Nothing grabs a headline more than the death of a celebrity, especially a murdered celebrity, and the shocking crime scene photos that saturate the media when it happens.
When we think about celebrities we think about the lavish and exciting lives they lead. They seem untouchable and above the worries that ordinary people like us have.
We forget sometimes that just because they lead such glamorous lives, they are not completely immune to the tragedies we endure. Yes, celebrities face tragedies as well, and there are many gory crime scene photos to prove it.
Sometimes, these murdered celebrities were victims of the very fans that worshipped them. At other times, their family members are responsible for their tragic deaths.
Here are the shocking crime scene photos of some well-known and beloved murdered celebrities.
1. John Lennon's Murder
On December 8, 1980, the world was shocked when a fan of the famous ex-Beatle John Lennon shot and killed him. The musical legend was killed execution-style outside the gates of his and his wife Yoko's Manhattan apartment, The Dakota, at about 10:50 pm.
Chapman shot him 4 times in the back and as Lennon lay bleeding, Chapman remained at the scene reading the novel Catcher in the Rye as John's wife Yoko Ono screamed for help. One of the most chilling crime scene photos is John Lennon signing a book for Mark David Chapman just hours before his murder.
At 11:00 pm that night, John Lennon was pronounced DOA at Roosevelt Hospital. Mark David Chapman is serving a life sentence at the Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, NY. He has been denied parole 11 times as of August 2022.
2. Marvin Gaye
Soul Legend Marvin Gaye endured a childhood of abuse at the hands of his father Marvin Senior who was a Pentecostal Reverend.
As Marvin Gaye Jr.'s career took off and he became a Motown legend, his father's jealousy and resentment of Marvin Jr. grew. Marvin Sr. thought Marvin Jr. was leading an ungodly life and their relationship worsened as Marvin Jr.'s success heightened.
On the afternoon of April 1, 1984, Marvin Sr. was arguing with his wife, the mother of Marvin Jr. at their family home in Los Angeles. Marvin Gaye Jr. intervened in the argument and told his father that he could not talk to his mother like that and punched Marvin Sr. in the face.
Marvin Jr. then retreated to his bedroom and sat down. Marvin Sr. walked into the room and Marvin Jr. was shot by his father twice, one bullet hitting his chest which pierced his heart killing him instantly. Marvin Sr. then approached his lifeless body and fired another shot into his shoulder.
Upon his arrest, Marvin Gay Sr. claimed self-defense and upon making bail returned home to his son's chilling crime scene.
3. Selena Quintanilla-Perez
In 1995 Selena Quintanilla-Perez was at the top of her career. Not only was she a famous singer and songwriter, but she was also a fashion designer Her shocking murder came at the hands of not only a fan but a trusted employee by the name of Yolanda Saldivar who managed Selena's Fashion Boutiques and was the president of Selina's fan club.
Despite other employees and fan club members complaining about Yolanda, Selena dismissed the complaints and continued to trust Saldivar to run her business. It wasn't until Selena's father discovered that Yolanda was embezzling money from both the boutiques and the fan club which led her to be fired at the beginning of March 1995.
On the fateful day of March 31, 1995, Selena went to the Days Inn Motel in Corpus Christi to meet with Yolanda to retrieve business records that she had been refusing to hand over to Selena.
Saldivar pointed a pistol at Selena and as Selena tried to flee she shot her in the back severing an artery. Selena was critically wounded and made her way to the lobby to call for help while Yolanda Saldivar followed in pursuit screaming that Selena was a bitch. The chilling crime scene photos detail Selena's last steps.
Selena died at 1:05 pm that day at the hospital. After a 10-hour standoff, Yolanda Saldivar was arrested for her murder and is serving a life sentence at the Women's Maximum Security Prison in Gatesville, Texas.
4. Phil Hartman
Phil Harman, one of the most famous stars of the long-running late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live was murdered by his wife Brynn in their Los Angeles home as part of a murder-suicide.
