11 Most Disturbing Celebrity Murders From Around The World

11 Disturbing Celebrity Murders Around the World

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re reflecting on notorious homicides to befall prominent entertainers and shock a nation.

Kyoto Animation artists (2019)

Many prominent artists worked for the beloved Japanese studio and publisher Kyoto Animation. But they were not beloved by Shinji Aoba, a struggling writer who accused the company of plagiarizing books he submitted. So on July 18, 2019, he entered their Studio 1 building and set fire to it. It was the first massacre ever to occur within the animation industry. Among the 36 people killed were filmmakers Yoshiji Kigami, Futoshi Nishiya and Yasuhiro Takemoto. Aoba himself barely survived his injuries, only to receive the death penalty for the senseless killing of so many innocent and talented people.

Dariush Mehrjui (2023)

As one of the pioneers of the Iranian New Wave movement, Dariush Mehrjui was a controversially honest filmmaker even before the Revolution. He documented the shift from an unstable monarchy to a regime that he found to be even more repressive. In 2022, after decades of fighting censorship of his art, Mehrjui famously put out a public statement demanding that the state give him free speech or kill him. Just over a year later, he and his wife were stabbed to death in their home after reporting a series of threats. A disgruntled former employee was ultimately convicted, but unsettling rumors surrounded the grief of activists in and beyond Iran.

Gulshan Kumar (1997)

The relationship between movies and music in India was never the same after Gulshan Kumar founded T-Series in 1983. Countless knew the producer’s name, but none tried to help when multiple assailants shot him a total of 16 times in August of 1997. He succumbed to his injuries only after bystanders retreated to their homes. The popular theory is that Kumar was assassinated by the crime syndicate D-Company for withholding protection money. Some even believe that superstar composer Nadeem Saifi took out a murder contract over a dispute with the victim. Abdul Rauf Merchant confessed to the murder a few years later, but neither his acting or even profession as a contract killer was formally confirmed.

Bergen (1989)

Belgin Sarılmışer’s stage name was synonymous with Turkish pop music in the ‘80s for her talent and style. In fact, Bergen’s luxurious bangs helped cover scars from the 1982 acid attack by her husband that blinded her right eye. It wasn’t until ‘89 that she had the financial stability to divorce the violently obsessive Halis Serbest. Shortly thereafter, he shot Sarılmışer and her mother, killing the former. The survivor was so devastated that she had a cage built around her daughter’s grave to protect her in death. This came to also symbolize feminism and the crisis of domestic violence in Turkey. Of course, Bergen’s martyrdom doesn’t take away from her classic art.

Marie Trintignant (2003)

Coming from a large film family in France, actress Marie Trintignant stood out for her charisma and beauty. The five-time César Award nominee was also known for her volatile affair with Noir Désir frontman Bertrand Cantat. His jealousy over Trintignant’s husband culminated in a vicious assault on July 26, 2003. She died in a coma six days later, and Cantat served three years of an eight-year prison sentence for manslaughter. Whether he intended to kill Trintignant, the tragedy raised serious discussions about violence against women. And Cantat’s shocking career resurgence out of prison was an indictment of how French pop culture treats the issue.

Qandeel Baloch (2016)

After her campy breakout on “Pakistan Idol,” actress and model Quandeel Baloch claimed fame as the country’s first major social media influencer. She used this platform to support feminist messages with a glamorous image. This proved to be controversial even within her own conservative home. In July of 2016, Baloch was sedated and strangled to death by her own brother. The state had to file the charges so they couldn’t be dropped by the family, who were still able to overturn the killer’s life sentence in 2022 with a formal statement of forgiveness. This elevated an international spotlight on the continued practice of honour killings, among other social issues that Baloch lived and died to promote.

Theo van Gogh (2004)

Besides the distinguished lineage of his family, Theo van Gogh claimed fame as a versatile filmmaker and hard-hitting writer. He claimed infamy for his views on the growing influence of Islam in parts of the world, epitomized in the short film series “Submission.” Only the first installment was completed before Van Gogh was shot and stabbed to death by an Islamic extremist on November 2, 2004. His body was left in public in Amsterdam with a death threat to a colleague pinned to the stomach. This disturbing scene only boosted public debate about Van Gogh’s divisive perspective of religion. Certainly, it has haunted the body of work he left behind.

Pier Paolo Pasolini (1975)

The macabre surrounded this iconoclastic Italian filmmaker image to the gruesome end. On November 2, 1975, Pier Paolo Pasolini died from injuries sustained by bludgeoning and his own stolen car. Seventeen-year-old Giuseppe Pelosi confessed to committing this brutal killing with claims of self-defense. Nearly three decades later, he affirmed longstanding speculations that his confession was coerced by men believed to be the real killers. The popular theory is that Pasolini was killed by right-wing terrorists as a prominent figure in Marxist art. A formal plea to investigate evidence of political and criminal conspiracy was rejected in 2023. Whoever is responsible for Pasolini’s murder, it’s one of the most high-profile true crime cases in modern Italian and film history.

Sharon Tate (1969)

Any illusions about Southern California in 1969 were shattered on the night of August 9. Members of Charles Manson’s twisted hippie cult broke into the home of actress Sharon Tate and filmmaker Roman Polanski, while the latter was out scouting locations. The pregnant Tate and her four guests were all viciously stabbed and shot to death, before the Manson Family killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca the following night. It’s believed that these killings were part of a plot to frame Black Americans for high-profile crimes and spark an apocalyptic race war. Instead, Manson and his disciples were eventually convicted for their part in one of the most harrowing tragedies in Hollywood history.

Abby Choi (2023)

From her family's fortune and her own budding career, Abby Choi was poised to become one of Hong Kong’s biggest influencers. But mere days after she was declared missing in February of 2023, Choi was discovered dead and horrifically mutilated at age 28. Police soon arrested her ex-husband, his brother and their parents on charges of murder over financial matters. The patriarch’s mistress and two other associates were eventually linked to the conspiracy. The failure of this bizarre and brutal scheme gave the victim an international profile that she fell just short of life. Choi thus represents the particular importance in recognizing what was left behind by stars taken too soon and so cruelly.

Rob Reiner (2025)

The son of legendary comedian Carl Reiner built an incredible career of his own. After his acting breakout on the sitcom “All in the Family,” Rob Reiner directed a number of classic films across many genres. He was also a respected political activist. Alas, the multiple generations touched by this artist were devastated by the news that he and his wife Michele Singer were murdered in their home on December 14, 2025. Their son Nick was soon charged with homicide. Rob had made great strides to support his son through his struggles with substance use disorder and the volatile behavior that came with it. But Rob and Michele Reiner’s deaths represent a loss for countless families in and beyond America.

What other high-profile deaths haunt the world? Pay your respects in the comments.