It’s always shocking when a celeberity is either murdered or is charged with committing a murder. The most famous story is the South African Blade Runner, Oscar Pistorius, who was charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. 23 years ago it was O.J. Simpson who was charged with the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Bown Simpson and her “friend” Ronald Goldman.
Here is a list of 10 most shocking sports murders in sports history.
Munich Massacre: Killed During Summer Olympics 1972.
Undoubtedly, the most tragic and notable sports murder of all-time is the 1972 “Munich Massacre.” The Munich massacre was an attack during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany on 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team, who were taken hostage and eventually killed, along with a German police officer, by the Palestinian group Black September.
O.J. Simpson: Charged Double Murder of his Wife and her Friend.
O. J. Simpson is a retired American football player and actor. Simpson was the first professional football player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, a mark he set in 1973. On June 12, 1994, Simpson was charged with the ruthless and bloody double murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and her boyfriend Ron Goldman.
Had he done? Well, a jury of his peers said no after a criminal trial, but another jury of his peers said yes after a “wrongful death” trial in civil court. But one thing is for certain: O.J. is in jail right now. He was sentenced to 33 years back in 2008 for armed robbery.
Esteban de Jesus: Charged Murder of a 17-year-old boy.
Esteban de Jesús was a Puerto Rican world lightweight champion boxer whose life was full of controversy, problems and scandals. De Jesus, a native of the town of Carolina, Puerto Rico, was a gymmate of Wilfred Benítez and an acquaintance of Benitez’s mother, Clara Benítez. He was trained by Wilfredo’s father and Clara’s husband, Gregorio Benitez. He was the first boxer to defeat Roberto Durán as a pro.
Sadly, life after boxing wasn’t as successful. In 1981, de Jesús was convicted in his native Puerto Rico of killing a 17-year-old boy over a traffic dispute. Sentenced to life in prison, de Jesús contracted HIV and later died of AIDs in 1989 at the age of 37.
Mark Rogowski: Charged Murder of a Young Lady Jessica Bergsten.
Mark “Gator” Rogowski was a prominent professional skateboarder in the 1980s and very early 1990s. His career ended when he was convicted of assaulting, raping and murdering Jessica Bergsten on March 6, 1992.
Yet it wasn’t his girlfriend that Rogowski murdered. It was instead a friend of hers, Jessica Bergsten, whom he hadn’t seen in two years. She’d moved to San Diego in March of 1991 and phoned Rogowski asking him to show her around town. He did show her around town…then he clubbed her, raped her, murdered her, and buried her in the desert.
A few weeks later her body was found but it was unable to be identified. Plagued by guilt, Rogowski confessed what he had done to Constantino and was sentenced to 31 years in prison in 1992.
Sean Taylor: Shot inside his Miami-area home by intruders.
Sean Taylor was an American college and professional football player who was a free safety for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons.
Known as one of the NFL’s hardest hitters, Taylor died on November 27, 2007, one day after being shot inside his Miami-area home by intruders. Four young men, aged 17 to 20, were accused of killing Taylor. Jason Mitchell, Eric Rivera, Charles Wardlow and Venjah Hunte were charged with unpremeditated murder.
One of them, Venjah Hunte, accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 29 years in prison. The rest have yet to stand trial, as the date keeps getting pushed back.
Steve McNair: Killed by his his 20-year-old Mistress, Sahel Kazemi.
Steve McNair was a good quarterback, and he was extremely liked by his teammates and by football fans in Nashville. On July 4, 2009, McNair was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds, along with the body of a young woman named Sahel Kazemi.
Despite being popular, McNair also had a lot of secrets. Though married with 4 children, McNair kept a separate condo for himself which he used to entertain his 20-year-old mistress, Sahel Kazemi, for whom he had also purchased a Cadillac Escalade. But, Kazemi was unstable that McNair would not leave his wife. That’s why, she shot him four times and killed him, then took her own life.
Rae Carruth: Charged Murder of His Girlfriend.
In 1999, Carolina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth orchestrated the murder of Cherica Adams, a woman he had been casually dating. In 2001, he was found guilty of conspiring to murder the woman who at the time was carrying his child and is serving a prison sentence with an expected release date of 2018.
Apparently upset that Adams refused to have an abortion, Carruth hired his friend Van Brett Watkins to murder her. On the night of November 16, 1999, as Adams was driving along a road near Carruth’s home, he pulled his car in front of hers. Then another car pulled up beside hers and its passenger shot her. Then both cards sped away.
Adams managed to call 911, and said that Carruth had stopped his vehicle in front of hers, and that another vehicle drove alongside and its passenger had shot her. Carruth then drove away from the scene.
Oscar Pistorius: Charged with murder of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
It’s still way to early to know for sure what happened on Valentine’s Day 2013 at the home of South African Paralympic star, Oscar Pistorius. Oscar Pistorius has been charged with murder after his 30-year-old model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shoot dead local media report he shot his girlfriend four times through a bathroom door.
He was granted bail on 22 February 2013 and at a subsequent hearing on 19 August 2013 dates were set for a trial from 3 to 20 March 2014.
Jovan Belcher: Shot and killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins.
On December 1, 2012, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, the mother of his 3-month-old daughter, in the bathroom of his home. Perkins, who was 22, had been shot a total of 9 times in the neck, chest, abdomen, hip, back, leg and hand.
After killing Perkins, Belcher drove his Bentley about five miles to a parking lot at the Chiefs’ practice facility next to Arrowhead Stadium. He told chiefs GM Scott Pioli what he had done, thanked him, asked him to take care of his daughter, and committed suicide.
Chris Benoit: killed his wife, son Daniel and committed suicide.
There are many theories as to what made World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) professional wrestler Chris Benoit snap. Numerous explanations for his actions have been proposed, including brain damage, steroid abuse, and a failing marriage with his wife. On June 22, 2007, Benoit killed his wife Nancy Benoit, strangled their seven-year-old son Daniel.
Then, two days later, on June 24, he committed suicide with a weight machine. Benoit placed copies of the Bible alongside the bodies of his wife and son, as well as a third Bible on his weight lifting machine. In his system were Xanax, hydrocodone, and an elevated amount of synthetic testosterone.