10 Lesser-Known Facts About Keanu Reeves’ Life

With movies like The Matrix, Speed, John Wick, and several others, Keanu Reeves has become one of the top actors in Hollywood. He is often jokingly considered immortal because of how little his appearance changed over the decades, and also because of striking resemblance to Paul Mounet, a 19th-century French actor, and Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula. That wasn’t the only instance of what his looks inspired. Did you know that in 1994, the original character design for the superhero Green Lantern was based on him? Here are some more such interesting facts about Keanu Reeves and his life.

1. Keanu Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon. He has English, Chinese, Irish, Native Hawaiian, and Portuguese ancestry.

Image Source: worldation

Reeves’ mother, Patricia Taylor, is English and originally from Essex. His father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr., is an American born in Hawaii and of Chinese, English, Irish, Native Hawaiian, and Portuguese ancestry. Reeves’ paternal grandmother is Chinese and Hawaiian, and as a child, he was around Chinese art, furniture, and cuisine growing up. His mother imparted his English manners to him, which he says he retained even after growing up. Two of his favorite shows as a child were The Two Ronnies and Monty Python.(1, 2)

2. Reeves’ first name “Keanu” means “cool breeze over the mountains” and was derived from the name of his great-great-uncle Keaweaheulu.

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Reeves was named after his paternal uncle Henry Keanu Reeves. The name of his great-great-uncle means “the soft breeze raising” in Hawaiian. When Reeves first came to Hollywood to be an actor, his agent thought his name was too exotic and suggested he changed it. So, in the early movies in his career, he was sometimes credited as K.C. Reeves (after his full name Keanu Charles Reeves), or Norman Kreeves, or Chuck Spadina.(1, 2)

3. Reeves’ mother was a showgirl and costume designer, and his father was a drug dealer.

Image Source: Steve Granitz, bodyheightweight

After leaving England, Patricia Taylor worked as a showgirl in Paris and then in a Beirut casino where she met Reeves’ father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr. They later moved to Toronto where Taylor began working as a costume designer. One of her clients was rock star Alice Cooper who used to babysit Reeves. His father used drugs and was addicted to heroin for two decades. He abandoned his family when Reeves was three years old. Reeves last met him when he was 13 years old and never kept in touch after that. His father was arrested in 1992 at Hilo International Airport while attempting to sell heroin to someone. He received 10 years in prison but was paroled after two years.(1, 2, 3)

4. Reeves was a successful ice hockey goalie which earned him the nickname “The Wall.” He dreamed of playing hockey for Canada but had to give it up because of an injury.

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Reeves had to move around a lot due to his mother’s marriages and was often expelled from school for being “just a little too rambunctious and shot [his] mouth off once too often.” In just five years, he attended four high schools, including Etobicoke School of the Arts, Toronto. Though he did not do well in academics in which was challenged by dyslexia, he excelled at sports. While at De La Salle College “Oaklands”, a private Catholic school in Toronto, he became a successful ice hockey player earning him the nickname “The Wall.” Because his mother was a costume designer and his first stepfather, Paul Aaron, was a Broadway and Hollywood director, Reeves’ interest in films began early on. One of his early jobs was working as a production assistant in Aaron’s films. After leaving De La Salle College, he attended Avondale Secondary Alternative School while working as an actor, but later dropped out and pursued acting full time.(source)

5. During the early 1990s, Reeves was the bassist and backing vocalist in the grunge band Dogstar which released two albums: Our Little Visionary and Happy Ending.

Dogstar was formed in 1991 after Reeves’ chance encounter with TV actor Robert Mailhouse who was wearing a Detroit Red Wings hockey sweater. Being an avid hockey fan, he asked if Mailhouse needed a goalie. Soon they became friends and started jamming together. In 1992, they were joined by Gregg Miller, the band’s lead guitarist and singer, and in 1994, by Bret Domrose, vocalist/guitarist. In 1995, they opened for Bon Jovi in Australia and New Zealand, and in 1996, released four tracks followed by their debut album Our Little Visionary. Despite having individual work commitments, they managed to release their second album Happy Ending in 1999. They performed to a worldwide audience until 2002. Reeves left the band because of his work schedule following a few intermittent performances.(source)

6. There is a movement called “Keanu Code” which claims that you can know about the hidden forces that control and influence the world by studying the movies Reeves starred in.

