Celebrities Who Were Killed by Their Own Fans

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The list of celebrities who were killed by their own fans is thankfully short, but it’s happened way more times than it should have done.

Celebrities are in the public eye and as such attract a lot of attention from the media and public. It’s no surprise some fans become obsessed with their idols.

Sometimes, that obsession tips over into violence and even murder. Here is a list of celebrities who were killed by their own fans.

Though we hesitate to call them real fans.

Dimebag Darrell

Dimebag Darrell

Dimebag’s real name was Darrell Lance Abbott, a guitarist for heavy metal band Pantera, and later Damageplan. It was at a Damageplan gig in Columbus, Ohio, on 8th December 2004, not long after Pantera split up, when fan Nathan Gale charged onto the stage with gun.

He shot Dimebag and other people on the stage multiple times, killing Dimebag, his head of security Jeffrey Thompson, and another fan Nathan Bray. Gale’s motive was that he believed Dimebag had caused Pantera to split up. He also believed they stole lyrics from him, which they didn’t.

John Lennon

When we think of celebrities who were killed by their own fans, the murder of John Lennon is right at the top. On 8th December 1980, exactly 24 years before the murder of Dimebag Darrell, former Beatles star Lennon was gunned down by fan Mark David Chapman. Mark waited outside John’s residence in New York City, and when he emerged with his wife Yoko Ono, Mark opened fire.

Mark had planned the killing for many months as he was jealous of Lennon’s lifestyle following The Beatles splitting up. When Lennon claimed The Beatles were more popular than Jesus, Mark wasn’t having any of it and planned the murder. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison and has never been released.

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Christina Grimmie

Celebrities Who Were Killed by Their Own Fans

Christina was an American Singer, YouTuber, and actress who shot to fame after being a contestant on season six of The Voice. On 10th June 2016, aged 22, she performed at a concert in Orlando, Florida. After the concert, she went to sign autographs for her fans.

27-year-old fan Kevin James Loibl was waiting in the autograph line. When Christina opened her arms to hug him, he pulled out a gun and shot her three times, once in the head and twice in the chest. Kevin killed himself immediately after with a bullet to the head. He took his motive to the grave.

Rebecca Schaeffer

Celebrities Who Were Killed by Their Own Fans

Rebecca was an American actress and model who landed a role in the CBS comedy, My Sister Sam. By the time she was 18, she had many fans, one of them was Robert John Bardo who became obsessed and began stalking her. He would follow her to studios, write letters, and turn up at her home in Los Angeles.

On 18th July 1989, after three years of stalking Rebecca, Robert went to her home in West Hollywood and shot her in the chest at point-blank range. Rebecca died of her wound later that night. Robert was caught and later sentenced to life in prison without parole.

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Selena

A Latina singer whose real name was Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. She was on the road to superstardom in the early 1990s with the release of her first English-speaking album, ‘Dreaming of You’. On 31st March 1995, she went to a Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas, to meet the tempestuous director of her official fan club.

Yolanda Saldívar had been stealing money from the accounts and had recently been fired. Selena demanded Yolanda hand over the fan club records so they could investigate and get the money back to fans who had been cheated. But Yolanda shot Selena in the back who died of the wound shortly after. Yolanda was later convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Know anymore celebrities who were killed by their own fans? Add them in the comments below.

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