Celebrities who were killed by a fan

The life of a famous artist is not always easy. Sometimes, fans will transform admiration into fanaticism and end up harming their idol.

There have even been cases of fans who ended up murdering their idols! Let's have a look at some of those infamous cases here.

The most famous crime is that of the former Beatle John Lennon. He was shot five times outside his apartment building in New York on December 8, 1980.

The gunman was Mark Chapman, a fan who, hours earlier, had gotten John Lennon's autograph on the Double Fantasy LP.

Chapman was arrested and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of release after 20 years. However, since the 2000s, he has filed several requests for freedom and they have all been denied.

One of the greatest designers of the 20th century, Gianni Versace was murdered at age 50 outside his mansion in Miami.

The designer was returning from a morning walk when he was shot twice by Andrew Cunanan. The young man was obsessed with Versace and delusional to the point that he felt the two had a close "friendship."

Cunanan had already committed four murders before. However, it was after Versace's killing that he ended his own life. He did it eight days after the crime, in the floating house where he was hiding.

In the 1994 World Cup, the Colombian team was among the favorites for the championship. One of its players, Andrés Escobar, was the idol of the crowd until the team got eliminated because of a mistake he made.

In a knock-out game against the USA, the player scored an own goal. It helped the US win by 2-1 and sent the Colombia team home. Upon arriving in Medellín, Escobar was treated as a villain. Even worse, he got killed by Humberto Muñoz Castro and three other men.

It is not known for sure whether the crime was ordered by people higher up in the Colombia crime scene or whether it was simply motivated by the fanatics' rage. Castro was sentenced to 43 years in prison, served 11, and was released for good behavior.

In 1995, Selena Quintanilla-Perez was at the height of her career when she was killed by Yolanda Saldivar, the former president of her fan club, in a hotel in Texas.

The crime happened after Selena discovered that Saldivar was embezzling money and stealing from her stores.

Saldivar, in an act of rage, bought a gun and shot Selena in the back. The killer was sentenced to life imprisonment, but she could apply for parole in 2025.

Singer Christina Grimmie was leaving a concert in Florida and handing out autographs when she was shot by one of her fans.

The shooter, who was carrying two revolvers and a hunting knife, took his own life after the act. According to close friends, he had an unhealthy love for the singer.

Actress Rebecca Schaeffer was shot at close range on her doorstep. The shooter was Robert John Bardo, a stalker who had been chasing her since 1986.

After he shot the actress, the murderer fled the scene. The police were on to him, though, and he was arrested the next day.

According to the press at the time, Bardo was outraged by a sexually suggestive scene of the actress. He claimed that it destroyed the idea of innocence and purity that he had of her.

Dimebag Darrell was famous for being one of the best metal guitarists and for playing in the bands Pantera and Damageplan. He was shot to death by Nathan Gale during a performance in Columbus, Ohio.

After shooting the musician, Gale began shooting at everyone who had come on stage to stop him. In the process, he killed fans, employees, and security staff. A total of fifteen people got hit. Eventually, the murderer was shot down on the spot by a police officer.