The world is captivated by celebrity scandals and the speculation that surrounds them. While love affairs often dominate headlines, the prospect of a famous figure being linked to murder is particularly shocking. Throughout history, several well-known individuals have been suspected of murder, though never convicted. Some were victims of baseless theories, while others likely committed the act, but their motives remained unclear. Here are ten surprising cases of famous murder suspects.
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin, the esteemed scientist and statesman, was once the subject of an outlandish rumor linking him to serial killings. The rumor emerged in 1998, over two centuries after his death. During renovations of a building where Franklin resided in London before the Revolution, workers discovered a pit containing the skeletons of approximately 15 people, dating back over 200 years. While this coincided with Franklin’s occupancy of the Georgian townhouse between 1757 and 1775, he wasn’t the sole resident.
William Hewson, a distinguished anatomist, used part of the building as an anatomy school. Hewson likely acquired cadavers through the thriving black market of the time for his classes. Therefore, the bones found were most likely related to Hewson’s anatomical studies, debunking the theory of Franklin being a serial killer.
Senator Ted Cruz
Texas Senator Ted Cruz was jokingly accused of being the Zodiac Killer, a notorious figure from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The accusation began as a Twitter joke in 2013 and quickly gained traction online. The Zodiac Killer murdered at least five people and sent coded messages to the authorities and media, yet was never identified.
Cruz humorously referenced the theory in a 2018 Halloween tweet, sharing a coded message with the Zodiac Killer’s symbol. However, the rumor is unfounded. Cruz is too young to have been the Zodiac and is originally from Canada, not California, where the Zodiac killings occurred.
Thomas Griffiths Wainewright
Thomas Griffiths Wainewright, a central figure in English romanticism, associated with notable figures such as William Blake and John Keats. He achieved early success as a writer for the London Magazine, and his paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy. However, his life took a dark turn as he resorted to crime to finance his extravagant lifestyle.
Wainewright forged documents to access his grandfather’s trust fund and was later convicted of forgery. He was also suspected of poisoning his uncle, mother-in-law, and young sister-in-law, the last of whom he had just insured. Though never proven, many believe Wainewright was responsible for their deaths.
Prince Albert Victor
Prince Albert Victor, Queen Victoria’s grandson and second in line to the throne, was posthumously suspected of being Jack the Ripper, the infamous serial killer who terrorized London in 1888. The theory was first proposed in a 1962 book. Some suggest the prince killed prostitutes who knew about his illegitimate child, while others claim he was driven mad by syphilis. However, evidence is scarce, and the prince was not even in London during the murders.
The Royal Family
More recently, the British Royal Family has faced accusations of orchestrating murders. Mohamed Al-Fayed claimed senior royals conspired to kill Princess Diana and his son, Dodi Fayed, alleging that the security services caused the 1997 car crash. He accused the royal family of wanting Charles to marry Camilla. Despite police reports indicating the crash was a tragic accident caused by drunk driving, Al-Fayed maintained his accusations, implicating various individuals in a cover-up.
King Juan Carlos I of Spain
In 1956, 14-year-old Prince Alfonso of Spain was fatally shot, leading to suspicions that his brother, the future King Juan Carlos I, was responsible. Juan Carlos, 18 at the time, was higher in the line of succession, but Alfonso was the favorite son. Accounts of the incident vary, with some suggesting the gun was accidentally discharged. No formal inquiry was conducted, fueling decades of speculation. Even the boy’s father reportedly asked Juan Carlos to swear it wasn’t on purpose.
Colonel Tom Parker
Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley’s manager, carefully concealed his past. “Tom Parker” was a pseudonym, and his claimed birthplace was fabricated. He had a psychotic breakdown during his army service and was diagnosed as a psychopath, which provides an important clue about his past. A Dutch woman recognized him as her brother, who disappeared after a woman was murdered near their home in the Netherlands in 1929. Although Parker evaded suspicion at the time, his violent temper led some to believe he was the killer.
Fatty Arbuckle
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, a successful silent movie star in the 1910s, faced public scandal in 1921. During a party, a young woman was found ill in his room and later died from a ruptured bladder. Arbuckle was accused of murder, and his films were pulled from theaters. Though three juries never found him guilty, the damage to his career was irreversible. He maintained that he found the unwell girl in his bathroom and moved her to his bed to rest.
Sid Vicious
The death of Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of Sex Pistols’ bassist Sid Vicious, remains controversial. In 1978, Spungen was found stabbed in their hotel room. Vicious was the prime suspect; however, many believe he was comatose from a drug overdose that night. There was also money missing from the room. Rockets Redglare, a dealer, apparently admitted to the murder in a nightclub. Vicious died of a heroin overdose before his trial, leaving the truth unresolved. Friends of the couple criticized the police for not properly investigating the murder.
John McAfee
John McAfee, a software pioneer, led a troubled life, facing suspicion for various crimes, including murder. After moving to Belize, one of McAfee’s neighbors, who had complained about McAfee’s aggressive dogs. After the dogs were poisoned, the neighbor was found shot dead, McAfee became the prime suspect. McAfee fled, claiming his neighbor was accidentally murdered by someone targeting him. He never faced trial in Belize. McAfee died in a Spanish prison in 2021 while awaiting extradition to the U.S. for tax evasion, adding a final conspiracy twist to his story.
These cases reveal the dark side of fame, where suspicion and speculation can tarnish even the most celebrated figures. Whether guilty or innocent, these individuals remain linked to infamous crimes in the public imagination.
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