All celebrities have their fans. And some of them are not just passionate, but literally obsessed with their idol. Sometimes such feelings become fatal, as fans get angry at the same person they admire.
Our selection contains the tragic stories of celebrities who were killed by their loyal fans.
7. Jesse James
This criminal became one of the most famous folk heroes of America. At a young age, James was a member of the Confederate Army. But when the US Civil War ended, Jesse did not want to return to civilian life. Together with his brother Frank, he gathered a gang, which became known as the James gang.
The adventures of Jesse were romanticized by the American public, which made him the American counterpart to Robin Hood.
Robert “Bob” Ford was a fan of Jesse and soon met his idol. After a failed robbery, the James gang needed new recruits, and Robert and his brother Charles joined her. The Ford brothers allegedly participated in only one train robbery.
Once Robert fell into the hands of the police, and the authorities offered him a deal: a complete forgiveness for the crimes committed and a reward for catching Jesse James dead or alive.
Robert returned to the gang of Jesse James, and shot the famous bandit in the back. The Ford brothers were arrested, convicted, sentenced to be hanged, and pardoned on the same day.
6. Darrell Abbott
The famous guitar player, known to fans and friends as the Deimbag, was shot dead by his fan on stage during a concert.
Nathan Gale, a 25-year-old former Marine, suffered from schizophrenia. He was obsessed with the band Pantera, which Darrell had previously played, and accused Abbott of her breakup.
When Darrell began his performance, Nathan shot him six times at point blank range. Some eyewitnesses claimed that he shouted "you broke up with Panther" before firing. Then he started shooting at the crowd, killing at least two people. As a result, Gail was shot dead by a policeman, who later received the title of best police officer of 2005 from the National Arms Association for his actions.
5. Rebecca Schaeffer
Young, beautiful Rebecca was one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood in the late 80s of the twentieth century. She was killed by Robert John Bardot, who became a fan of Rebecca after watching the television series "My Sister Sam." He began to write letters to her, and she answered them.
When Bardo saw the last movie with Rebecca, where she appeared in a sex scene with another man, he became furious. He paid a private investigator $ 250 to find the address of the actress, and killed her after a short conversation.
4. Selena Quintanilla-Perez
The singer, songwriter, actress, model and fashion designer, who was called the “Techno-style Madonna,” was shot dead by the president of one of her fan clubs.
Selena's popularity was huge in Mexico, and her fan base in America was growing steadily. Thanks to her spectacular appearance, unique sense of style and vocal talents, 23-year-old Selena was on her way to becoming an international superstar.
The woman who pulled the trigger was called Yolanda Saldivar. She was a friend and one of Selena's biggest fans.
Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla, told reporters that Yolanda was fired from the family boutique three weeks before the murder. There was not enough money in the store, and Selena demanded that some financial documents be returned. The women agreed to meet at a motel in Corpus Christi, Texas, where Yolanda shot Selena.
Selena's posthumous album, entitled Dreaming of You (1995), debuted at number one of the top 200 best music albums in the United States according to Billboard magazine. None of the Latin American artists previously managed to complete this feat.
3. Andres Escobar
Everyone knows how emotionally football fans can respond to both victories and losses of their favorite team. They are literally ready to kill some football players, as happened with the captain and defender of the Colombian national team Andres Escobar.
During the 1994 FIFA World Cup, he accidentally scored a goal into his own goal, which is why the Colombian team lost to the US team and dropped out of the World Cup.
Ten days later, Andres was shot dead by Umberto Munoz, who shot 6 bullets at a football player, and after each shot he shouted “Goal!”.
2. Christina Grimmy
The wonderful voice of young Christina secured her a place in the sixth season of the American show The Voice (an analogue of the Russian show "Voice"). She gathered a large number of fans on YouTube, releasing covers of popular songs by Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and other artists.
After performing at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Cristina was shot dead while signing autographs. The killer, Kevin James Label, according to his only friend, Corey Dennington, could spend hours watching Grimm videos on YouTube and following her activities on social networks. He underwent eye surgery, implanted his hair, whitened his teeth and lost weight for the sake of Grimmy.
No one knows exactly why Loibl decided to kill his idol, if he was so keen on her. He probably realized that she would never reciprocate.
1. John Lennon
John Lennon's name first comes to mind when it comes to celebrity killings by fans.
The world was shocked when John Lennon, one of the members of the cult group The Beatles, was shot dead on December 8, 1980. That day, the musician was returning from the recording studio with his wife Yoko Ono. When he got out of his limousine, killer Mark David Chapman shot him several times in the back.
Lennon was taken to Roosevelt Hospital in a police car, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Chapman was an obsessed Beatles fan. He even asked Lennon to sign the cover of the Double Fantasy album a few hours before his assassination.
Chempen explained Lennon’s murder by his desire to assert himself and draw public attention to himself.
