These Celebrity Moms Have Killed People; Read About Their Tragic Stories

Admittedly, when you read a headline about celebrity moms who’ve killed people it can be quite jarring, to say the least. As most of us can attest to, life is normally devoid of glitz and glamour, even for the rich and famous. Although the killings at the hands of these A-list moms have been ruled accidents or self-defense, the idea of being responsible for someone’s death is a sorrow these famous mothers will probably carry for a lifetime.

1. Rebecca Gayheart – In 2001, Rebecca Gayheart was driving in Los Angeles when she struck 9-year-old Jorge Cruz as he crossed a street, while on his way home. He died the next day. She pled no contest to vehicular manslaughter and received three years of probation and 750 hours of community service. Four years after the tragedy the actress opened up to PEOPLE, describing the first few years after the accident as a “terrible, terrible time. I couldn’t really function for a while,” she said, also revealing that she had trouble sleeping and eating, and lost weight. “I just got to a point where I realized I needed help…” Gayheart began therapy and said it’s aided in her healing, but admitted, “I don’t think anyone could sit and say they got over something like this. I just don’t think that’s possible. It hasn’t been for me.”

2. Fay DeWitt – In 1965, Mork and Mindy actress Fay DeWitt was accused of stabbing her ex-husband, playwright Ray Allen, to death with a letter opener. The next day, charges were dropped against the comedic performer after it was determined that Allen was drunk, broke into Dewitt’s home, and repeatedly banged her head against a wall. The couple had reportedly been divorced for about a month at the time of the incident.

3. Laura Bush – In 1963, former First Lady Laura Bush and a friend were heading to a drive-in theater when the then 17-year-old, at the wheel of her father’s Chevy Impala, ran a stop sign on a small road and smashed into a car being driven by star athlete Mike Douglas, a popular student at her school. In her book, Spoken from the Heart, Bush admitted to carrying years of guilt. She encourages young drivers who have been in serious accidents to speak to loved ones, counselors or spiritual or pastoral advisers. And although Bush didn’t do this herself she does reveal how she got through, “Most of how I ultimately coped with the crash was by trying not to talk about it, not to think about it, to put it aside. Because there wasn’t anything I could do. Even if I tried.”

4. Claudine Longet – Claudine Longet is an actress and singer. She’s known for her acting roles on such TV shows as  Combat! (1962), Mr. Novak (1963), and Hogan’s Heroes (1965). As a recording artist, Longet was signed by Herb Alpert’s A&M Records and released a string of albums, with four hit songs. She was married to Andy Williams from 1961-1975 and has three children with him. In 1976, she shot and killed her lover, Olympic skier Vladimir “Spider” Sabich, at his Aspen, CO, home. Longet said the gun had discharged accidentally as Sabich was showing her how to use it. She was convicted of criminal negligence and sentenced to 30 days in jail.

5. Amy Locane – In 2010, former Melrose Place star, Amy Locane was convicted of vehicular homicide and sentenced to 3 years in prison after she drove drunk and plowed her SUV into a female pedestrian, Helene Seeman. The collision killed 60-year-old Seeman and seriously injured her husband, Fred. The judge would have given her the maximum sentence of 15 years, but due to the fact that Locane had two small children, including a 4-year-old with Crohn’s disease, she was granted a lesser sentence. Locane was released on parole on June 12, 2015. Through a written statement by her husband, Mark Bovenizer, he said, “There is not a day that goes by that Amy does not feel remorse and sorrow for the victims of her actions on that day in June 2010…”

6. Brandy Norwood – In 2006, singer-actress Brandy Norwood was driving her vehicle on a Los Angeles highway at 65mph and did not notice that cars in front of her had slowed. Her Land Rover struck a 2005 Toyota, which hit a 1989 Toyota. According to TMZ, the 2005 Toyota slid sideways and then hit the center divider. As the 2005 Toyota came to a halt, it was struck by a 1988 Acura. The driver of the 2005 Toyota, Awatef Aboudihaj, was taken to the hospital in critical condition and died the next day. “I don’t like to think about it… I don’t think that’s something I could ever get over, it was one of the worst times in my life.” Brandy told Oprah Winfrey in 2014. The singer said that during those days is when she realized that God was real because she had no one else to turn to, and that is when she did a lot of speaking to God and praying.