Celebrities, charged and convicted of murder - or were they?

The O.J. Simpson case shocked American society and is perhaps the first that comes to mind when talking about celebrities accused of murder. But there are other stars who have been involved in equally tragic affairs.

The Sex Pistols frontman was accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen. The events took place at New York's iconic Chelsea Hotel in 1978.

Sid Vicious could not be brought before a judge, as he died of an overdose while on bail awaiting trial.

On 22 February 1996, The New York Times headlined: "Jury Acquits Rap Musician in Murder Case". The rap musician was Snoop Dogg, who (along with his bodyguard) was charged with the murder of Philip Woldermarian, an alleged Los Angeles gang member.

By a fairly narrow majority, the jury decided that Snoop Dogg had fired in self-defence.

The trial of the former South African athlete became a media spectacle. He was prosecuted for murdering his girlfriend with four shots in 2013 and was sentenced in 2015 to six years in prison on a lesser charge of manslaughter. But there was a second part...

The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein reviewed the case and ultimately sentenced Oscar Pistorius to 13 years and five months in prison, finding him guilty of murder.

The 'Sons of Anarchy' actor killed someone and then died within the time span of hours. It was a confusing episode that had tragically culminated from several outbursts of violence involving the performer. On 26 September 2012, police found the lifeless bodies of Johnny Lewis (28) and the woman whom he rented his home from (81) in a house in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles.

According to TMZ, police concluded that Johnny Lewis had beaten his landlady to death and then died after falling from a great height. In the months prior to his death, the actor had been arrested three times for assaulting other people.

The Los Angeles Times reported on 31 May 2016: "Jury finds 'Shield' actor Michael Jace guilty of second-degree murder of his wife".

Michael Jace was sentenced to 40 years in prison. When he shot his wife, his 10-year-old son was at home and heard the threats, heard the shots and then found his mother's lifeless body.

Sadly, this list is rife with crimes by men against women. Included in this category is the murder of actress B. Lana Clarkson by Phil Spector, legendary producer of The Beatles, Ramones and Tina Turner.

The trial was delayed until 2009, but in the end, Phil Spector was sentenced to 19 years in prison, which he did not serve, as he died in a California prison in 2021 from the coronavirus.

Dorian was a p l a y m a t e in the 1960s and her presence in the pages of Playboy made it easy for her to appear in the horror classic 'Rosemary's Baby'. Much later, in 2010, as reported by NBC, she was accused of attempting to shoot her boyfriend to death.

The Los Angeles police concluded that it was attempted murder and Victoria Vetri (her real name), was sentenced to nine years in prison.

It was 1967, when the 'Alien 3' actor was 16 years old. He was involved in a knife fight and one of his rivals lost his life.

Charged with manslaughter, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison but was paroled after 20 months. Although it wasn't his last time in prison, acting rescued him from crime.

The first global media trial in history came as a shock to millions of people who watched the trial live. O.J. Simpson, one of the greatest sportsmen in history, was accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and Ron Goldman in 1995.

The 'Trial of the Century' dragged on for 11 months, with public and media pressure as the incriminating evidence seemed to make it clear that O.J. Simpson was guilty, as ABC News recalled on the 25th anniversary of the trial.

However, the 'Dream Team' of lawyers who represented him won an acquittal that set the accused free. Eleven years later, in an interview with Fox, he confessed that he was guilty of the acts. Of course, he confessed 'hypothetically.' "If I had done it..." he said before he told the story. Simpson would end up broke and, eventually, in prison for a shady business of stealing sports memorabilia.