When “The Wire” actress Felicia Pearson was 14, she was convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Okia Toomer. Though she was sentenced to serve two consecutive 8-year terms, she was released after just 6.5 years at the Maryland Correctional Institute.
8. Charles S. Dutton
When Dutton was 17, he got into a fight with another man and killed him. He was convicted of manslaughter and spent seven years in prison.
9. Huddie William Ledbetter
Blues legend Lead Belly had a bad temper, and he was charged with murder for killing one of his relatives. The two men were fighting over a woman.
10. Donte Stallworth
The NFL player struck and killed a pedestrian, 59-year-old Mario Reyes, while driving under the influence in Miami Beach, Florida. He was charged with DUI and second-degree manslaughter in which he plead guilty to both charges. He and the Reyes family settled on a financial agreement out of court.
11. Dwayne Goodrich
The former Dallas Cowboys corner-back was convicted of two counts of criminally negligent homicide in 2003. While driving on a Dallas freeway, he struck and killed two motorists who were on the side of the road trying to rescue a man from a burning car. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, and he later had five more years added.
12. Phil Spector
In 2003, Lana Clarkson was found dead from a gunshot wound in Phil Spector’s home. He was charged with the murder, and in 2009, Spector was found guilty and sentenced 19 years to life in prison.
13. Rae Carruth
The former Carolina Panthers wide receiver is currently in prison for charges related to the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams. She was eight months pregnant at the time and after a month in a coma, she died from her injuries. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to 18-24 years in prison.
14. Oscar Pistorius
The four-time Paralympics gold medal runner and double amputee is currently on trial for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The three fatal shots were fired through a locked bathroom door, and Pistorius claims that he thought he was firing at an intruder.
15. Matthew Broderick
In 1987, Matthew Broderick and his then girlfriend, Jennifer Grey, were on vacation in Ireland. Broderick mistakenly drove the wrong way on a street and crashed into an oncoming vehicle. The driver and passenger (mother & daughter) in the other car both died from their injuries.
16. J.R. Smith
In 2007, the NBA player drove through a stop sign, causing an accident that killed the passenger in his vehicle. After pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter, Smith was sentenced to 90 days in jail, but only served 24.
17. Brandy Norwood
Brandy was involved in a freeway pile-up that caused the death of Awatef Aboudihaj. Though Aboudihaj had struck the vehicle in front of her before Brandy hit her rear bumper, witnesses on the scene said the singer claimed responsibility for the accident, repeatedly saying, “I should have stopped.”
18. O.J. Simpson
Simpson was arrested and charged with the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman. Though he was eventually found not guilty he was later held responsible in a civil lawsuit.
19. Robert Blake
Blake was charged with the murder of his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley, who was shot to death. He was later acquitted, but he was found liable for wrongful death in a civil lawsuit.
20. Ted Kennedy
In 1969, he drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick, an island near Martha’s Vineyard. The car went into the water, and though Kennedy swam free, his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned in the overturned vehicle. Kennedy fled the scene and waited nine hours to report the incident; he later pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident.
21. Michael Massee
The actor accidentally shot and killed Brandon Lee on the set of The Crow when a prop gun was improperly prepared for the scene and a stuck bullet caused the tragic accident. Massee said he still has nightmares about the event.
22. Aaron Hernandez
The former New England Patriots tight end is currently awaiting trial for first degree murder charges. In 2013, his friend, Odin Lloyd, was found dead in an industrial park a mile from Hernandez’s house, having been shot several times.
23. Michael Brea
In 2010, the actor (Ugly Betty) reportedly decapitated his mother with a three-foot long samurai sword while screaming Bible passages.
24. Laura Bush
When the former first lady was in high school, she neglected to stop at a stop sign, she hit another car and killed its driver, Michael Dutton Douglas, who happened to be a close friend and classmate.
