Recently, 1kBabyOilBottles asked, “Which celebrity death do you find suspicious?” and people had a ton of answers that have me questioning everything. Here are some of the deaths mentioned — and the fishy factors causing speculation.
1.
In 2018, Kim Porter, who shared three kids with Sean Combs (aka Diddy), died of lobar pneumonia in her sleep after several days of a sore throat and fever. The model had gone to the doctor and been given antibiotics and painkillers, and was feeling better the evening before her death. Naturally, this led to some fans feeling her death was suspicious, especially as Porter was only 47 and in good health (also, her initial cause of death was “deferred”). However, her children squashed this rumor. “While it has been incredibly difficult to reconcile how she could be taken from us too soon, the cause of her death has long been established,” they wrote. “There was no foul play.”
However, it wasn’t just fans who found the death suspicious. Al B. Sure!, Porter’s ex-husband and the father of her first child, later called Porter’s death a “tragic murder.” He also suggested some of her devices had gone missing, containing “critical evidence” that “closely correlates with details outlined in the recently released public indictment document” (referring to Diddy’s 2024 racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation for purposes of prostitution charges). He then claimed Porter had been killed as “she was set on course to accomplish what Mrs. Cassie Ventura did by igniting the Bon Fire which brings us here today.” Ventura, Diddy’s ex-girlfriend, had sued Diddy for abuse and rape in 2023, but the case settled a day later.
Also fanning the fire was a book released as Porter’s posthumous “memoir,” titled Kim’s Lost Words: A Journey for Justice From the Other Side… The book is said to be comprised of notes Porter had saved on a flash drive before her death. The book, which quickly became a bestseller, details her sex life with Diddy, alleges physical abuse at his hands, and even seems to claim Porter knew Diddy was behind her impending death. However, Diddy, along with Porter’s children, slammed it as fake. Porter’s friends also denied the book’s authenticity.
The author of the book, Chris Todd, said he could not promise its accuracy as he received the flash drive from sources in the music industry (which he did not name). Amazon and Barnes & Noble later pulled the book after Porter and Sure!’s son Quincy issued a cease-and-desist over “defamatory statements” in the book.
It’s worth noting that there were no credible allegations against Diddy in regards to Porter’s death, and he was never investigated or charged. The coroner also did not find Porter’s death suspicious or the result of foul play. And there is no solid, released evidence to suggest the book is real.* Still, speculation persists.
2.
Singer Sam Cooke, the “King of Soul,” died under much more suspicious circumstances back in 1964. Cooke was only 33 when he was killed at the Hacienda Motel after the motel’s manager, Bertha Franklin, shot him. Franklin claimed that Cooke had come to the hotel with a young woman and tried to rape her, then threatened Franklin’s life. The murder was later ruled a justifiable homicide.
The woman Franklin claimed Cooke tried to rape, Lisa Boyer (called Elisa in other sources), corroborated Franklin’s claim, saying Cooke offered her a ride home from a bar. She agreed, but then Cooke kidnapped her, taking her to the motel. She said she grabbed her clothes while he was in the bathroom and ran, accidentally also taking his clothes (which held his wallet). She fled to a nearby phone booth, calling police, while Cooke, wearing only a coat, then allegedly kicked in Franklin’s door, thinking she was hiding Boyer. He then punched her twice; she later testified that “he grabbed both of my arms and started twisting them.” She shot three times, one bullet hitting Cooke in the chest.
However, Cooke’s alleged behavior seemed out of character for him, according to family and friends, and the circumstances of his death were suspicious. Thus, rumors flew, and three main theories for what actually happened to Cooke developed.
