Random Celebrities Whose Parents Were Murdered (15 items)

(#1) Charlize Theron
- 48
In 1991, Charlize Theron's mother Gerda shot and killed Charlize's father Charles. According to Gerda's testimony, Charles drunkenly threatened to kill her and Charlize. The actress's mother wasn't prosecuted, as the attorney general determined that Gerda had shot Charles in defense of her daughter and herself.
(#2) Michael Jordan
- 60
Michael Jordan's father, James Jordan, was killed in 1993. He was lethally shot in an apparent carjacking, in which the killer or killers took two NBA championship rings that Michael had given as gifts. In 1996, Daniel Green and Larry Demery were sentenced to life in prison in relation to the shooting.
(#3) Jennifer Hudson
- 42
In 2008, Jennifer Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, brother Jason Hudson, and nephew Julian King were shot and killed. Hudson's brother-in-law William Balfour - Julia's estranged husband - was convicted of the killings and sentenced to three life sentences.
(#4) Dylan McDermott
- 61
In 1967, when Dylan McDermott was 5 years old, his mother Diane was shot dead in what police deemed an accident. After McDermott called the police with questions about his mother's death, the case was re-opened in 2011. Police filed murder charges against John Sponza, Diane's boyfriend at the time of her death. Sponza had ties to organized crime, and was found dead in the trunk of a car in 1972.
(#5) Patrick Duffy
- 74
Marie and Terence Duffy, the parents of actor Patrick Duffy, were killed in 1986 during an armed robbery of their Montana bar. Sean Wentz and Kenneth Miller were convicted of the killings and sentenced to 75 years in prison. Miller was released in 2007, on parole.
(#6) Dave Navarro
- 56
In 1983, Dave Navarro's mother, Constance, was shot to death in her West LA apartment. Her friend, Sue Jory, was also killed. Constance's ex-boyfriend, John Riccardi, was arrested in 1991 thanks in part to America's Most Wanted.
(#7) Sean Lennon
- 47
John Lennon, founder of the Beatles and father of musician Sean Lennon, was shot to death on December 8, 1980. Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life.
(#8) John F. Kennedy, Jr.
- Dec. at 38 (1960-1999)
John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was shot and killed in Dallas, TX, on November 22, 1963. Police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald for the crime, but he was killed two days later, on November 24, en route to the Dallas County jail.
(#9) James Ellroy
- 75
In 1958, crime fiction author James Ellroy's mother, Geneva Ellroy, was strangled to death. Her body was discovered with one of her stockings around her neck. The slaying remains unsolved.
(#10) Omarosa Manigault
- 49
The father of Celebrity Apprentice star Omarosa Manigault was killed when she was 7 years old. Tragically, her brother Jack was shot to death in 2011.
(#11) Malcolm X
- Dec. at 39 (1925-1965)
In 1931, Malcolm X's father, Rev. Earl Little, was found dead on streetcar tracks near his home in East Lansing, MI. Police ruled Rev. Little's death an accident, though the family suspected it was the work of white supremacists.
(#12) Gregg Allman
- 75
Willis Turner Allman, father of Allman Brothers Band co-founders Duane and Gregg Allman, was shot and killed in 1949, by a hitchhiker named Buddy Green.
(#13) Jake Zyrus

The father of Glee actor Jake Zyrus, Ricky Pempengco, was killed in the Philippines in 2011. According to police, a drunk man killed Pempengco with an ice pick. Angel Capili Jr. admitted to the stabbing.
(#14) Paul Harvey
- Dec. at 90 (1918-2009)
Harry Aurandt, father of radio broadcaster Paul Harvey, was killed in Tulsa, OK, in 1921. While he and a fellow police officer were rabbit hunting, a group of men attempted to rob them and shot Aurandt. He died two days later. Two men were convicted of the killing and sentenced to life in prison.
(#15) Melvin Mora
- 51
Retired MLB player Melvin Mora was just 6 years old when his father Gregorio was killed in front of him in Venezuela. The killer supposedly mistook Gregorio for Gregorio's brother.