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A man named Bo G has created a philosophy called “No-Way Neo-Duddhism” which is about taking the metaphorical “red pill” to “wake up” from the metaphorical Matrix we live in. The purpose of it is to seek enlightenment and deeper self-awareness. The term “No-Way” is short for “Know Way” and its basic principle is to find the truth about oneself. “Neo” refers to Reeves’ character in The Matrix franchise. The term “Duddhism” was derived from Daoism, Buddhism, and Druidism. According to Bo G, “Duddhism is a way of life as well as a philosophy that practically swims in the very essence of Being Excellent to Each Other and Partying On!”

Part of this philosophy is the analysis of films Reeves starred in, which Bo G refers to as the “Keanu Code.” It draws parallels between various philosophical and theological concepts and the symbolism in Reeves’ movies. For example, the films The Matrix, The Devil’s Advocate, Constantine, and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure suggest that there are “unseen sides to our reality.” It also suggests that maintaining or living in illusions, in other words “our illusionary understanding of the world,” would only lead to suffering. The only way out of it is to “wake up,” learn to live well and have fun.(source)

7. Keanu Reeves wrote a book of sad poems titled An Ode to Happiness as a joke after a photo of him looking sad and eating a sandwich alone on a bench went viral.

Image Source: amazon, bbc

When one of Reeves’ friends, Janey Bergam, was at his house listening to sad, self-pitying songs in the spirit of poking fun at them he began to write a poem. The first few lines went, “I draw a hot sorrow bath/In my despair room/I wash my hair with regret shampoo,” along with mentions of his “pain soap,” “I hate myself face cream,” and “alone again silk pajamas.” Six months later, Bergam made it into a handmade book and gifted it to Reeves. The book was illustrated by Los Angeles artist Alexandra Grant. Reeves and Grant went to Germany to work with renowned arts books printer Gerhard Steidl to publish 4,000 limited edition copies. About the book Reeves said, “Hopefully looking at this you can come out of [sadness] and become objective about what circumstances you’re going through and maybe have a smile about it.”(source)

8. Reeves had his daughter (2000) and girlfriend (2001) pass away within 15 months of each other.

Image Source: healthyceleb, wikipedia

Reeves’ girlfriend Jennifer Syme was an American actress and personal assistant. She worked for director David Lynch for a while and was a personal assistant to Dave Navarro. She also starred in a few minor roles including a part in Lynch’s film Lost Highway. In January 2000, Syme gave birth to her and Reeves’ stillborn daughter Ava Archer Syme-Reeves after eight months of pregnancy. The grief caused a strain on their relationship.

On April 2, 2001, after leaving a party at Marilyn Manson’s house, Syme drove her Jeep Grand Cherokee into a row of three parked cars in Cahuenga Boulevard, Los Angeles. This caused her car to roll over several times, partially ejecting her and killing her instantly. The investigation concluded that she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt and was inebriated at that time. Two prescription drugs were also found which she was taking as part of her treatment for back pain and depression.(1, 2)

9. Reeves forwent tens of millions of salary for many movies including The Devil’s Advocate, The Replacements, and The Matrix sequels so that the money could be used to cast better actors or fund better special effects.

Image Source: wikipedia, Warner Bros, wikipedia

After his success in Speed in 1994, Reeves became very selective of his work. In 1995, he turned down $11 million offer, his largest paycheck to date, for Speed 2: Cruise Control in order to tour with his band Dogstar and to play the title role in Hamlet at the Manitoba Theatre Centre. Later in 1997, he took a pay cut of $1 million so that Al Pacino could be cast in The Devil’s Advocate, which received good reviews and did well at the box office. In 2000, he took a 90% pay cut so that Gene Hackman could be cast in The Replacements, which was received less positively. The next year, Reeves has forgone his share of ticket profits, an estimated $38 million, for working in The Matrix sequels so that the producers will have the flexibility for an extensive special effects budget.(source)

10. Despite that, to date, Keanu Reeves remains the highest paid actor in the world with a total income of $156,000,000 for The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

Image Source: giphy

Most of the highest paid actors receive anywhere between $20 and $30 million as salary. In addition to that, some of them also receive a percentage of the film’s profit which adds to their income for that film. Though The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions were released six months apart in 2003, they were filmed under one production to reduce cost and time. For the movies, Reeves’ salary was $30 million and his total income was $156 million. Reeves is followed by Bruce Willis who received $14 million in salary and $100 million in total income for The Sixth Sense. Willis is followed by Tom Cruise for Mission: Impossible 2 and War of the Worlds, Will Smith for Men in Black 3, and Sandra Bullock for Gravity.(source)

Eric Dane And Rebecca Gayheart Divorcing After 14 Years Of Marriage

Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart are divorcing after 14 years of marriage and have released a joint statement asking for privacy.