A) Boyer was a sex worker who had actually lured Cooke to the motel as part of a setup with Franklin, with the goal of robbing him. Evidence: The motel was known for being popular with sex workers and pimps; Cooke would probably have stopped somewhere else before the motel if not specifically directed there. Also, Boyer was later arrested for sex work, and she was later involved in another shooting, leading to her conviction for the second-degree murder of her boyfriend. Her version of events made no mention of a nightclub they definitely did stop at (friends saw them), casting doubt on her credibility. And Franklin, who was far from squeaky clean legally, had once been a madam for sex workers. Perhaps most damningly, the cash in Cooke’s wallet — $5,000, which friends saw him wave around at a bar earlier in the night — was never found.*
B) Someone — perhaps someone working with Boyer and Franklin, perhaps Cooke’s money-hungry business manager, Allen Klein, possibly even mobsters* — killed Cooke at a different location, then brought his body to the motel. Evidence: While Franklin did state she’d hit him with a bat after shooting him, his body appeared to be beaten beyond what 55-year-old Franklin would have been capable, according to fellow singer Etta James. She wrote in her memoir that at his funeral, he had poorly-concealed bruises, crushed bones, and that his head was “practically disconnected from his shoulders.” This suggested multiple people had potentially beaten Cooke.
Supporting this theory, it seemed odd that Franklin would’ve hit him with the broom, given the fatal shot and the fact that she had more bullets in her gun if she still felt threatened. Franklin did not appear injured days after the murder, which didn’t line up with Cooke’s alleged violent behavior. And the gun that killed Cooke did not match the gun registered to Franklin. Also, no other motel guests heard the struggle.
C) This one’s a bit more conspiracy-like, but some have speculated that the FBI was involved in the shooting, or, at the very least, a cover-up. The LAPD’s investigation was far from thorough, despite the suspicious circumstances. They quickly lost the bullet that killed Cooke, a crucial piece of evidence. The autopsy report did not note Cooke’s body appearing beaten, besides a small bump on his head. There was rampant racism in the LAPD at the time, so maybe they just didn’t care enough about Cooke’s death to investigate…or maybe the FBI told them not to. Cooke may have been a target given his involvement with the Civil Rights Movement and connection to figures like Muhammad Ali.
Still, there has never been any solid evidence to disprove what Franklin and Boyer claimed the night of the murder. The jury supported the initial reporting of events, deliberating for only 15 minutes. It’s perfectly possible, and even likely, that it did occur as they said, given Cooke’s high BAC and reputation for cheating on his wife. Franklin and Boyer both passed lie detector tests (though these can be unreliable). Since this was so many decades ago, it’s likely no one will ever know exactly what happened that night.
3.
You’ve likely heard of the “27 Club,” which names the phenomenon of famous musical figures dying at 27. One of the most famous was Jimi Hendrix, who died of an overdose of alcohol and sleeping pills in 1970, after choking on his own puke in his bed at a London hotel. While it’s perhaps unsurprising for a music legend of that era to die from an overdose, multiple people have alleged that more was going on. In his book Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy, Harry Shapiro published the claim that James “Tappy” Wright, who worked for Hendrix’s manager, Mike Jeffery, heard Jeffery admit to the murder.
“As we are talking, Mike began to get very agitated and pale. ‘I had no bloody choice, I had to do it.’ ‘What are you talking about?’ ‘You know exactly what I’m talking about. It was either that or I’d be broke or dead,'” Wright recalled, adding that this confirmed his suspicion. “All he said was he got a few of his friends — I don’t know who they were, just some villains that Mike knew from up north and it was just booze down the windpipe. Like in that film Get Carter,” Wright finished. Jeffery later died in a plane crash, and Wright says he chose to stay silent rather than speak out or investigate.
Is it credible that Jeffery could have had Hendrix killed? Maybe. He was dealing with serious money issues (which involved the mafia), and Jimi was refusing to tour or perform to the level Jeffery wanted (tours were the far more lucrative and fast-money option compared to record contracts and the like). Jeffery was extremely paranoid and worried Jimi would not extend their contract. There’s also speculation that he took out a life insurance policy on Jimi and that Jimi signed it despite being told not to. Also, Jeffery’s whereabouts during Jimi’s death are contested.
