These athletes committed the ultimate sin. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be looking at the most notable individuals in the sporting world who were convicted of homicide or similar crimes, bringing their professional careers to a screeching halt.
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00:00Of course, the trial was a global phenomenon, but this was also a very personal tragedy
00:04for the Steenkamp family.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be looking at the most notable individuals in the sporting
00:10world who were convicted of homicide or similar crimes, bringing their professional careers
00:14to a screeching halt.
00:15We're only considering those who were actually convicted, so people like OJ Simpson won't
00:19be included.
00:20We, the jury, in the above-entitled action, find the defendant, Orenthal James Simpson,
00:25not guilty of the crime of murder.
00:28Sally McNeil
00:29It seemed like a perfect marriage of two competitive bodybuilders, but behind closed doors, steroids
00:35made things volatile.
00:36On Valentine's Day in 1995, professional female bodybuilder Sally McNeil fatally shot her
00:41husband Ray and called the police to confess.
00:43The couple had met eight years earlier at a bodybuilding program in the U.S. Marines,
00:47but Ray was reportedly violent and unfaithful to McNeil.
00:50On the night of the shooting, McNeil claimed she had acted in self-defense, stating that
00:53Ray tried to strangle her when she confronted him about his infidelity.
00:57Steroids were involved also.
00:59It makes for an explosive and volatile situation.
01:01However, the prosecution successfully argued that the shooting was premeditated, based
01:05on the trajectory of the bullets and the blood splatter evidence.
01:08Consequently, McNeil was convicted of second-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to 19 years to
01:13life.
01:14Despite multiple appeals, she remained in prison until 2020, when she was granted parole.
01:17They say she blasted her husband with a shotgun, then went to the bedroom to reload, and then
01:22returned to shoot him a second time in the face.
01:25Mark Rogowski
01:26A former professional skateboarder and now convicted killer may be on his way to being
01:31a free man after spending more than 30 years in prison.
01:35Mark Rogowski was only 14 when he began his professional skateboarding career in 1980,
01:39and it quickly took off.
01:40He won national championships and secured several endorsement deals, earning thousands
01:43of dollars every month.
01:44His rapid fall from grace began when he broke up with his long-term girlfriend, Brandi McLean,
01:49and turned to alcohol to cope.
01:50Angry and jealous of McLean's new relationship, Rogowski directed his rage towards her best
01:55friend Jessica Bergsten.
01:56The prosecutor said Rogowski abducted Bergsten from her apartment in Pacific Beach and hauled
02:01her off to his condo in Carlsbad.
02:03In March 1991, Rogowski invited Bergsten to his house, where he sexually assaulted and
02:07murdered her.
02:08He later admitted this crime to his spiritual advisor, who convinced him to confess to the
02:12police.
02:13Rogowski pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and sexual assault, receiving a sentence of
02:1631 years to life.
02:17Well, that's right.
02:18After Mark Rogowski was granted parole last year for a second time, Governor Newsom once
02:23again reversed the state parole board's decision to release him.
02:27Evangelos Goussis
02:28The gangland war exploded into the public arena back in June 2003, when Carl Williams
02:35ordered the murder of Jason Moran from the notorious Moran crime family.
02:40In the late 1980s and early 90s, Evangelos Goussis made a name for himself as a boxer
02:45and kickboxer, winning the world middleweight championships in kickboxing.
02:48At the same time, Goussis worked as a nightclub bouncer and became involved in Australia's
02:52criminal underworld.
02:54This association led him to become entangled in the Melbourne gangland killings, particularly
02:58the murders of Louis Kane and Louis Moran.
03:00Louis Moran, the patriarch of the Moran crime family, was shot dead.
03:05Kane was fatally shot in May 2004 after a meeting with Goussis and another associate.
03:09Despite claiming self-defense, Goussis was convicted and sentenced to a minimum of 15
03:13years in prison.
03:14He was later tried and found guilty for the March 2004 murder of Moran, who was ambushed
03:18by masked gunmen.