Another Celebrity Couple Separating

2018 has just started and another celebrity couple is divorcing. Reportedly Grey's Anatomy star Eric Dane and wife Rebecca Gayheart are divorcing after 14 years of marriage. The couple were even seen enjoying a family holiday in December 2017 in Hawaii, so their divorce news has come as a big shock to the Entertainment Industry.

Releasing A Joint Statement

The couple has announced their news of separation publicly by releasing a joint statement. The statement read, "After 14 years together, we have decided that ending our marriage is the best decision for our family. We will continue our friendship and work as a team to co-parent our two beautiful girls as they are the most important thing in the world to us. We kindly ask that you respect our privacy during this time as we navigate the next phase of our lives."

Couple Share Two Beautiful Daughters

The couple shares two beautiful daughters, seven-year-old Billie Beatrice Dane and six-year-old Georgia Dane. It is reported that Gayheart has given "irreconcilable differences" as the reason behind the split. Also, Gayheart is seeking spousal support, as well as joint legal and physical custody of Billie and Georgia, from her 45-year-old husband.

Gayheart Shared A Heartbreaking Post On Instagram Recently

A few days back, Gayheart also shared a picture on Instagram with her daughters, "Holding onto my girls tight and loving them hard today. So many broken hearts and shattered dreams ....... @nancyneil @sophiemonet #meandmygirls #myeverything #trulymadlydeeply #gratitude #feels."

The Couple Were Considered As Goals In The Past

Dane has been vocal about his struggle with depression in the past and even took a temporary break from TNT's The Last Ship as the actor focused on his health. His then-wife Gayheart stood by his side all the times. Supporting her husband Gayheart said at the time, "Eric asked for a break to deal with personal issues. He suffers from depression and has asked for a few weeks of downtime and the producers kindly granted that request. He looks forward to returning." Gayheart also referred her husband in the past as her "man crush."

10 Famous People Who Lost Their Loved Ones To Unsolved Murders

It might feel like celebrities have the best of life with uncountable fans and the glamour. But when tragedy strikes, it strikes all. Many celebrities have lost their loved ones to brutal murders and gruesome accidents. Did you know that Sofia Vergara, the famous Modern Family actress, had a brother who was shot and killed and the murder is still unsolved? Thanks to Reddit, we were able to find 10 famous people who lost their loved ones to unsolved murders.

1. Mark Ruffalo’s brother died in 2008 from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot. But police later ruled the death as a homicide. The case remains unsolved to this day as the prime witness to the murder lost her life when the investigation was underway.

Image credit: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia

On December 1, 2008, Scott Ruffalo, the brother of renowned actor Mark Ruffalo, was found with a gunshot to his head in his Beverly Hills apartment. He breathed his last a week after the incident. Initially, the police believed that he might have shot himself as the bullet was from his gun and he died holding the gun in his left hand. But the autopsy reports later ruled out the death as a homicide. Basically, the entry wound made by the bullet could not have been self-inflicted.

Two people were present in his apartment at the time of the murder. Shaha Mishaal Adham, a client of Scott’s, and her boyfriend Brian Scofield were present. They claimed that he shot himself during a game of Russian Roulette. Adham and Brian were questioned by the police but were later let go and the case came to a halt.

The police couldn’t uncover any new leads in the case. Moreover, the case was completely based on Adham’s account. So when she died in 2012 from a drug overdose, the police hit a blank wall in the case. With the prime witness/suspect gone and with no new evidence, the case remains unsolved to this day.(source)

2. Joe Cole, the son of prominent television actor Dennis Cole, was killed in an armed robbery in 1991.

Image source: unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com

Joseph Dennis “Joe” Cole was the victim of an armed robbery that took place on December 19, 1991. He was the son of prominent actor Dennis Cole who ruled the television and film world of the 1960s and 1970s. Joe worked as a roadie for Black Flag and Rollins Band.

On the unfateful night of December 19, 1991, Joe and Henry Rollins, the founder of  Black Flag and Rollins Band, were approached by two armed men outside a grocery store. They demanded money and got angry when Cole and Rollins could only offer them $50. The gunmen then ordered the duo to go back to their house and get more cash.