Associate Jim Marron (who managed the studio Hendrix and Jeffery co-owned, Electric Lady) and Jeffery’s assistant both stated that Jeffery had left London and traveled to Majorca just before Jimi’s death, where he learned Jimi had been killed. However, Jimi’s US manager, Bob Levine, claimed Jeffery called him a week after Jimi had died and pretended to have just found out, despite Levine having heard from others that Jeffery was at a London party the night before Jimi died — potentially the same one Jimi had been to.
There are other suspicious details — like his girlfriend at the time appearing to change her story (as well as her timeline not seeming to add up) and Jimi’s alcohol tolerance, which would’ve suggested different behavior if he’d had as much to drink as the hospital found. Most damning, surgeon John Bannister, who had received Hendrix’s body, found it filled with red wine in a way that did not match his BAC; this suggested drowning via red wine.
Another theory posited that Hendrix had killed himself; a poem he wrote Dannemann could be read as such. But overall, it’s still clear that Hendrix died due to drug use. This, sadly, just looks like another drug-related death of a too-young musician.
4.
Next, we have Elliott Smith — and a warning, this one includes details of his death by suicide. The musician was only 34 when he died in October 2003. According to this write-up by the Guardian, Smith was very publicly and obviously depressed — and just before his death, he reportedly argued with his girlfriend Jennifer Chiba, threatening to kill himself. This was a common threat she did not take seriously, so Chiba said she went to the bathroom and locked the door. However, she heard a scream and returned to find Smith with a kitchen knife in his chest. He died soon after reaching the hospital.
While this may seem like a terrible way to choose to die, he had once shown his producer a scar on his chest, which suggests he might have attempted something like this before. But there are other suspicious details. He’d long dealt with drug and alcohol abuse, and while reports suggested he was on the upswing and had a positive relationship with Chiba, other reports suggested they had a volatile relationship akin to that of Sid and Nancy. His friend Mark Flanagan suggested he’d been killed by one of the seedy people he did drugs with or bought drugs from. Other friends and associates claimed he was clean, and in fact, the toxicology report showed he was at the time of his death. And the angle matched that of a self-inflicted wound. However, the coroner would not conclusively say it had been a suicide.
Why? A) He had stabbed through his clothing. B) There were no “hesitation wounds” to test out his nerve. C) He had some small cuts which could have been defensive, pointing to an attacker. D) Chiba pulled the knife out of his chest upon seeing it, which, if you’ve never seen a medical drama, is not what you do to a stab victim (it usually leads to them bleeding out very quickly). The report also claimed Chiba had refused to speak to detectives directly after. Chiba later denied this and said, “There’s no question about what happened,” stating she was not under any investigation. The LAPD declined to comment on the Guardian’s report.
5.
George Reeves also reportedly died from suicide, but many fans found this fishy. Reeves, who was best known for his role as Superman, died from a gunshot wound in 1959. In his mid-40s at the time, he was engaged to the wealthy Leonore Lemmon. The two had gone out the night before Reeves’s death, after which Reeves had gone to bed in the home they shared; Lemmon stayed up, inviting three friends over. Around 1 a.m., Reeves came out of his room, asking the group to lower their volume. After he left, Lemmon apparently said, “He’s going upstairs to shoot himself.” (Suspicious factor #1). He did just that moments later, and though Lemmon and her guests heard something, it took a while for anyone to call the police (Suspicious factor #2), according to People.
When police arrived, there was little evidence, including no fingerprints on the gun or gunpowder residue on Reeves’s hands (Suspicious factor #3). Also, they said they’d heard one shot, despite police finding three bullets (only one had hit Reeves) (Suspicious factor #4). Police also found a shell casing underneath Reeves, which should not have happened in a suicide (Suspicious factor #5). Overall, pretty fishy, if you ask me!
However, it’s still perfectly plausible he killed himself. Some found it surprising that an actor with so much going for him would do such a thing; however, others claimed it made sense, given that he was having difficulty landing roles. Helen Bessolo, Reeves’s mother, was also suspicious and called for a second autopsy. This led to the discovery of unexplained bruises; still, she was eventually convinced or gave up on her investigation a month later.
