Dominique Dunne (November 23, 1959 – November 4, 1982)

On October 30, 1982, actress Dominique Dunne - daughter to crime writer Dominick Dunne, sister to actor Griffin Dunne, and niece to writer/God Joan Didion - is strangled by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, in the driveway of her West Hollywood home and goes into a coma. She never regains consciousness and dies five days later. In a controversial court case, Sweeney is convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Dunne's death and serves three and a half years in prison. Dunne is 22 years old when she dies. Her killer roams free to this day under an alias.

Check out Dunne's story in Dead in Hollywood: Stalked (Issue #7).   

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John Bardo's 'Exit'

John Bardo shoots 23-year-old actress, Rebecca Schaeffer, at point-blank range when she opens the door to her apartment building . Bardo escapes down an alley, throwing his bloody yellow shirt on the roof of a dry cleaners. He then tosses a red paperback copy of the novel, "The Catcher in the Rye,” on the roof of a rehabilitation center - the same book John Lennon’s assassin, Mark David Chapman, carries to the scene of his horrific crime. 

The following video is of the same route Bardo used to escape. He evades police until the following day when he is finally captured in Tucson, AZ. 

Rebecca Schaeffer (120 N. Sweetzer Ave. #4 - West Hollywood, CA)

Rebecca Schaeffer isn’t prepared for the buzzer to ring. She's getting ready for a meeting with director Francis Ford Coppola in hopes of being cast in “The Godfather III” - a role that ultimately goes to his daughter, director Sophia Coppola (Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation). The intercom to her building doesn’t work, so Schaeffer exits her apartment in a bathrobe and descends the flight of stairs leading to the glass front door. She opens the door and talks to her stalker, John Bardo, politely, but says that she is really busy and to please leave her alone. Bardo walks away, seething. He can’t believe she would talk to fans like that. He sits down at a nearby diner, Jan’s - now a Chipotle - and orders onion rings and slice of cheesecake. He returns to Schaeffer’s building an hour later. Still in her bathrobe, Schaeffer answers the door again. This time she says that he’s wasting her time and to please leave her alone. Bardo responds by saying, “I forgot to give you this.” He pulls a gun out of a plastic bag and shoots Schaeffer at point-blank range in the chest.

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Rebecca Schaeffer (November 6, 1967 – July 18, 1989)

Rebecca Schaeffer is born in Eugene, Oregon, the only child to Danna and Benson Schaeffer. She has aspirations of becoming a rabbi but begins modeling during her junior year at Lincoln High School in Portland, Oregon. In 1984, at the age of 16, Schaeffer’s parents give her permission to move to New York City by herself to pursue a modeling career. Shortly after arriving, she lands the role of Annie Barnes on the ABC soap “One Life to Live.” “One Life to Live” is my mom’s favorite soap and I watch almost every episode with her from the age of 5 until I moved to L.A. on my own at the age of 17. I remember Schaeffer on the soap, but I had no idea of what horrors await the both of us. For me, the horror is the death of my mother. For Schaeffer, it was her own death at the hands of stalker Robert “John” Bardo. 

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Rebecca Schaeffer (120 N. Sweetzer Ave. #4 - West Hollywood, CA)

On the morning of July 18, 1989, John Bardo wanders around actress, Rebecca Schaeffer’s, neighborhood, wearing  a yellow shirt - soon to be splattered in the Schaeffer's blood. He flashes neighbors Schaeffer’s glossy headshot in hopes that they might point him in her direction. He approaches Schaeffer’s building at 10:15AM and buzzes unit #4 - Schaeffer’s name is listed on the callbox. The callbox remains the same today, but in place of names are apartment numbers. Schaeffer isn’t prepared for the buzzer to ring. She's getting ready for a meeting with Francis Ford Coppola - she hopes to be cast in “The Godfather III” - a role ultimately going to his daughter, director Sophia Coppola (Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation). The intercom doesn’t work, so Schaeffer exits her apartment in a bathrobe and descends the flight of stairs leading to the glass front door. She opens the door and talks to Bardo politely, but says that she is really busy and to please leave her alone. Bardo walks away, seething. He can’t believe she would talk to fans like that. He sits down at a nearby diner, Jan’s - now a Chipotle - and orders onion rings and slice of cheesecake. He returns to Schaeffer’s building an hour later. Still in her bathrobe, Schaeffer answers the door again. This time she says that he’s wasting her time and to please leave her alone. Bardo responds by saying, “I forgot to give you this.” He pulls a gun out of a plastic bag and shoots Schaeffer at point-blank range in the chest. She is pronounced dead 30 minutes later at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. 

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