Murders Caused By Television Shows:#2 Rebecca Schaeffer And My Sister Sam

Rebecca Lucile Schaeffer

She was born on November 6, 1967 in Oregon, and was the only child of  child psychologist Benson and writer and instructor Danna Schaeffer. 

She developed a passion for drama at an early age, but initially wanted to be a rabbi. Later, Rebecca was approached to try modeling. Just a couple of years after starting as a teen model, she moved to New York City to pursue a full-fledged career in entertainment.

Rebecca initially scored a role on the soap opera One Life to Live, among other opportunities, but her big break came when she landed the role of Patti on the sitcom My Sister Sam. 

The TV show brought her back to her home coast, and she moved to California in 1986.

She was the covergirl for Seventeen’s March 1987 issue, and she went on to star in several movies.

In 1989 she also became a spokesperson for Thursday's Child, a charity for at-risk teens.

On July 18th, 1989, Rebecca was waiting excitedly at her west Hollywood home for The Godfather Part III script to be delivered. She had an opportunity to audition for the role Mary Corleone. When the doorbell rang she rushed to the door, but to her surprise it wasn't the mail courier. Instead, it was a man with an autographed picture of her. After a brief conversation, she asked him not to come back. He did in fact leave, but then returned an hour later dressed as a flower delivery man. He rang her doorbell once more. Rebecca again answered the door and told him that he was wasting her time. All the of sudden, the man then pulled out a gun out of a brown paper bag and fired twice in the chest at point-blank range in the doorway of her apartment building. Rebecca screamed "Why? Why?" and collapsed in her doorway as the man fled. Hearing her frantic screams, her neighbor, actress Lynne Marta, phoned paramedics.The man ran along the Hollywood block before ditching down an alley. When the paramedics arrived they transported Rebecca to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Sadly, she was pronounced dead 30 minutes after her arrival.

The next day, people driving down interstate 10, called police to report a man running down the road. He was arrested and confessed to killing Rebecca. His name was Robert Bardo and he was a fan who had been stalking her for three years. 

Robert Bardo had been abused as a child and his teachers described him as a time bomb on the verge of exploding. He became obsessed with My Sister Sam and built a shrine to Rebecca in his bedroom. He then wrote numerous letters to Rebecca, one of which she answered. Robert even traveled to Los Angeles hopes of meeting Rebecca on the set of the show, but security turned him away. He returned a month later armed with a knife, but security guards again prevented him from gaining access. 

Robert then saw the movie that starred Rebecca that was called The Class Struggle. The movie contained a sex scene between Rebecca and a male actor, which enraged Robert and he decided that he needed to punish her. Robert paid a detective agency $250 to find Rebecca's home address in California DMV records. His brother helped him get a Ruger GP100 .357 handgun because he disclosed that he had prior mental health issues. Robert traveled to Los Angeles a third time and roamed the neighborhood where Rebecca lived, asking people if she actually lived there. Once he was certain that the address was correct, he carried out his plan.

Marcia Clark prosecuted the case and Robert was found guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

As a result of this case, The Driver's Privacy Protection Act, which prevents the DMV from releasing private addresses, was enacted in 1994. Heather's death also helped prompt the 1990 passage of America's first anti-stalking laws.