Still, speculation that he was murdered abounds due to the suspicious circumstances. Some think he was murdered or accidentally killed in an argument with Lemmon over her guests and their relationship. Others point to an alleged affair he was having with the wife of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer general manager, Toni. This had ended a year prior, affecting Toni and her husband Eddie’s relationship, potentially leading either one of them to commit the murder (Eddie also reportedly knew members of the mob). A publicist who knew Toni later claimed he’d heard her confess to the murder. And one of Reeves’s Superman costars claimed Toni had called her hours after the death to state that Reeves had been murdered. Since this was so long ago, the truth will likely never come out.
6.
In a more clear-cut case, former Beatles member John Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman, a fan “seeking fame” (though he later said it was due to jealousy). While to many, this was a tragic but clear-cut case, others have questions, especially when it comes to Chapman’s true motives. Did he really act alone, or was he a part of something larger? Let’s remember that Lennon was staunchly anti-war in the late ’60s and ’70s when division and protests over the Vietnam War ran rampant in the US, and the FBI actively kept an eye at that time.
There are some outlandish theories, such as that the CIA mind-controlled Chapman to commit the murder through their Cold War-era program MK Ultra, which, to put it simply, aimed to use drugs to see if mind control was possible. British writer David Whelan published a book about the murder, Gimme Some Truth: The Assassination of John Lennon, claiming that Lennon was assassinated.
He also claims some doctors and nurses in the ER at the time thought he’d been shot from an entirely different position (the front, not the back), that the bullets should’ve caused more damage than they did, and that the fact the shots hit in such close clusters to each other from Chapman’s range was surprising for a novice, and instead suggested a professional had shot Lennon — perhaps a second shooter. And Whelan isn’t the only writer to put out such theories. However, there’s nothing to corroborate these rumors.
7.
Princess Diana’s 1997 death was a huge tragedy, breaking the hearts of fans across the world. It’s natural to look for someone to blame, but with the driver of the car dead, there wasn’t much to be done. The accident, which also killed two other occupants of the car, was officially caused by the driver’s speed and the fact that he was driving under the influence, but many fans have also blamed the paparazzi, who were following the car the night Diana died. However, a formal investigation stated they did not cause the crash.
There have also been conspiracy theories fueled by Diana’s butler, Paul Burrell, who claimed Diana wrote him a note claiming someone had a plot to cause “an accident in my car, brake failure and serious head injury in order to make the path clear for Charles to marry.” This concern was corroborated by Majesty magazine’s editor-in-chief, the Royal watcher Ingrid Seward. King Charles III was actually questioned over the letter, but investigators found no other evidence to suggest Charles could’ve done such a thing.
A reported witness of the crash even testified in a British inquest of the death that he’d seen two potential hitmen on a motorcycle pass Diana’s car just prior to the crash: He then saw a bright flash of light directed at the car, and one of the men got off the motorcycle to look inside. He then apparently gestured to the other that it was done. Mohamed Al-Fayed, the father of one of the men killed in the crash, also supported the theory that the crash was caused by a flash of light (and that it was perpetrated by the royals), though his story was inconsistent.* And other witnesses saw no light, leading to the crash being ruled an accident. Again, there is no proof of royal involvement or that this was anything but an accident.
8.
Natalie Wood, who starred in a number of films including West Side Story, Rebel Without a Cause, and Gypsy, also died under extremely mysterious circumstances. The 43-year-old was with her husband, Robert Wagner, on his boat on a weekend vacation from filming Brainstorm when she drowned. According to Wagner himself (though he initially denied this), he and Wood argued, and then he went to bed without her. The next morning, her body was found a mile away in the water.
Who else was on the boat that night? Brainstorm costar Christopher Walken. He had reportedly also argued with Wagner, and Wagner was (according to yacht captain Dennis Davern) angry that Natalie had invited him.
