Celebrities Who Got Away With Murder

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celebrities who got away with murder
Mike Mozart / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
10 Celebrities Who Have Killed People
10. Snoop Dogg

Snoop DoggIn August 1993 Snoop Dogg was arrested for his involvement in the death of Philip Woldemariam, a rival gang member who the rapper had allegedly ordered his bodyguard to shoot.

Snoop Dogg – real name Calvin Broadus – and his bodyguard McKinley Lee were then charged with the murder and Snoop was released on a $1 million bail until the official trial could begin. The pair were represented by defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran, who was also instrumental in the somewhat controversial acquittal of American footballer O. J. Simpson, following the 1994 murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

On the grounds that Woldemariam was armed and had pulled a gun on Snoop at the time of the incident, it was deemed that Snoop and Lee were acting in self-defense. And so – after three years of court battles – they were acquitted.

9. Matthew Broderick

Matthew BroderickMatthew Broderick – Ferris Bueller actor and voice of adult Simba in Disney’s The Lion King – was involved in a tragic car accident in 1987, when he was just 25.


Broderick was driving in Northern Ireland when he veered into the wrong lane and collided head-on with a car driven by Anna Gallagher, aged 28, who was accompanied by her 63-year-old mother, Margaret Doherty.

Both Gallagher and Doherty were killed, while Broderick suffered a fractured leg, fractured ribs, concussion, and a collapsed lung.

The actor told authorities that he had no recollection of the day of the crash at all, not even getting up in the morning. He was charged with careless driving and fined a measly $175, which the victims’ family labeled ‘a travesty of justice’.

8. Don King

Don KingDon King, the man responsible for promoting some of the biggest names in boxing – from Muhammad Ali to Mike Tyson – has always been a controversial figure.

He has been investigated for possible connections to organized crime and accused by many high-profile boxers of cheating them out of large sums of money. But the most extreme evidence of King’s shady goings-on has to be the fact that he killed two men in separate incidents.

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The first he allegedly killed in self-defense, when the man was trying to break into one of King’s gambling houses. This was ruled as a ‘justifiable homicide’. However, he was then convicted of second-degree murder in 1966 for stomping to death an employee who owed him money.

King served just under four years in prison for this, after the court reduced his conviction to ‘nonnegligent manslaughter’.

7. Jayson Williams

Jayson WilliamsIn the 1990’s American professional basketball player Jayson Williams looked like he was on course for a glittering career. He’d been offered a six-year, $90 million contract with the New Jersey Nets and played in the 1998 All-Star Game. But in 1999 a severe leg injury brought Williams’ career to an abrupt halt and everything went downhill from there.


Less than three years later, Williams was showing a group of people around his New Jersey estate and reportedly ‘playing’ with a shotgun, when the weapon fired and killed his limousine driver, Costa ‘Gus’ Christofi.

He then attempted to cover up the killing, asking a friend to dispose of the clothes he’d been wearing at the time. Williams eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to serve 5 years in prison, although he was given parole after 18 months.

6. Keith Moon

Keith MoonThe Who drummer Keith Moon was known for his destructive behavior, often kicking over his drum kits at concerts and – one time – even blowing up his drums with gunpowder live on stage.

But it was an incident that occurred off-stage in January 1970 that proved to be the most destructive act of his career, and one which haunted him for the rest of his life.

Moon and his friend-slash-bodyguard Neil Boland had been at an English pub when a fight broke out and he raced to his car to escape. In the chaos, Moon hit Boland with his car, killing him.

Although the death was ruled to be an accident, Moon was charged with driving without a license or insurance, as well as being under the influence of alcohol.

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5. Felicia Pearson

Felicia PearsonFelicia ‘Snoop’ Pearson, an American actor, and rapper is best known for playing a character of the same name on The Wire, but success didn’t come easy for her.

Pearson grew up in a foster home and worked as a drug dealer from the age of 11. Aged 14, she was convicted of second-degree murder for shooting a girl dead during a fight. She was sentenced to two eight-year terms but was released on good behavior after six and a half.

Pearson’s life then changed for the better when she met The Wire star Michael K. Williams at a club in Baltimore. He invited her to meet the show’s producers, who eventually created a role for her, and she went on to appear in three seasons of the show.

But sadly Pearson fell back into crime in 2011, when she was arrested on drug charges and sentenced to a suspended sever-year prison term.


4. Brandy Norwood

Brandy NorwoodAmerica’s Got Talent judge, Brandy Norwood, sold over 40 million records worldwide. But, like her cousin Snoop Dogg, her career success has a dark shadow over it. This is because in 2006 she was involved in a car accident that took the life of a 38-year-old mother of two, Awatef Aboudihaj.

Norwood had been driving on a freeway at 65 miles per hour and didn’t notice that the cars ahead of her had slowed down. This resulted in her crashing into Aboudihaj’s car, which had braked suddenly in front of her.

Norwood did not face any charges for death by dangerous driving, as there was insufficient evidence that she was to blame. However, the victim’s family did file multiple wrongful death lawsuits against the star, which were settled for undisclosed amounts.

3. Sid Vicious

Sid ViciousSex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious certainly lived up to his stage name when in 1978 he brutally stabbed his girlfriend Nancy Spungen to death.

Vicious, born John Simon Ritchie, claimed that he had woken up from a drugged stupor to find Spungen on the bathroom floor of their hotel room, having bled to death. However, it later emerged that Vicious had bought the knife identified as the murder weapon, and he was arrested and charged with her killing.

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Vicious eventually admitted that he had stabbed Spungen during a fight, but argued that he hadn’t meant to kill her. Struggling with guilt, Vicious attempted suicide on numerous occasions while out on bail and finally died of a heroin overdose in 1979.

2. Oscar Pistorius

Oscar PistoriusBack in 2012 Oscar Pistorius was at the top of the athletics world. The South African sprinter was a Paralympics superstar, and at the London games, he became the first double-leg amputee ever to participate in the Olympics.

Then, on Valentine’s Day 2013, the shocking news broke that Pistorius had fatally shot his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, through the bathroom door at his home in Pretoria, South Africa.

Pistorius claimed that he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder and was devastated to learn that she had been on the receiving end of the shots he fired. At his trial the following year, Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide, for which he received a five-year prison sentence.

However, in November 2014, the prosecution asked for an appeal, which overturned the culpable homicide verdict and instead saw him convicted of murder. On 6th July 2016, his sentence was extended to six years for murder.

1. Caitlyn Jenner

Caitlyn JennerRetired Olympian and TV personality Caitlyn Jenner had a colossally eventful 2015. In June 2015, Jenner – previously known as Bruce – came out as a trans woman, having struggled with gender dysphoria since childhood.

But, just a few months earlier, she had been through a horrific incident, when she was involved in a fatal multiple-vehicle collision in California.


The crash saw Jenner’s SUV running into the car of Kim Howe, an animal rights activist and actress, who died at the scene. Four others were also injured in the crash.

Prosecutors didn’t file criminal charges against Jenner, but another driver involved in the pile-up did sue her for more than $25,000, claiming that she had incurred expenses and loss of earnings due to the incident.

About Norman Anthony Balberan

I am a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy graduate turned full-time web developer and designer. Although my professional background is in pharmacy and tech, I have a passion for writing and am excited to share my insights and thoughts through my blog. I write about various topics that I am knowledgeable and passionate about, and I hope to engage and connect with my readers through my writing.



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