Top 10 Celebrity Crime Stories
Have you ever wondered what were the top celebrity crime stories? Well now thanks to ‘TVone’ we are going to give you the list of the top ten. All of these cases broke news heavy in the media and some of these celebrities made it out, while others went to jail. Some of these cases will be featured on TVone’s ‘Celebrity Crime Files’ which airs on Monday’s at 10PM EST.
10. Chris Brown Arrested for Abuse
Where once Ike and Tina ruled as the best known dysfunctional couple, along came Chris Brown and Rihanna – two budding pop stars who were wildly in love. So wild that on February 8, 2009 word came that the couple had come to blows. Then Brown turned himself in to the police. Then the shocking photos of Rihanna’s bruised face. Then Brown was dropped from multiple sponsors.
9.Puff Daddy Club Shooting
n 1999, the celebrity “It Couple” was Puff Daddy and J.Lo. Puffy was still dominating the airwaves and was gearing up for the unveiling of his new star, rapper Shyne, the assumed heir to Biggie Smalls lyrical empire. That is until Dec. 27, 1999 when gunfire rang out at a New York club where all three were partying.
While Combs was arrested but ultimately cleared of charges, Shyne was not and found himself in jail for 10 years. And while many expected that Shyne’s 2009 release would result in some retributive beef, the two were later photographed together – seemingly happy.
8. Jennifer Hudson Family Murder
October 24, 2008 was a horrible day. Singer/actress Jennifer Hudson, in the middle of recording an album and fresh off the high of an Oscar nomination for Dreamgirls, woke up to find her mother and brother had been killed and her young nephew was missing. Three days later, her nephew was found, shot to death in an abandoned SUV. All the evidence pointed to Hudson’s former brother-in-law, William Balfour who ultimately got three life sentences plus 120 years in prison.
7. Mike Tyson Rape Charge
Oh sure, the face tattoos and Hangover cameos are fun but in 1992, Mike Tyson was a different guy. After being humiliated two years earlier with a crushing defeat by Buster Douglass, February 10, 1992 saw Tyson sentenced to six years in prison for raping 18-year old beauty pageant winner Desiree Washington. While some were shocked, many pointed to his admittedly rocky marriage to TV star Robin Givens who hinted that he beat her, as possible seeds of his destruction.
6. Rae Carruth Murder Charge
Few celebrity crimes were as shocking as when police found Rae Carruth, a first-round NFL draft pick, hiding in the trunk of a car after running from murder charges. On November 16, 1999 his pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams, had been brutally shot while following him in her car. Carruth fled the scene as Adams, dying, called 911 and indicated Carruth was involved. Though Adams died a month later, her son Chancellor survived – suffering cerebral palsy from his mother’s wounds. Carruth was charged with conspiracy to murder and sentenced to almost 19 years in prison.
5. Biggie Smalls’ Murder
Just one year after his former friend and East Coast/West Coast rap rival Tupac was gunned down, Biggie Smalls (Christopher Wallace) met a similar fate. Just weeks before the superstar was to release his much-anticipated follow up album to his already classic Ready to Die, Biggie was shot to death at a stop light on March 9, 1997 in Los Angeles. Despite multiple lawsuits and questioned involvement from the police, Biggie’s murder has yet to be solved.
4. R. Kelly Trial
Perhaps we should have seen this one coming. After marrying and quickly annulling with singer Aaliyah (she was 15, he was 27) in 1994, R. Kelly was allegedly found, on videotape, having sex – and other things – to an under-aged girl that that really pissed some people off. Charged in 2002 with 14 counts of sex with a minor, Kelly’s trial was delayed six years when he was ultimately found not guilty.
3. Tupac Shakur’s Murder
Some of you may find this hard to believe, but Tupac is dead. To be fair, it was hard to believe in 1996 when the news first hit. The rapper had ALREADY been shot five times and went on to release four more albums. But on the night of September 7, 1996, Tupac met his grisly end after being gunned down in Las Vegas after a Mike Tyson fight. Suspicions grew as Tupac’s label-owner, and known thug, Suge Knight escaped with only a flesh wound while Tupac was hit several times. Throw in Tupac’s eerie mentions of his death on previous songs and an album that mentions the Illuminati, the rapper achieved ever-lasting Elvis status despite autopsy photos.
2. Michael Jackson Child Molestation Trial
Even during the Thriller days, we knew Michael was a bit, well, odd. But in 2003, when he talked of sharing his bed with children during a prime-time interview, America gave the Michael the collective side-eye. Soon, the King got popped for “lewd acts” with a child and was at the center of a highly-publicized trial that ran for the first six months of 2005. Ultimately, Michael was found “not guilty” though the stigma followed him to his death.
1. O.J. Simpson Murder Trial
Did you have any doubt that O.J. wouldn’t top the list? Like any great reality show, it spawned catch phrases (“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit”), made celebs of those who didn’t deserve it (we’re looking at you Mark Furhman) and even had a Kardashian (Kim’s dad Robert was one of O.J.’s lawyers). The surprise finale saw O.J. go free, a decision that split audiences along color lines as centuries of racial injustice came bubbling up in break-rooms around the country. Sadly, what is often forgotten is that two people brutally lost their life and their killer has yet to be caught.
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