Wood had been drinking, and her death was ruled an accident. Still, there are a number of suspicious factors, some of which took years to come out. One, she was found with bruises that could mean she was attacked or pushed. Two, nearby witnesses had heard a woman scream, and one (who did not come forward until 2011) allegedly heard a woman cry for help, and a man reply, slurring that he would.
And three, the captain of the boat, Dennis Davern, allegedly drunkenly confessed to Wood’s sister years later that he’d seen Wagner push Wood, who then fell overboard, and that Wagner refused to rescue her…though this is unconfirmed. Wagner has long claimed he had nothing to do with Wood’s death; despite once being a person of interest, he was officially cleared in 2022. Her death was originally ruled an accident, but is now considered open, officially due to “drowning and other undetermined factors.”
9.
Bruce Lee also died under strange circumstances in 1973 at the age of 32. It was originally believed that his death from brain swelling was caused by an allergic reaction to the painkiller Equagesic, which he took after a headache. Complaining of pain in his head, he’d taken the medicine and gone for a nap, and never woke up again. However, there have been questions about this theory…namely because he’d apparently taken that medication before without issue.
More recent theories have proposed other causes. For example, he’d actually almost died from brain swelling in a separate incident months before his death. In that instance, the brain swelling seemed to have been caused by heat stroke — Lee had a reduced ability to deal with heat because he’d had his sweat glands removed from his armpits so that he wouldn’t have sweaty pits onscreen. There are also theories that his death was caused by drinking too much water.
There are far less likely theories, including involvement from the mafia or other organized crime groups, or the existence of a “curse,” as Bruce’s son Brandon also had an untimely death. Brandon was killed at age 28 by a real bullet from a prop gun in a fatal accident on the set of The Crow.
10.
Tupac shocked the world when he died in 1996 at just 25. His death came after six days in the hospital following being shot in a drive-by shooting from a car that pulled up next to him and Death Row CEO label head, Suge Knight. With the shooter unknown, there was speculation for years. Multiple people involved were later shot, including a witness and Orlando Anderson, who was suspected of the murder (as he’d gotten in a fight with Tupac hours earlier; however, Anderson was not charged and said he was innocent). With leads drying up, it seemed like it may never be solved. But then, a few years ago, Duane “Keefe D” Davis was arrested for Tupac’s murder.
He claims he’s innocent and has pled not guilty — he also claims Diddy (who appears yet again in this post) ordered the hit, which Diddy has denied (police also claimed he’s never been a suspect). Since Davis’s trial won’t be until next year, and his lawyers claim he has an alibi, fans continue to doubt whether Davis is really responsible…and who might be instead.
11.
Then there’s Biggie, killed in almost the same way six months after Tupac. It’s long been speculated that the deaths were related, even by detectives. A lead investigator in the LAPD believed Suge Knight planned Biggie’s murder as revenge for Tupac, and that men in the LAPD were involved. He was told to stop investigating, and many years later died of a heart attack while speaking with detectives about the case. The LAPD has long denied involvement, as has Suge. Biggie’s murderer is still unknown.
12.
Beloved R&B singer Aaliyah died in a plane crash at just 22 years old, while returning from filming a music video. The crash, which occurred just after takeoff, was caused by multiple factors, including it being overloaded (and the weight not being evenly distributed), the pilot (who also died in the crash) having alcohol and cocaine in his system, and not being certified to fly that type of plane.
While nothing appeared suspicious about the crash, some have speculated about sabotage. R. Kelly has long caught flak for his “marriage” to Aaliyah in 1994, when she was 15, and he was 27. (The marriage was annulled because Aaliyah was too young.) Witnesses have claimed that R. Kelly began a sexual relationship with Aaliyah when she was 13 or 14. While this was well-known in Hollywood, Kelly continued to work until the 2019 documentary Surviving R. Kelly turned the tide. The documentary alleged sexual abuse and assault, including that of minors, and Kelly was later arrested and convicted of a slew of charges.
Aaliyah was also connected to Diddy, so his more recent allegations fueled further rumors about a cover-up. There was also a claim that Aaliyah had been drugged prior to the crash due to her fear of flying, and was carried onto the plane, according to someone who claimed a relation to the taxi company used to transport Aaliyah to the airport. However, none of this has any proof or basis in fact, and Aaliyah’s death remains a tragic accident.
