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Photo of Marvin Gaye

Episode 1: Rae Carruth: Conspired to Murder His Pregnant Girlfriend

NFL player Rae Carruth had fallen on hard times.  Because of injuries, his career was in jeopardy, and he soon fell into financial straits after losing a child support battle and a string of bad investments.  So when Carruth found out that he had a baby on the way from Cherica Adams, one of Carruth’s many girlfriends, he decided to kill her and make the murder look like a random act of violence on the road.  What Carruth didn’t expect, was that after Adams had been shot four times, she would survive long enough to dial 911 and explain the crime to the dispatchers.  She also managed to write notes about the murder that told the story of Carruth blocking her car with his on the road so she couldn’t escape being shot.  Adams did not survive the shooting but her and Carruth’s infant son was rescued.

Episode 2: LaLa Brown: Double Homicide

LaLa Brown was an up-and-coming star in the Hip Hop community, who had just had success as the lead singer on the Lyfe Jennings song “S.E.X.”  But she would never have the chance to reach true stardom because she was murdered along with her boyfriend in a Milwaukee recording studio.  Who had a motive to gun down Brown and her man?  The case remains unsolved.

Episode 3: Marvin Gaye: Murdered by His Father

Marvin Gaye was an international superstar, with a plethora of #1 hits and sold-out tours.  But the pressures of stardom were a strain on Marvin’s mental health, and after a world-wide tour the singer decided to isolate himself and unwind by moving in with his parents.  Unfortunately, tension rose between Marvin and his father after groupies and drug dealers began visiting the house.  After Gaye got involved in an argument between his parents, the fight escalated, and his father shot him, ironically with the pistol that Marvin had given as a gift months before.  How did this argument turn into bloodshed?   What was happening behind closed doors and what events led up to this tragedy?  

Episode 4: Jam Master Jay: Murder

Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC fame was spending time in his Queens, New York music studio, when he was shot and killed.  Surprisingly, though many of his friends were in the studio that night and heard the crime occur, no one actually witnessed the shooting or saw the assailant enter and leave the building.  And almost 10 years later, police have yet to name a suspect.  The one thing they do know is that Jam Master Jay knew his murderer.  Who did it, and what was his motive?  How did the criminal manage to slip past every single witness?

Episode 5: Bison Dele aka Brian Williams: Disappearance in the South Pacific

Bison Dele had traded fame and fortune in the NBA for a nomadic life at sea with his girlfriend.  But when his brother, Miles Dabord, came aboard, a fight broke out between Dabord and Dele that ended in tragedy.  Dele, his girlfriend, and the boat captain disappeared off the coast of Tahiti and a few months later, Dabord, the only witness and suspect, died from an insulin overdose.

Episode 6: Merlin Santana: Death of a Talented Rapper and Actor

At the time of his death Merlin Santana was a promising actor and rapper with stints on the Cosby Show and The Steve Harvey Show under his belt.  On March 9th, 2002, the 26-year-old was fatally shot 6 times while sitting in a parked car in Los Angeles.  Santana’s 15-year-old girlfriend had falsely accused him of rape – was this a revenge crime for something Santana did not do?  Or was it a case of Santana being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Celebrity Crime Files investigates.

Episode 7: Donald Goines: Pulp Crime Novels Become Reality

Donald Goines achieved fame for writing 16 popular black pulp crime novels in only five years, an incredible streak that was cut short when he was shot and killed in 1974.  Widely considered the father of contemporary street literature, the Detroit native was renowned for his vivid depictions of ghetto and prison life.  Who killed this man who gave voice to the violent underside of the urban jungle?  Authorities claim Goines’ death was the result of a drug deal gone wrong.  However, many suspect it was the characters themselves, neighborhood criminals who believed the author had implicated them and given hints to their identities in his detailed works.  Will anyone ever uncover the true identity of who murdered this famed crime novelist?

Episode 8: Peter Tosh: Reggae Artist Attacked In His Jamaican Home

Famous reggae solo artist and core member of The Wailers with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh returned home to Jamaica from a triumphant performance at the Grammys and was killed by three ex-cons who invaded his home.  The men were strangers to Tosh, except one: Dennis “Leppo” Lobban, a young man who Tosh had tried to help with a job search only a few months before.  After unsuccessfully trying to extort money from Tosh, the gang brutally tortured and shot the artist.  In the midst of the crime, friends wanting to welcome Tosh back to Jamaica arrived at the house.  The gang attacked them, injuring some and killing Djs Free I and Wilton “Doc” Brown.  What provoked this attack?  Celebrity Crime Files investigates the stories surrounding the heartbreaking death of an icon.