Phil Hartman married Brynn Omdahl in 1987 even though their beginnings were rocky and tumultuous due to her use of drugs and alcohol.
By the late 1990s, their marriage started deteriorating very badly as Brynn who had been in and out of rehab was sinking further and further into a downward spiral of substance abuse. This would lead to the chilling crime scene discovered on May 28th, 1998, and the much chillier crime scene photos that followed.
On the evening of May 27th, after returning home from an evening out, Brynn and Phil argued about Brynn hitting their daughter. Phil told Brynn if she did not stop her destructive behaviors he would be leaving her.
Around 2 am that night, Brynn shot Phil Hartman multiple times in the head and chest. One shot was right between the eyes, he died instantly. Brynn then left their home and went to a friend's house completely drunk and told him what she had done. The friend did not believe that she had done such a thing.
When she sobered up, she decided to drive home and asked her friend to follow her which he did. When they arrived at the home her friend Douglas followed her upstairs to the couple's bedroom where he found the gruesome crime scene and immediately called 911 to report the murder of Phil Hartman.
Friends and police arrived at the scene and the couple's two children were removed from the house while Brynn barricaded herself in the bedroom and sat down on the bed next to Phil's body, called her sister, and then shot herself with the same gun she used to kill her husband.
Their bodies were found lying next to each other on the bed, and people can still see the tragic crime scene photos today.
5. Dominique Dunn
Dominique Dunn, another murdered celebrity who left behind some grisly crime scene photos, was a young actress on the rise to the top. After a role on the popular television drama series Family, she secured the breakthrough role of Dana Freeling in the blockbuster horror film Poltergeist in 1982, which made her a bonafide horror icon.
Dominique met John Thomas Sweeney, a chef, at an upscale Los Angeles restaurant. She moved in with him after only a few weeks of dating. Their relationship went south quickly when he started abusing Dominique. She managed to sneak away from him and put an end to their relationship on September 26, 1982.
Dominique moved in with her mother until John left her home and she was able to return to it. She changed the locks but sadly, that did not keep her safe.
On October 30, 1982, Dominique was at home rehearsing with costar David Packer when Sweeney showed up at her door. Dominque went outside and was strangled to death during an argument with John Thomas Sweeney in the driveway of her Los Angeles home.
Her costar David called 911 as he heard Dominque scream, then the sound of a smack and a loud thud as she hit the ground. He was informed by the police that Dunne's house was out of their jurisdiction.
He went outside and found John Thomas Sweeney standing over the lifeless body of Dominque Dunne at this chilling crime scene.
6. Sharon Tate - One Of The Goriest Crime Scene Photos
One of the most chilling and well-known murdered celebrities is Sharon Tate, and this is evident through her crime scene photos. She was married to Roman Polanksi and eight months pregnant at the time of her murder.
On August 8, 1969, shortly after midnight, members of the Manson Family cult savagely murdered Sharon along with four of her houseguests, coffee heiress Abigail Folger and her boyfriend Wojciech "Voytek" Frykowski, Jay Sebring, and Steven Parent.
Manson cult members Charles "Tex" Watson, Linda Kasabian, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinckel crept into the house and committed the gruesome murders at 10050 Cielo drive.
Sharon Tate was stabbed sixteen times in the back and chest as she begged them to spare her unborn child only for Susan Atkins to start screaming that she did not care about her or her unborn baby.
The other victims suffered gunshot wounds as well as being stabbed and slashed repeatedly.
The next morning, the chilling crime scene was found by the maid arriving for duty. The dead bodies were strewn all around the house and grounds, and many crime scene photos have immortalized this gory scene in the annals of crime history. The word PIG had been painted on the front door in Sharon Tate's blood.
These tragic celebrity murders were shocking, to say the least, and celebrity death photos make them even more horrifying. Their deadly crime scene photos are chilling and forever ingrained in our memories through media reports and photos. Though these celebrity murders happened many many years ago, they still haunt us to this day.
