2. Roman Polanski's Wife Sharon Tate & Unborn Son Murdered By The Manson Family
Who Are They?: An up-and-coming actress in the late 1960s, best known for her work in Eye of the Devil and Valley of the Dolls, the latter of which garnered her a Golden Globe nod. In 1968, she married Roman Polanski, and soon enough fell pregnant with his son.
Cause of Death: On August 8th, 1969, Tate was entertaining friends at her home when, during the night, members of Charles Manson's "family" descended upon the home and murdered Tate along with her company. Tate had been stabbed sixteen times, five stabs of which were apparently enough to have killed her and the son she was just two weeks away from delivering. Polanski attracted much criticism for allowing himself to be pictured posing outside the crime scene by Life magazine, though he claimed this was in an attempt to shock the readers into coming forward with the perpetrators. Tate's death saw a surge in popularity for her work, while a Hollywood scandal erupted once Manson's cronies were outed as the culprits.