13.
Another tragic early 2000s death that rocked the music industry was that of TLC member Lisa “Left Eyes” Lopes, who was killed in a car crash in Honduras when she was only 30. She reportedly swerved away from a car in the other lane and lost control of her vehicle, causing it to go off the road, roll over multiple times, hit two trees, and slam into a ravine. The car was carrying seven more people, but all survived. The accident was actually recorded as she was filming a documentary at the time.
While the death seems pretty cut and dry, there was a freaky coincidence at play: A few days prior, while driving with her assistant, the assistant struck and killed a boy who walked into the road (Lopes donated money for medical and funeral expenses, and aided by holding his head as CPR was attempted). In The Last Days of Left Eye, featuring footage shot before the accident, Lopes actually stated that she felt haunted by a presence and spoke about how the boy’s last name was Lopez, almost the same as her own.
There are other non-supernatural conspiracy theories asserting that Lopes was killed in revenge, or that she was otherwise murdered…or even that she’s still alive. However, there’s no support for any of this. Fellow TLC member T-Boz said, “It has to be the weird world we live in,” adding, “I looked at her body. She’s gone.” Another theory suggests Lopes’s death is connected to the much later murder of Nipsey Hussle, who was working on a documentary about Honduras’ Dr. Sebi, who was also a large part of the documentary Lopes was making. However, again, there is no real evidence here.
14.
We all remember Brittany Murphy’s tragic death in 2009, just before Christmas. The official cause was pneumonia, but iron deficiency anemia and multiple drug intoxication (OTC medication and her prescribed medications) also contributed. It’s likely Murphy would’ve survived if she’d sought medical care in the days prior, though according to her husband at the time, Simon Monjack, Murphy knew she was dying and didn’t seek care.
The HBO documentary, What Happened, Brittany Murphy?, alleges that it was Monjack’s controlling behavior that was to blame for Murphy not getting medical attention. To make this all creepier, less than six months later, Monjack also died of pneumonia and anemia…in the same house. Monjack’s mother later claimed there was severe mold in the house that caused Monjack to hallucinate, and Murphy’s mother later also came to believe the mold theory.
However, the coroners did not find evidence of mold in either autopsy. In a more fantastical theory, some felt the house was haunted. According to Monjack, Murphy hated the house and thought it was “unlucky.” Britney Spears had previously owned the home and reportedly left the house due to bad spirits, according to her former makeup artist. The circumstances remain odd today, but there’s no conclusive evidence to connect the deaths of the married couple.
15.
Sudden, tragic, accidental deaths always lead to speculation, and Bob Saget’s 2022 death was no different. The beloved actor and comedian was at a Florida stop on his comedy tour when he died from head trauma, alone in his hotel room at The Ritz-Carlton at around 4 a.m. It was determined that Saget must have hit the back of his head, though there was nothing in the hotel room to suggest where he had fallen: The room was carpeted, the bed had padding, the chair and sodas were too soft to cause injury, and there was no blood or hair on any hard surfaces. He was found in bed, and authorities speculated he had gotten up after his fall and stumbled into bed, where he fell unconscious, or actually gone to bed intentionally, not believing the fall was serious.
Drugs and alcohol were not said to be involved, except prescription drugs clonazepam and Trazodone, for seizures/anxiety and depression, respectively. These may have made him tired or confused, leading to the fall. Other factors? He had COVID and a few different issues with his heart detected during the autopsy. Those who spoke with Saget that night said he was complaining of not feeling well and of hearing loss due to COVID. Still, none of these issues should have caused his fall to be fatal or lead to that amount of injury.
Houston Methodist’s chair of surgery, Dr. Gavin Britz, said Saget’s injuries were consistent with “someone with a baseball bat to the head, or who has fallen from 20 or 30 feet.” While this all seems odd, most of the speculation appears to be due to the fact that we still don’t know how or where exactly Saget fell, as this all went unwitnessed. Unfortunately, we never will know, and nothing about his death suggests foul play.