With the robbers holding him at gunpoint, Rollins entered his house that he shared with Cole. But unfortunately, Cole was shot at close range by one of the robbers just outside the house. As commotion unfolded, Rollins was able to escape through the back door and alerted the police. The murder remains unsolved to this day.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Time, Rollins said that he keeps a container filled with soil that was soaked in Cole’s blood. He has dedicated numerous songs to his friend in his albums. He also published a book of Cole’s writings known as Planet Joe.(source)

3. Sofia Vergara’s brother was shot and killed in his hometown in 1996. Apparently, in 2013 a private detective discovered some new evidence linking the victim to a mob and urged the case to be re-opened. Sofia publicly denounced the detective’s claims.

Image credit: Yahoo/Flickr

Not many of us know that the well-known Modern Family star, Sofia Vergara, had a brother named Rafael José Vergara. She lost him 19 years ago to a shooting that took place on August 12, 1996. When the police were unable to pinpoint the murderer, Sofia said that it might have been a kidnapping gone wrong. Her brother was once kidnapped in 1994 for which they had paid the ransom. Maybe this was the second attempt, according to Sofia.

In 2013, some new news came into the limelight. A private detective claimed that he discovered evidence linking Rafael to the leader of Colombia’s Norte Del Valle drug cartel, Diego León Montoya Sánchez. Sofia took to Twitter to dismiss the claims of the detective.(source)

4. Celebrated author Lois Duncan lost her teenage daughter to a shooting on the streets in 1989. She spent 25 years of her life trying to solve her daughter’s murder until her death in 2016.

Image source: Screengrab via Action 7 News via Lois Arquette/Youtube, Screengrab via Mystery Writers of America/Youtube

Lois Duncan is a celebrated author who has played an important role in shaping the young-adult novel industry. She lost her daughter, Kaitlyn Arquette, to a street firing on July 16, 1989. Kait was just returning from a dinner at a friend’s house when she was shot twice through her driver’s seat window. After the incident, she was taken to the hospital where she ended up in a coma. On July 17, 1989, Kait was pronounced brain-dead. In the days after the shooting, the police tried to uncover the murder weapon and suspects, but all in vain.

The police brought the boyfriend, Dung Nguyen, for questioning and tested his hands for gun residue. The test came back negative. There also didn’t find any evidence when they searched the apartment shared by Kait and her boyfriend. Five days after the murder, Nguyen tried to commit suicide by stabbing himself on his stomach.

Events were unfolding fast and when the police couldn’t do anything, Lois and Kait’s elder sister, Robin, took the matter into their own hands. They learned from Kait’s friends that Nguyen was not the man that he portrayed he was. He was actually involved in a multi-million dollar insurance fraud scam where they would stage fake car crashes and somehow get the insurance money. Also, Nguyen’s stabbing himself sounded suspicious to Robin as not many people stab themselves on their stomachs to commit suicide. She felt like somehow the murder and the suicide attempt could be related.

The mother-daughter duo then uncovered some more facts that were completely ignored by the police. For example, they learned from Kait’s landlord that Kait was so terrified of her boyfriend and his friends that she requested for a change in locks. Also, one of her friends received a phone call for Nguyen on the night of the murder with him screaming “Kait dead!” The interesting part was that Nguyen made the call several hours before the police notified him of the murder. When Kait’s friend tried to bring this information to the police, the detective just ignored everything. They also found a handwritten note by Kait in which the original was completely different than the one the police had on record as evidence.

This led Lois to believe that there might have been police cover-ups and incompetence. Few arrests have been made by the police but because of lack of evidence or loopholes in testimony, the police had to let go of all the suspects. Lois carried out her own investigation for 25 years after the death of her daughter. Sadly, she passed away in 2016.(source)

5. Former NFL quarterback Charlie Batch’s sister was shot dead in a street gang crossfire in 1996. Till today, no one has been convicted of the crime.

Image source: thepostgame.com, Charlie Batch/Facebook

Charlie Batch, the former NFL quarterback had to go through a personal tragedy when he was quite young. In 1996, Charlie received a call from his mother that would change his life in a second. His sister, Danyl, was shot and killed while she was walking through an alley between West and Amity streets. She was with her boyfriend, John “Fitty” Payne.

