Post by Joanna on Sept 12, 2014 2:39:40 GMT -5
Phil Spector at trial in 2008
20 Infamous American Murders
One thing is certain, murder captures the attention of almost everyone. From multiple to single murders, some are so infamous that even those who aren’t true crime afficionados recognize either the name of the killer or his/her victim, or victims. Following are 20 of the most well-known murders of all time:
Travis Alexander’s murder was brutal. Jodi Arias, his ex-girlfriend, discovered he was going on vacation with another woman and became extremely upset. On June 4, 2008, she went to Alexander’s home and after the two had sex, Ms. Arias killed her lover in the shower. He was stabbed 29 times, shot in the head and his throat was slit from ear-to-ear. Ms. Arias is currently on trial for murder.
Bonnie Lee Bakley was married to actor Robert Blake and on May 4, 2001, Blake shot his wife as she was sitting in his car following dinner at Vitello’s Restaurant in Los Angeles. Blake was charged with her murder, but in 2005, a jury found him not guilty. However, Bakely’s children won a wrongful death suit they filed against Blake.
On June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children, ages 6 months through 7 years, in the bathtub of the family home in Houston, Texas. Although suffering from severe postpartum depression/psychosis and other problems, she was convicted and sentenced to prison. In 2006, she was retried and found not guilty by reason of insanity. Mrs. Yates is still confined in a mental institution.
Lana Clarkson, actress and fashion model, was fatally shot by songwriter and producer Phil Spector February 3, 2003, in Spector’s Beverly Hills mansion. Spector was convicted of second degree murder in 2009.
Laci Peterson, who was 8½ months pregnant, disappeared from her home in Modesto, California, December 24, 2002. In April 2003, her body and that of her fetus were recovered from San Francisco Bay, where her husband, Scott Peterson, had been fishing on the day of his wife’s disappearance. Scott Peterson was convicted of Laci’s murder and that of their unborn child. He was sentenced to death and remains on California’s death row.
Chandra Ann Levy (above), an FBI intern in Washington, D.C., went missing May 1, 2001. Investigation revealed she had been having an affair with married Congressman Gary Condit of California. In 2002, skeletal remains identified as those of Ms. Levy were discovered in Rock Creek Park. In 2009, Ingmar Guandique, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was arrested and later convicted of the murder and sentenced to 60 years in prison. Condit lost his bid for reelection and faded into obscurity.
Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot and killed July 15, 1997, after returning to his Miami Beach home following a walk, by serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who committed suicide before he could be arrested.
Child Beauty Queen JonBenét Ramsey was found dead December 25, 1996, in the basement of her home in Boulder, Colorado. She had been tied, strangled and struck on the head. Her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey were the prime suspects, but they were officially cleared of the charges in 2008. JonBenet’s murder remains unsolved.
On September 7, 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Six days later, he died. His murder remains unsolved.
Selena Quintanilla Perez was an up-and-coming Latina pop singer whose career and life were cut short. Ms. Perez discovered that Yolanda Saldívar, the manager of her fan club, was stealing money and fired the woman. On March 31, 1995, she arranged to meet Yolanda at the Days Inn hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas, for the purpose of obtaining financial records. During the meeting, Ms. Salvidar became extremely angry and shot and killed Selena as she attempted to leave.
The West Memphis Three refers to Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin who were charged and convicted of the May 5, 1993, mutilation and murders of three 8-year-old boys: James M. Moore, Steven E. Branch and Christopher M. Byers in West Memphis, Arkansas. The three young men were sentenced to prison and after serving almost 20 years, they entered Alford pleas in 2011 and were subsequently released. The murders of the three young boys are still unsolved.
The Menendez Brothers, Erik and Lyle, murdered their parents José and Kitty Menendez in their Los Angeles home, August 20, 1989. The trial was broadcast on Court TV and the Menendez brothers were both sentenced to life in prison.
The life and crimes of Aileen Wuornos (above) were chronicled in the movie, Monster, starring Charlize Theron. On November 30, 1989, Wuornos shot and killed Richard Mallory in Volusia County, Florida. Before she was apprehended, she killed six other men – all in Florida. Her final victim was Walter Jeno Antonio, whom she shot and killed November 19, 1990. Wuornos was tried and convicted of Mallory’s murder in 1992. She was put to death by lethal injection October 9, 2002.
Ted Bundy. On January 31, 1974, Lynda Ann Healy, a student at the University of Washington in Seattle, disappeared. Bundy continued to kill and is believed to have murdered at least 30 young women and girls. His last victim, Kimberly Leach, was murdered in Florida February 9, 1978. Bundy was apprehended, tried, found guilty and executed in Florida’s electric chair January 24, 1989.
Beatle John Lennon was shot outside New York City’s Dakota Apartments December 8, 1980, by crazed former Beatles fan Mark David Chapman.
The Zodiac Killer was a notorious serial killer who murdered several people in northern California beginning December 20, 1968 – some attribute the October 30, 1966, murder of Cheri Jo Bates to The Zodiac – through October 11, 1969. The killer's name “Zodiac” comes from letters that he sent to the press in the Bay Area. The Zodiac was never identified and his murders remain unsolved.
Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray was arrested, charged and convicted of the murder, but many, including some of King’s relatives, have never believed Ray, who died in prison April 23, 1998, was guilty.
At 12:30 p.m., Friday, November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas. Avowed communist Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested, but was shot and killed by Jack Ruby two days later. Although The Warren Commission determined Oswald acted alone, the American public as well as JFK’s family members rejected the findings and to date, the president’s assassination has never been solved.
The gruesomely mutilated body of Elizabeth Short, aka “The Black Dahlia,” was discovered the morning of January 15, 1947, at Leimert Park in Los Angeles. Her murder remains unsolved.
Sources: Regina Phelange, RantLifestyle, September 7, 2014; and Strange Deaths.