There’s security footage from the hotel, and it seems impossible that the injury occurred anytime prior to that, as Saget seemed fine and made a two-hour drive after his set. The death was ruled accidental, and remains so.
16.
While Andy Kaufman’s 1984 death from lung cancer may not seem suspicious, there have long been rumors that the famed jokester faked his own death. Even his Taxi costar Carol Kane apparently bought in, poking him at his funeral as if he might rise. And his partner at the time, Lynne Margulies, said the two had even discussed Kaufman faking his own death. “We talked about how many years he would have to stay away, you know, like to really…and the years kept getting longer and longer, because one year wasn’t enough. Then it would be 10 years, oh, maybe 10 years, maybe like 20 years or about 30 years. And it’s like, ‘Do you think people will still remember me in 30 years, if I come back?’ and I would say, ‘Well, they will, if you come back.'”
However, none of this speculation seems very serious; as friend Bob Pagani noted, it has now been four decades since he died, but “God damn would I admire the commitment to the bit.”
17.
People also think Elvis is still alive. Many fans have actually claimed to have seen him in the decades since (without real proof, of course). Here’s what we know: Elvis died at age 42 in the year 1977, likely after experiencing heart failure while going to the bathroom. He was found on the bathroom floor, and his death was attributed to “cardiac arrhythmia”; later, a toxicology report found quaaludes and opiates in his system. It also appeared he was dealing with chronic constipation, diabetes, and glaucoma; these issues were not aided by his reliance on a multitude of medications or his overeating habits.
Why does this theory persist, then, despite no actual proof to state he’s alive? Well, some think Elvis may have wanted to escape either his fame or the mafia. One writer even claimed the FBI had put him in witness protection after the government used him as an undercover agent, according to FBI documents she apparently read. (There is nothing in released FBI files to suggest this is true, and the FBI did not address it.) Fans putting stock in the “faked death” theory also point to an interview where Elvis’s family appears to refer to Elvis in the more recent past or evade questions; and apparently, the fact that his middle name is spelled wrong on his tombstone is another factor. I’m going to count this all as ridiculous, IMO, but form your own opinion!
18.
I’m going to add Sid and Nancy to this list, because I don’t think it’s as clear-cut as people seem to think that Sid killed Nancy. Here’s the story: Sid Vicious was a punk rocker who played bass for the Sex Pistols. He then met a groupie named Nancy Spungen and began a turbulent, drug-fueled public relationship. Nancy was later stabbed to death in their hotel room, with Sid claiming he’d killed her (he later recanted and said he didn’t remember what had happened, and at another point claimed he was asleep when she died). He was arrested for her murder, released on bail, and died from an overdose soon after. There has been speculation that he did not murder her after all.
Some theories suggest Spungen stabbed herself, or that it was a “botched double suicide,” according to the Sex Pistols’ old manager. It’s possible that Spungen was also killed in a drug deal gone wrong. She’d asked for drugs earlier in the night from bodyguard/dealer Rockets Redglare, and some believe Redglare attempted to take more money from the couple than he was owed, leading Spungen to attempt to stop him, which in turn caused Redglare to stab her. Money had been taken from the room, after all. Writer Phil Strongman suggested this theory and claimed Redglare (who died prior to Strongman’s book being published) had even admitted to it.
There are other theories still, and due to Vicious initially reportedly confessing to the crime, it was not investigated as much as it could have been — but what investigations did reveal seemed to be in Vicious’s favor, according to the film Who Killed Nancy? The drugs he’d reportedly taken supported the theory that he was asleep or unconscious at the time of the murder. Six more people’s fingerprints were found in the room. Another hotel resident had apparently visited them that night and was later seen with money. Or was it another robber entirely? It’ll likely never be solved for certain.
19.