Payne’s later told the police that he saw two men wearing hoods. He didn’t see their faces but recognized one of the voices as Rico Carter’s. He yelled the term “Fitty Loke,” a term used by street gangs and showered them with gunfire. Danyl was shot in the head.

Police believe that Danyl must have been caught between rival gangs. Most probably, the boyfriend must have been the target as, within 20 days of the crime, seven males in their late teens and 20s were also killed. A police informant was witness to the crime and his testimony contradicted Payne’s statement. There was another witness as believed by the police but they were unable to produce him to testify against Carter. So they had to let go of Carter and the crime remains unsolved to this day.(source)

6. In 1983, American rapper 50 Cent lost his mother when he was only eight-years-old to a mysterious fire. According to the rapper, “Someone put something in her drink and turned the gas on.”

Image source: bodyheightweight.com, Keith HInkle/Wikimedia

Curtis James Jackson III, widely known as 50 Cent, is one of the most renowned rappers in the world. We have heard a lot about the hardships that 50 Cent has gone through. From selling drugs at the age of 12 and being shot nine times just before the release of his first album, 50 Cent has endured a lot. But nothing can compare to the pain of losing his mother when he was just eight years old.

50 Cent’s mother, Sabrina Jackson, was only 15 when she had him. She worked as a drug dealer to support herself and her son. When 50 Cent was eight, a mysterious fire at his home led to the brutal death of his mother. He recalls the murder saying “Someone put something in her drink and turned the gas on. After that, every time something went wrong I’d think, ‘If my mother was here it wouldn’t be like that.'” Police believe that the murder could have taken place as the result of a drug war. The case is yet to be solved.(1,2)

7. Valerie Percy, daughter of prominent US senator Chuck Percy, was beaten and stabbed to death in 1966. 52 years later, the murder is still unsolved and remains one of Illinois’ best-known and most mysterious unsolved killings.

Image source: screengrab via pbs.org, Image credit: US Congress/Wikimedia

Chuck Percy was a business and politician who was elected to the United States Senate as a Republican from Illinois in 1966. He was also a presidential hopeful for the Republican party from 1968 to 1988.

He had two daughters who were twins. On the unfateful morning of September 18, 1966, Chuck Percy’s daughter was murdered at their Kenilworth residence. Valerie Jean Percy had just come home for her father’s election campaign. On the morning of the murder, Loraine Percy, Valerie’s step-mother, heard a moaning sound coming from Valerie’s room. When she went to check, she was surprised to find a man crouched over Valerie’s blood-soaked bed and examining her body with a flashlight. Upon seeing Loraine, the man flashed the light towards her. Loraine ran back to her bedroom to wake her husband and sounded the burglar alarm. By that time, the killer fled the premises. There were no witnesses to the crime or while the murderer was fleeing.

When the police started their investigation, they were puzzled as to what the motive might have been. Neither valuables were taken nor was Valerie sexually assaulted. She had been hit on her head and then stabbed. Police talked to hundreds of people but yet were unable to solve the crime. One focus of their investigation was a burglary gang of three members who were in jail. One of the members was boasting about killing Valerie but by the time the police could get to him, he was already dead.

Over the years many people have come forward to confess killing Valerie but the police have dismissed their claims as there were not on the same page as other confidential information regarding the crime. The murder is still unsolved, 52 years later.

Chuck Percy breathed his last one day prior to the 45th death anniversary of his daughter.(source)

8. Renowned crime fiction writer James Ellroy lost his mother to rape and strangulation when he was just 10 years old. 36 years later, Ellroy took up the unsolved murder and is conducting his own investigation.

Image source: findagrave.com, Image credit: Guillaume Paumier/Wikimedia

It is fair to say that renowned crime fiction writer James Ellroy’s life has been shaped by the death of his mother. He was only 10-years-old when his mother was raped and murdered in 1958. As his mother was an alcoholic and bad-tempered woman, Ellroy mentions that he was actually relieved to see his mother gone. He was unable to come to terms with the emotions that were building up inside him after the murder. So he put them into another famous unsolved murder case of Elizabeth Short, who was brutally murdered in 1947. Ellroy used Short as a surrogate to come to terms with his emotions.

Majority of Ellroy’s books are based on the murder of his mother. In an interview with the Daily Mail, he said, “I have always written about the murder of my mother. It’s always driven me. But I’m at a point now where I’m ready to talk about something else entirely in fiction. My mother and I are not a crime story – we’re a love story. The story of my life has always been about women. I’ve written one more autobiography, called The Hilliker Curse after my mother’s maiden name. I think that’s it. That’s me and autobiography finished.”

