The life of Hollywood A-listers can look carefree from afar. With all of the glitz and glamour, it can be easy to forget what troubles lay behind the diamond encrusted surface of Hollywood’s elite. While it may seem like they have it all, it can all come crashing down in an instant.

Fewer crimes are more highly publicized than those concerning the rich and famous. When you throw murder into the mix, a media circus arises that is determined to unearth every last detail. If a highly loved public figure dies, their loss is felt worldwide. When they are taken wrongly before their time, everyone wants answers. You can have a glittering career and be adored by millions, but all it takes is one homicidal maniac to change innocent lives forever.

Whether it’s a vengeful spouse, a disgruntled father or a disillusioned fan, we have lost a host of legends and promising young stars at the hands of cold blooded killers. With documentaries like 2016’s The People V. O.J Simpson: American Crime Story, and the upcoming Tupac Shakur biopic, All Eyez on Me, one thing is for certain – we never forget the legacies they left behind.

Let’s take a look at 15 Celebrities That Were Brutally Murdered.

15. JOHN LENNON

One fourth of the supergroup The Beatles, the murder of John Lennon shook the world. It was Monday December 8^th when Mark David Chapman brutally shot and killed one of the best loved musicians the world had ever known. Chapman fired five hollow-point bullets into the back of Lennon as he returned to his residence with his wife, Yoko Ono. Lennon reportedly staggered up the steps to the reception area as he managed to say, ‘I’m shot, I’m shot.’ Although staff tried to help, it was clear it was too late. The Beatles star was pronounced dead on arrival at Roosevelt Hospital. His injuries were so severe that he wouldn’t have survived more than a few minutes. Spine chillingly, Lennon had given an autograph to Chapman when approached earlier in the day. Chapman pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to just 20 years in prison. He has been denied parole 9 times since 2000.

14. TUPAC SHAKUR

The loss of rap sensation Tupac has come to the forefront of public interest again recently, thanks to the release of the biopic, All Eyez on Me. On September 7^th 1996, Tupac was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Four rounds were fired at Shakur as the car he was travelling in paused at traffic lights on East Flamingo Road. Shakur had just watched Mike Tyson fight Bruce Sheldon at the MGM Grand. A scuffle ensued after the match, with Shakur punching a member of an opposing gang in the lobby. Shakur and Suge Knight were on their way to a club when a white Cadillac rolled up beside them at the lights, shooting Shakur. Tupac succumbed to his injuries six days after the shooting. While theories abound about rival gangs and record label feuds, no one was ever charged for the killing of the hip-hop legend.

13. GIANNI VERSACE

Founder of the international fashion house Versace, designer Gianni Versace was murdered on the steps of his Florida home in 1997. Versace was a popular individual and a staple on the arts scene. As he returned from a morning stroll on Ocean Drive, he was gunned down by 27 year old Andrew Cunanan. Versace wasn’t his only victim. In a killing spree that lasted 3 months, Cunanan killed five men, including real estate tycoon 72-year-old Lee Miglin before turning his sights to his final victim, Versace. Despite investigations, little is known about the motives of the killer. Cunanan committed suicide nine days after his last murder. The series of murders with no justice left friends and family – and the public – with no closure.

12. THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G

Just few months after the drive-by killing of Tupac, the hip hop community suffered another loss. This time, the victim was Christopher Wallace, AKA The Notorious B.I.G. On March 9^th, 1997, Wallace left a party with his entourage in tow, including P Diddy, who traveled in a separate car. The group had to pause at a red light on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles. In similar fashion to the murder of Tupac, a car pulled up alongside the passenger window, the window rolled down, and an unknown assailant shot Wallace four times before driving away. He was pronounced dead an hour later at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, at just 24 years old. Many people believed the murders of Tupac and Wallace were linked due to the East Coast-West Coast hip hop feud, but the case remains officially unsolved.

11. SHARON TATE

Stunning actress, model, and wife of director Roman Polanski was 8 months pregnant when she was targeted by followers of cult leader Charles Manson. The details of the case and the tragic circumstances surrounding Tate’s death were highly publicized. On August 8^th, 1969 Tate was at the home she shared with Polanski, entertaining five guests when the house was invaded by four members of the Manson family. They acted on orders from Manson and gruesomely killed everyone inside. Tate begged for her life, pleading to save her unborn child. The group stabbed her 16 times, writing ‘Pig’ on the front door in her blood as they left. The brutal and unjust murder of one of Hollywood’s shining stars and her friends left a mark on the world that will never fade.

10. SELENA

Selena Quintanilla-Perez was 23 years old and at the peak of her career in 1995. A singer, songwriter and fashion designer, Selena was one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of her time. Sadly, Selena’s star was unjustly snuffed out. Yolanda Saldivar was the manager of Selena’s fashion boutiques, appointed in 1994. She was instantly disliked by the employees. They made complaints to Selena, who dismissed the claims, trusting Saldivar to run her business properly. Little did she know that it would cost her not just money, but her life. When Selena’s father discovered Saldivar was embezzling money, the star confronted her on the morning of March 31^st 1995. Enraged, Saldivar shot Selena in the shoulder, severing an artery. Saldivar pleaded not guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

9. MARVIN GAYE

Motown pioneer Marvin Gaye lost his life trying to intervene in an argument his parents were having. After returning from tax exile in Europe, Gaye was struggling with cocaine dependency and life on the road. He returned to the home he had purchased for his family to recuperate. Things were tense between Gaye and his father, with two family members moving out of the property due to the unbearable conflict. One evening, Marvin Gaye Sr. and his wife, Alberta, were arguing over an insurance document. Gaye became involved when his father wouldn’t leave his mother alone and physically attacked his father. While Alberta managed to separate them, Marvin Sr. returned to the room and shot his son directly in the heart with a pistol. Marvin Sr. took a plea deal and was sentenced to six years suspended imprisonment and five years parole.