In a much older example, Edgar Allan Poe’s death was super mysterious. Basically, in 1849, the then-40-year-old poet left Virginia to help edit a colleague’s poems, but never arrived at his destination. Nearly a week after leaving, he was found delirious outside a Baltimore public house, wearing old clothes and lying in the gutter. He remained out of it for days, plagued by hallucinations and calling out for “Reynolds,” then died due to brain swelling on Oct. 7, potentially caused by alcohol consumption. He was set to get married just days later. There are multiple theories as to his death, including murder and rabies, but it remains a mystery.
One popular theory posits that Poe was kidnapped and forced to vote multiple times in various disguises to influence the sheriff’s election, then given alcohol — something he was sensitive to and had reacted badly to in the past. As Poe was found near a polling location, this feels plausible.
He also may have been beaten by passersby and left in the gutter, or crawled there as he tried to find help. Or perhaps he was a victim of carbon monoxide poisoning from coal gas, or mercury poisoning from cholera treatment (physical tests did not totally line up with these theories, though). Or he may have even had a brain tumor. His death certificate and medical records are long gone, so all we can do is speculate.
20.
You may not have heard of Dorothy Kilgallen, but your parents or grandparents may have. She was a journalist who was a regular face on TV — until she died in 1965 while heavily investigating JFK’s assassination. Kilgallen, who was credible and respected in her field, had called the claim that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone “laughable.” She even interviewed Jack Ruby, who had killed Oswald just after the JFK murder, and began to suspect that both Ruby and Oswald had done the work of the mafia — specifically, Carlos Marcello, according to writer Mark Shaw, who wrote the book The Reporter Who Knew Too Much. Then came her fatal overdose, which was ruled accidental.
However, Dorothy was found in clothes she didn’t normally wear, with a book she’d already finished, with the same makeup and hairdo from her TV appearance the night before. She did regularly take two sleeping pills, but her autopsy revealed far more than usual in her system and another drug she had not been prescribed. Shaw claims he found lab results that suggested drink spiking in his investigation for the book, but ultimately, there was not enough evidence that she had been murdered or anyone left to prosecute.
Still, conspiracy theories abound to this day. Especially because her dossier on the JFK assassination went missing. The FBI did have her under surveillance. And she would hardly be the first person killed by an organized crime lord for “knowing too much.”
21.
And finally, we’ll end on Marilyn Monroe, whose final night is shrouded in mystery…and also connects to JFK. Her last known phone call was with actor Peter Lawford, who was a brother-in-law to Robert and John F. Kennedy, as he had married their sister, Pat Kennedy. He stated she ended the call with, “Say goodbye to Pat, say goodbye to Jack, and say goodbye to yourself, because you’re a nice guy.” Jack was in reference to then-President JFK.
There were longstanding rumors of an affair between JFK and Monroe, as well as between Robert F. Kennedy and Monroe. There are also rumors that Robert F. Kennedy visited her that night, though this was denied by the Kennedys. Her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, who was there all day and night and was the one to find her dead, later claimed Robert had visited and they’d fought.
When Murray found Marilyn dead around 3:30 a.m., she was reportedly holding her phone, and then-LA chief of detectives Thad Brown reportedly claimed she was found with a crumpled up piece of paper with the number for the White House on it.
Besides her connections to the Kennedys, there were other suspicious details around Monroe’s death. Murray initially called Monroe’s psychiatrist, Dr. Greenson, who called the doctor who had prescribed the pills, Dr. Engelberg, before calling the police. The police did not arrive for close to an hour after Murray initially saw Monroe’s body. Lawford later claimed that he’d heard about her death at 1:30 a.m. The wife of Monroe’s press relations manager Arthur Jacobs also later claimed that her husband had received the call that Marilyn was dead at 10:30.
With so many details not lining up, it certainly seems there is more to the story. The death was ruled a “probable suicide,” leaving room for plenty of theories of conspiracies. Or maybe people simply do not want to believe such a bright star could burn out so young, as with many other cases on this list. And like with these other cases…the truth will likely never come.
What do you think really happened to these stars? Let us know in the comments.