6 Celebrities Who Were Killed By Superfans & Stalkers

Read on to remember the stars who were killed…

In 1995, Selena Quintanilla was at the height of her career when she was shot and killed by her fan club president and business associate Yolanda Saldívar. While their relationship had begun relatively normally, as Yolanda took on more responsibilities on Selena’s team, she became obsessive and possessive. On top of that, with access to writing and cashing checks as well as use of Selena’s credit card, it was discovered she was embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from the fan club and Selena’s two boutiques.

After being accused of stealing money, tensions began to rise between Yolanda and the rest of Selena’s team. While Selena still made efforts to be friendly with Yolanda, she was becoming more erratic and had even purchased a gun. Yolanda made several attempts to get Selena alone and on March 31, 1995, she was successful. After meeting at a motel, the two began to argue about finances and the missing money. Around 11:48 a.m., Yolanda fatally shot Selena. She was just 23-years-old.

Yolanda is currently serving 30 years to life behind bars and was recently denied parole.

Christina Grimmie was just 22-years-old when her life was cut short by an obsessive fan. By then, she had already garnered a devoted fan base through her YouTube channel and her appearance on The Voice — and a man named Kevin James Loibl had followed her every move. On the night of June 10, 2016, he attended her concert in Florida and then lined up to meet her after the show. When it was his turn, he pulled out a gun and fatally shot her. Christina’s brother was able to tackle him to the ground before the gunman pulled out another weapon and killed himself.

While Kevin did not leave behind any indication as to why he killed Christina, his close friend said that he was fixated on the singer and “spent most of his waking hours watching Christina on YouTube as well as constantly monitoring her social media accounts.”

Back in the 1980s, Rebecca Schaeffer was a young star on the rise — and a fan named Robert John Bardo had been following her every move. A loner with few friends and a history of aggression and mental illness, he first saw Rebecca in a commercial for her show, My Sister Sam and his fixation began. He began writing numerous fan letters and when Rebecca finally replied, he decided he needed to meet her in person. After traveling to Los Angeles, he attempted to visit her on the Warner Bros. Studio lot where she was working but was turned away on more than one occasion, growing increasingly frustrated.

Then, in 1989, Rebecca appeared in a more mature role in Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills which included a love scene. An infuriated Robert decided he needed to confront her and convinced his brother to buy him a gun. On the morning of July 18, 1989, he arrived in Los Angeles and headed to Rebecca’s apartment. He spoke to her on two different occasions and the second time, he pulled out a gun and fatally shot her.

He was later found guilty of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“Regarding Rebecca Schaeffer, she was irreplaceable. I think about her everyday because she should be here. I realize what I’ve done and I feel a lot of tremendous guilt,” Bardo told 20/20 in 2019.

On the evening of December 8, 1980, musician John Lennon was shot and killed by an obsessed fan outside of his apartment building in New York City. Mark David Chapman had purchased a gun months before coming face-to-face with John and planned out his murder, later explaining that he had believed John to be a hypocritical, “phony” person. He encountered John twice on the day of his murder, even having the musician sign a copy of his released album, Double Fantasy.

When John and his wife Yoko Ono returned to the apartment later that evening, the gunman made his move, fatally shooting the musician and confessing to the crime in the moments that followed. He was later charged with second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment. He is still behind bars to this day and says his actions were purely out of jealousy.

“My thinking was he has all of this money, lives in this beautiful apartment and he is into music representing a more cautious lifestyle, a more giving lifestyle. It made me angry and jealous compared to the way I was living at the time. There was jealousy in there,” he said during a parole hearing, according to ABC News. “I assassinated him…because he was very, very, very famous and that’s the only reason and I was very, very, very, very much seeking self-glory, very selfish.”

In December 2004, musician Dimebag Darrell was the victim of a mass shooting at a nightclub in Ohio of which he was the primary target. During a performance with one of his bands called Damageplan, a man named Nathan Gale rushed the stage and fatally shot the guitarist. In the moments that followed, the gunman also shot and killed Damageplan’s head of security, Jeffrey “Mayhem” Thompson, club employee Erin Halk and a fan named Nathan Bray — all of whom attempted to stop the attack. The gunman was killed by a police officer minutes later.

While Nathan did not leave behind any reasoning for his attack, his mother alleged that he had been discharged from the United States Marine Corps due to paranoid schizophrenia about a year before the incident.

Over time, his friends say that Nathan, a lifelong fan of Darrell’s band Pantera, had become increasingly erratic and even believed that the band was stealing from him and attempting to take his identity. Months before the shooting, he had also rushed the stage at another Damageplan concert, causing damage to the venue — but the band ultimately did not press charges. Later that year, Nathan went through with his plan, killing Darrell and three others.

Colombian soccer player Andrés Escobar was murdered by angry fans shortly after the FIFA World Cup in 1994. During a match against the United States, Andrés inadvertently scored a goal into Colombia’s own net, effectively leading to the country’s elimination from the tournament. The accident caused outrage among some fans.

Upon Andrés’ return to Colombia days later, he spent the night out at a bar with a group of friends. At 3 a.m., Andrés walked to his car alone and was approached by three men. Two of the men pulled out handguns and fatally shot the soccer star before driving away. The gunmen reportedly yelled “Goal!” after every shot.

Humberto Castro Muñoz, a drug cartel bodyguard in Colombia, was later arrested for the murder. He allegedly worked for a drug trafficker who lost heavily betting on the outcome of the game. His other conspirators were not caught or charged.