That day, Versace had just returned home from a walk when Cunanan approached him outside his mansion and shot him twice in the back of the head.
The criminal fled the scene and evaded capture for several days until being found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot.
The attack, which took place on February 12, 1976, took place right after Mineo was leaving a rehearsal for a play and was walking to his car.
The attacker, later identified as Lionel Ray Williams, a 19-year-old man with a history of criminal behavior, stabbed Mineo multiple times in the back.
While it was initially theorized that the murder was a hate crime motivated by Mineo’s bisexuality, it was later confirmed to have been a robbery attempt with no personal motives behind it.
Williams was arrested and convicted of second-degree murder, being sentenced to life in prison.
The actor settled in Arizona after his career slowed down. Becoming a local celebrity, Crane used his status to become a ladies’ man, being allegedly involved in a series of extramarital affairs.
John Henry Carpenter, a former acquaintance and a part-time electronics specialist, was the prime suspect, having been involved in recording Crane’s sexual encounters. He was arrested in 1994, 16 years after the murder.
Lack of evidence linking Carpenter to the crime meant he was never convicted, remaining innocent until his death in 1998.
The role echoed Tara’s difficult upbringing and real-life ties to gang culture, an aspect of her life that ended up causing her death when she and her boyfriend were shot in a parked car.
The incident was believed to be gang-related, though she had been reportedly trying to distance herself from that life to pursue her acting career.
One of the gunmen, Damien Watts, was charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder on March 1, 2006. He was convicted to five consecutive life sentences without parole in 2009.
Marred by conflicting accounts, the circumstances leading to his death remain unclear. It’s known that he was shot by the manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California.
The manager, Bertha Franklin, said she shot the singer in self-defense. Cooke had allegedly brought a woman, Elisa Boyer, against her will to the motel to have an intimate encounter.
According to Boyer, the singer attempted to r*pe her and managed to escape from the room after the singer went to use the bathroom. She left the motel after alerting the manager of what had transpired.
Boyer’s testimony was instrumental in the Los Angeles Police Department ruling Cooke’s death a justifiable homicide, with no charges being brought against the motel owner.
