5 (Unsolved) Cases Where Celebrities Mysteriously Died

Not every puzzle can be solved. That is why many murder cases are shelved without the next of kin ever getting an answer to their questions. Sometimes the investigations resume years or even decades later – as is the case now with rapper Tupac Shakur. Here are five prominent examples where the story just doesn’t seem quite right.

On March 9, 1997, just six months after Tupac Shakur’s murder, New York hip-hop icon Biggie Smalls was shot dead in Los Angeles. After attending a party, he was hit by four shots from another car at a red light. Although he was transported to the nearest hospital and operated on, the rapper succumbed to his injuries and passed away at just 24 years old.

The general public believed at the time that the “West Coast” had retaliated for Tupac’s murder, for which they saw Biggie responsible. At that time, there was an explosive climate between the two coasts, both of which wanted to make a name for themselves with their own interpretation of rap. After the death of his friend Tupac, who had become an enemy, Biggie thought it was important to unite the two fronts and make peace – he also confirmed this publicly in interviews.

Although, or perhaps because, no arrests have ever been made, there are some theories about who could be behind the attack. One name keeps popping up: Marion “Suge Knight”, the co-founder of the music label “Death Row Records”, which also included Tupac.

He allegedly had relationships with corrupt Los Angeles Police Department officers. And there’s a theory that he used his contacts at the time to have Biggie killed by an officer during a drive-by shooting. There is also a rumor that the shots were aimed at Sean Combs, better known locally as P. Diddy – as he owned the East Coast label Bad Boy Records and was therefore in direct competition with Death Row Records.

It has been proven that Suge Knights Veste is not white: he was convicted of assault in the late 1990s and again got into trouble with the police for drugs and physical assault. In 2018, he was sentenced to 28 years in prison for running over two actors during the filming of “Straight Outta Compton” – one of them died instantly, the other had to be taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Natalie Wood was a Hollywood actress who starred alongside James Dean in the 1950s drama Rebel Without a Cause. Her life came to a tragic end. She was found dead on the water on November 29, 1981 in a cove not far from her yacht. The missing inflatable boat belonging to the yacht was also found on the beach. She had traveled to Santa Catalina Island for a boating weekend with her husband Robert Wagner and fellow actor Christopher Walken. On the evening of November 28, the gentlemen noticed that Natalie was missing – she was found the next morning. Investigators determined accidental drowning and hypothermia as the cause of death and theorized that she had tried to get into the inflatable boat while intoxicated, fell into the water, and then drowned.

However, this theory made little sense in the eyes of Natalie’s sister, as Natalie would have been afraid of the water and therefore never thought about getting into a dinghy alone at night. A former intern who worked at the research office at the time of the investigation also said Natalie’s body was bruised. Since these could indicate she had been pushed into the water, he asked his superiors. They would only have replied, “Some things are better left unsaid.”

And there is further evidence that Natalie’s death could not have been an accident: the captain, who was also present, is said to have drunkenly confessed to her sister on the phone that the couple had quarreled. Wagner is said to have pushed his wife overboard and said, “Leave her there, she should be taught a lesson.” In 2011, the captain went public saying he believed Wagner was responsible for Natalie’s death. The case was reopened that same year, and in 2013 the cause of death was officially changed from “accidental drowning” to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” In 2018, it was finally announced that Robert Wagner was “a person of interest” in the case – but there have been no arrests so far.

American musician Jimi Hendrix was known for his guitar work, flashy outfits and world hits like “Little Wing”. And because you’re a member of the sad “Club 27” – one of those performers who died at the tender age of 27. Officials said in September 1970 that Hendrix had choked on his vomit in a hotel in London’s Notting Hill after overdosing. But how it got to this point in the first place, those who were there disagree.