8. ADRIENNE SHELLY

Actress Adrienne Shelly was 40 years old when she was found hanging in the shower of her Greenwich Village office apartment in 2006. Initially treated as a suicide, police only re-examined the scene on her husband’s persistence that she would never take her own life. The couple had a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter together, who she would never have left. It was the discovery of a footprint matching that of footprints on a construction site in the same building that lead the police to 19-year-old Ecuadorian illegal immigrant, Diego Pillco. Initially, Pillco tried to pass it off as an accident, but later confessed to following the petite actress back to her apartment and assaulting her, rendering her unconscious. He hanged her while she was still alive, staging a suicide. Pillco was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

7. JILL DANDO

British television journalist and presenter Jill Dando was on her way back from visiting her boyfriend when she was shot on her front doorstep. Dando was shot directly in the head, the gun pressing firmly against her temple. Although she was taken to Charing Cross Hospital, the 1997 TV personality of The Year was announced dead on arrival. Another neighbour heard a surprised cry from Dando ‘like someone greeting a friend’, but heard no shot. He did make the only confirmed sighting of the killer, a six-foot-tall white man as he walked away from the crime. The murder was covered ferociously by all media outlets. Barry Geroge, a local sex offender, was charged with her murder but later acquitted due to lack of evidence. No one has been charged since. In 2008 after a review of the case, the police concluded that Dando was killed by a professional assassin.

6. DOROTHY STRATTEN

Blonde bombshell Dorothy Stratten was Playboy’s Playmate of the Year in 1980. Not just a pretty face, Stratten was a promising actress. After being cast in Peter Bogdanivich’s They All Laughed, Stratten and Bogdanivich began having an affair. The romance didn’t go unnoticed by her husband, Paul Snider, who hired a private investigator to follow his wife. By August 1980 the two had separated and were heading for divorce. On the 14^th of August, Stratten met Snider at the house they had both lived in, with hopes of discussing an amicable divorce. In an awful end to a promising life, Stratten’s body was found naked, next to Snider. He had shot her, sexually abused her corpse and then turned the gun on himself. She was 20 years old.

5. NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON

The murder of Nicole Brown Simpson still piques public interest. The ex-wife of professional football star, O.J. Simpson, was found stabbed to death outside her Brentwood Los Angeles home in 1994 by a dog walker. A few feet away lay the body of her friend, Ron Goldman. In a trial that would grip the nation, O.J Simpson was charged with the murders. Many things came to light in the trial, including his abusive behaviour towards his ex-wife throughout their marriage and after. Despite all evidence pointing toward his guilt, a jury found Simpson not guilty. He was later found liable for the deaths in a civil suit brought by the families of the two victims. No other perpetrator was ever found – and many remain certain of his guilt.

4. JAM MASTER JAY

Jam Master Jay was a highly influential musician and DJ, most prominently known as part of hip hop group Run-D.M.C. Jay was shot dead in his recording studio in Queens, New York. ‘There was a buzz at the door, at the recording studio door, two people that came in and as soon as they got in, Jay couldn’t reach for the handgun, pistol that he had that was lying on the sofa next to him, he didn’t have enough time to get it,’ said retired NYPD Det. Derrick Parker. ‘Before he knew it, he was shot.’ Despite there being 5 eye witnesses present at the time, no one ever identified the assailant.

3. REEVA STEENKAMP

South African model Reeva Steenkamp had a glittering career in front of her, before she was gunned down by her Olympic athlete boyfriend, Oscar Pistorius. The events shocked the world. Pistorius was a well-known and highly popular athlete, seen as an inspiration to many after becoming a Paralympic champion. On Valentine’s Day 2013, Pistorius shot Steenkamp through the bathroom door of his apartment four times. He claimed that he mistakenly thought his girlfriend was an intruder and had no intention of killing her. In 2014 he was found guilty of culpable homicide but after appeals he was retried and convicted for murder. He was sentenced to just six years in prison. Friends and family say that Steenkamp was preparing to leave Pistorius. We’ll likely never know the exact events of one of the most publicized murders in recent history.

2. PHIL HARTMAN

Phil Hartman was a staple figure of 80’s television, starring in a variety of shows – most notably, Saturday Night Live. Known for his comedy skills and excellent impressions, the nation suffered the loss of Hartman in 1998. Although Hartman had a great career, his personal life was marred by his wife’s drug abuse. On the evening of May 27, 1998, his wife Brynn started an argument with Hartman that escalated wildly out of control. Hartman threatened to leave Brynn if she started using drugs again, a threat she didn’t take kindly. In the early hours of the morning Brynn shot her husband while he slept, twice in the head and once in his side. She was high on cocaine. After calling friends to confess, Brynn locked herself in the bathroom and shot herself in the mouth. The couples two children were sleeping in the same house.

1. DOMINIQUE DUNNE

Actress Dominique Dunne rose to prominence when she portrayed Dana Freeling in the 1982 film, Poltergeist. Dunne had recently broken up with her boyfriend, John Sweeney. Sweeney was possessive and jealous of the young actress, leading to frequent fights. Dunne was at home learning lines for an upcoming miniseries when Sweeney showed up wanting to talk things out. She reluctantly agreed to speak to him on the porch, a decision that proved fatal. Things quickly got heated and Sweeney strangled Dunne. Staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center placed her on life support, but she never regained consciousness. Her parents made the decision to withdraw care on November 4^th 1982. Dunne was just shy of 23 years old.

Sources: biography.com crimewatchdaily.com