In 1994, Ellroy himself took up the files related to his mother’s murder and set out to solve the crime. Still today, he has been working on the unsolved murder. You can read a full account of his why and how he constituted the courage to reopen his mother’s murder here.(source)

9. Karyn Kupcinet, the daughter of television personality Irv Kupcinet, was found dead at her apartment. There are many theories behind this unsolved murder with the most famous theory allegedly linking the murder to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Image credits: Cleary-Strauss-Irwin & Goodwin, public relations for GE True (television program)/Wikimedia, Alan Light/Wikimedia

Karyn Kupcinet was the daughter of Chicago columnist and television personality Irv Kupcinet. On the night of November 28, 1963, she was found murdered at her home.

Just the evening prior to the murder, Karyn had dinner at the house of  Mark Goddard, the future cast member of  Lost in Space, and his wife.  The couple later reported to the police that during dinner Karyn was not in the right state of mind. She didn’t eat her food and cried when asked if she was okay. She also told them that somebody has left a baby at her doorstep. Karyn went home at around 8.30 pm after the dinner and promised to call the couple once she reached.

Apparently, after she reached home she was joined by Edward Stephen Rubin, a freelance writer, and Robert Hathaway, the actor. They told detectives later that they all watched The Danny Kaye Show together and departed her apartment around 11:15 pm. According to the men, Karyn had gone to her bedroom to sleep when they left.

On November 30, 1963, the Goddards went to her apartment as she failed to call them that night after reaching home. They found her naked body on the couch. Although at first, it seemed like she had died from a drug overdose, the coroner later ruled it out as a death by strangulation. Also, the police could not find any evidence related to the abandoned baby story that Karyn had told the Goddards and her boyfriend Andrew Prine.

The authorities framed out various theories to explain the murder. As always, the boyfriend was the first suspect. The relationship was not going well at that time and this could have been the motive. Moreover, the last two men to see her alive, Rubin and Hathaway, were both friends of Prine. In 1988, Irv Kupcinet, father of Karyn, released a memoir that said that he was sure Prine had nothing to do with the murder.

The second and the most famous, theory behind Karyn’s murder linked her to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. This link was first mentioned by researcher Penn Jones, Jr. in 1967. Apparently, 20 minutes before the shooting of the President, an unknown woman had called the local operator and warned about the shooting. Penn Jones claimed that woman was Karyn. He also claimed that she gained knowledge about the assassination from her father who had received news in advance from Jack Ruby, the man who killed John F. Kennedy’s assassin, Oswald. Jones further went ahead to speculate that Karyn has been killed by the Italian-American Mafia in order to silence Irv Kupcinet regarding anything he knew about the assassination. Of course, Irv Kupcinet dismissed these claims and still today, the murder remains unsolved.(source)

10. Hans Habe’s daughter was violently murdered in 1968. Even though unsolved, it is suspected that her murder might be related to the Manson Family, a commune responsible for multiple murders.

Image source: findagrave.com, Image credit: Die Welt via rtvslo.si

On the New Year’s Day of 1969, Marina Elizabeth Habe’s dead body was discovered at the bottom of a ravine. She was just 17 when she was murdered and discarded like garbage down the ravine. She was the daughter of the famous Hungarian and American writer and newspaper publisher Hans Habe and actress Eloise Hardt.

The day prior to the murder, Marina had gone on a date with a family friend John Hornburg. Her mother last saw her when he left for her date and heard her with a man at around 3.30 a.m. in the morning. The next morning she went missing and it was only after two days that her body was found. There were multiple stab wounds to the neck and chest.

The police originally believed that her murder might have been a random kidnapping carried out by biker and dope-dealer nicknamed “Spanky.” But there was not much evidence to corroborate the belief. Investigative journalist Maury Terry had also pointed out that Marina’s death may have been linked to the Manson Family. The Manson Family is a community that was established by Charles Manson. Their main objective of the members of the community was to carry out murders under the guidance of Charles. The Manson Family is well-known for the murder of actress Sharon Tate. The link between Marina’s murder and the Manson Family came up because her body was discovered in the area where the Manson Family was active at that time.

The case is still unsolved due to lack of evidence. But considering the type and style of stab wounds inflicted on her body, the police strongly believe that someone from the Manson Family was responsible.(source)