His last hours cannot be reconstructed without a doubt. The musician spent September 17 with his girlfriend, German ex-skater Monika Dannemann. She said they went shopping together and returned to the hotel later in the evening where Hendrix took a bath. She then drove him to a party where Hendrix, who was known for his drug use, allegedly took an amphetamine pill. A short time later he returned to the hotel, ate a tuna sandwich, drank wine and then fell asleep early in the morning with the help of sleeping pills. When Dannemann went to buy cigarettes in the morning, the guitarist slept peacefully – when she came back to the hotel and tried to wake him up, he stopped responding. Instead of making the emergency call directly, Dannemann calls one of Hendrix’s friends to explain the situation to him. He then asked her to urgently call an ambulance. When rescuers arrived, the door was open, Hendrix was dead and Dannemann was gone. Her description of the fateful morning changed again and again in the years that followed.

Dr John Bannister was on duty at the hospital that morning and remembers that by the time the emergency services arrived Hendrix must have been dead for some time – and that he was covered in red wine and vomit. “The amount of wine found in his lungs and stomach is abnormal,” the doctor said. And his clothes and hair were soaked with red wine. However, according to his friends, Hendrix was not a big fan of red wine. Also mysterious is that the autopsy found a low blood alcohol level at the time of death. There is also the somewhat wild theory that he was forced to wash down the overdose of pills with wine or that the wine was even used to make Hendrix waterboard.

His manager Mike Jeffery is said to be responsible for Hendrix’s death. Jeffrey would have ties to criminal gangs. When Jeffrey feared that Hendrix would change management and expose his criminal activities, he had him killed, or so the theory goes. More than 50 years after the rock legend’s death, his fans are still speculating whether it was an accident, suicide or even murder. In 1992, the matter was raised again when pressure came from Hendrix’s ex-girlfriend, Kathy Etchingham. As the investigations were unsuccessful, the proceedings were discontinued in 1993.

Richey Edwards was the guitarist for the band Manic Street Preachers – and also a member of Club 27. On February 1, 1995, just a day before he was supposed to fly to the US with his band to promote their new album, the musician disappeared. He checked out of his London hotel and was spotted several times over the next two weeks – once by a fan in Newport and once by a taxi driver who allegedly drove him to Bristol. His car was found near the Severn Bridge, which has become notorious for suicides. His found car and his mental instability – he suffered from depression – led the public to conclude that Edwards had committed suicide. Although his body was never found, his parents officially declared him dead in 2008.

In the years since, Edwards has reportedly been spotted occasionally. Sometimes in Goa, sometimes in the Canary Islands – but there are also those who claim that Elvis or Tupac is still alive. What makes this case particularly mysterious is the fact that, according to his sister, he was intrigued by the idea of ​​disappearances. Years earlier he had talked about faking his own death.

Brian Jones was co-founder and lead guitarist of the British cult band The Rolling Stones. On 2 July 1969, also aged 27, he was found dead in the swimming pool at his home in East Sussex. The Guardian reported the following day. In the article, Janet Lawson tells how Jones invited her and her boyfriend, Frank Thorogood, to his house. Thorogood was a master builder and was working on the modernization of Jones’ house at the time. So Thorogood and Lawson joined Jones and his girlfriend Anna Wohlin – the couple had been drinking and Jones was already a little unsteady on his feet. Jones would also have taken sleeping pills. He went swimming in his pool regardless of his condition. When Lawson goes to check on him moments later, she sees him at the bottom of the pool. His three guests get Brian Jones out of the pool and try to resuscitate him with chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

His autopsy report gave “drowning” as the cause of death – later this was supplemented by “accidental death”. In the years that followed, speculation arose as to whether Jones had been killed. Rumor has it that Frank Thorogood, who was the last person to see Jones alive, killed him. Apparently Thorogood wanted Jones to pay him more for his work on the house and the two got into an argument that ended in Thorogood drowning Jones in a trough. The master builder is said to have thrown the body into the pool to make it look like an accident. A friend of Thorogood has claimed in a documentary on the subject that Thorogood confessed to the murder on his deathbed.

Despite reopening the case three times, Sussex Police maintain their conclusion that Jones drowned accidentally.