List of celebrities charged with homicide, loosely ranked by fame and popularity. It may surprise you to learn that several celebrities have been charged with varying degrees of homicide. Famous actors, actresses, musicians, and athletes have all been charged with homicide. Some of these celebs were acquitted, some pled guilty to a lesser charge, and others are serving life sentences.
Who is the most famous person who was charged with homicide? Mark Wahlberg tops our list. The Boogie Nights actor was charged with attempted murder when he was 16 years old. Wahlberg struck two different men with various objects, leaving one man blind in one eye. He ultimately pled guilty to the lesser charge of assault and served 45 days in prison.
Perhaps the most infamous celebrity who was charged with murder is O.J. Simpson. The former NFL player and actor was charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Lyle Goldman. After a much publicized trial, Simpson was found not guilty in 1995.
Are you surprised at how many famous people were charged with homicide? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
27 Celebrities Who Have Been Charged with Murder,
Don King
Boxing promoter Don King was found guilty of second-degree murder in 1966 for beating former employee, Sam Garrett, to death after an argument escalated from Garrett owing King $600. King ran into Garrett at the Manhattan Tap Room, though the confrontation ended in the street outside the bar, with King kicking Garrett's head. King pleaded self defense, and his sentenced was reduced to manslaughter, serving less than four years in prison for the crime.
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Roscoe Arbuckle
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was charged with murder for the death of Virginia Rappe in 1921 from peritonitis. Some believed he squashed her to death with his weight while raping her at the 3-day rager. Others believe he raped her with a foreign object, causing the peritonitis.
After going through three trials and making headlines of the newspapers every day, Arbuckle was finally found not guilty.
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Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder when he was 16 years old. Wahlberg struck two Vietnamese men with various objects while yelling a racial epithet, leaving one man blind in one eye. He ultimately pled guilty to assault and served 45 days in prison.
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Michael Jace
The Shield actor Michael Jace was arrested in May 2014 in Los Angeles in the fatal shooting of his wife, April Jace, in front of their two children. Neighbors called 911 after they heard gunshots. Michael himself also called 911 to report the murder. According to Jace, he was upset with this wife and believed her to be cheating on him. At trial, he pleaded not guilty and claimed that he was only trying to inflict pain by shooting her in the leg. Despite his claims, he was convicted of second-degree murder by a jury in 2016.
Oscar Pistorius
In February 2013, Olympian Oscar Pistorius was charged in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius admits to firing four shots through a bathroom door but claims that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder. Defense witness and forensic psychiatrist Dr. Merryll Vorster testified that Pistorius suffers from an anxiety order, prompting a court order for him to have a 30-day examination. The trial resumed June 30, 2014.
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O. J. Simpson
O.J. Simpson was charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Lyle Goldman. After a much publicized trial, Simpson was found not guilty in 1995.
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Phil Spector
In 2008, record producer Phil Spector was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2003 shooting death of Lana Clarkson. Additionally, he was found guilty of illegally discharging a firearm, even though Spector's lawyer argued that Spector only witnessed Clarkson commit suicide. He was sentenced to at least 18 years in prison.
This had been the second trial for this case; the first ended in a hung jury in 2007. Spector had lived nearly the past six years out on bail before the ax finally fell in 2008.
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Robert Blake
In 2002, Robert Blake was arrested and charged in connection with his wife Bonnie Lee Bakley's 2001 murder after her body was found in North Hollywood with a bullet hole through the head. Blake denied all charges and in 2005, he was found not guilty of the crime. However, he was found liable for her death in a wrongful death lawsuit and had to pay $30 million. Afterwards, Blake filed for bankruptcy.
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Sid Vicious
Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious was arrested and charged with murder in the stabbing death of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, in 1979 in New York City after the band had broken up. Vicious was found in the hallway in a completely delusional drug-fog, where he admitted to killing Spungen. He died only seven weeks later while out on bail when he attended a party and overdosed on heroin.
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Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg, along with his bodyguard, were charged with murder for the shooting death of Phillip Woldemariam, a rival gang member, in 1993. Snoop's bodyguard was acquitted immediately as he shot Woldemariam out of self defense, but Snoop stay involved in the case until he was acquitted of the charges in 1996.
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