03:19This led to him being sentenced to life.
03:21The notoriety, the drugs, the gangland stuff, your life, has it all been worth it?
03:27No.
03:28Jovan Belcher
03:37Jovan Belcher was a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, who was beginning to gain traction
03:41in his professional football career.
03:43Belcher lived with his girlfriend, Cassandra Perkins, and his mother, who was helping them
03:46care for their young daughter.
03:48Belcher and Perkins had a rocky relationship, filled with constant fights and arguments.
03:52On December 1, 2012, during one of such arguments, Belcher shot and killed Perkins in front of
03:56his mother.
03:57ABC News has learned that he regularly visited gun ranges and had several weapons in his
04:02home.
04:03He then drove to the Chiefs' practice facility, where he took his own life, despite pleas
04:06from the general manager and coaches.
04:08After his death, it was discovered that Belcher suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy,
04:13leading his mother to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Chiefs.
04:16Police say the 25-year-old then drove to Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium, thanked his coaches
04:21for believing in him, and shot himself as they watched in horror.
04:25Eric Naposky
04:26Guilty of first-degree murder, a former football player has been convicted of killing his lover's
04:31boyfriend in his Newport Beach home.
04:33In December 1994, millionaire investor Bill McLaughlin was shot and killed in his Newport
04:37Beach, California home.
04:39At the time, McLaughlin was living with his girlfriend, Annette Johnston, after divorcing
04:42his first wife of 24 years.
04:44Unbeknownst to McLaughlin, Johnston was secretly involved with Eric Naposky, a professional
04:48football player who had played in the NFL and the World League of American Football.
04:52I said, Dad, I don't really like her.
04:55I think she's with you for your money.
04:56The murder remained unsolved until 2009, when authorities arrested and charged Naposky and
05:01Johnston.
05:02They claimed that Johnston, who stood to collect $2.5 million from McLaughlin's life insurance
05:05and savings, had orchestrated the murder and enlisted Naposky to carry it out.
05:09Although they both maintained their innocence, Naposky and Johnston were convicted of first-degree
05:13murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
05:15A California jury convicted former NFL linebacker Eric Naposky last July for a murder he says
05:22he did not commit.
05:23Bertle Fox
05:24Three days later, he visited Laoka at her mother's design shop.
05:30Only Bertle knows what happened next.
05:32Bertle Fox was born on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts and moved to London as a toddler.
05:36In his teenage years, Fox began bodybuilding and quickly became a powerhouse, winning nearly
05:41every possible contest and earning the nickname Brutal Bertle.
05:44That name took on a darker meaning in September 1997, when he fatally shot two women in St.
05:48Kitts and Nevis.
05:49Laoka's family also wanted the relationship to end.
05:53Her mother, Violet, intervened.
05:55The victims were Violet Brown and her daughter, Laoka, who was Fox's former fiancée.
06:00While Fox claimed the shooting was accidental, his best friend testified otherwise.
06:03He was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging, which was later commuted to life
06:07imprisonment.
06:08After serving 25 years, Fox was pardoned by the Governor General of St. Kitts and Nevis
06:12and released in 2022.
06:13He had to do something.
06:14He felt like if he couldn't have her, then why should anyone have her?
06:22Chris Benoit
06:23While the wrestling world in shock today, former champion Chris Benoit found dead in
06:27his Atlanta home along with his wife and young son.
06:30This Canadian wrestler achieved worldwide fame in WWE, winning 30 championships and
06:34various international wrestling tournaments.
06:37By 2007, Benoit was already a two-time world champion and was poised to win a third championship
06:42on the night of June 24th.
06:43However, he failed to show up for the match.
06:45When authorities entered his home the next day for a welfare check, they found the bodies
06:49of Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their son Daniel.
06:52But go back real quickly if you can for this text message.
06:54It's got to be at least very alarming or very strange for them to say, you need to
06:58go to this house and check it out.
07:00Over the prior three days, Benoit murdered Nancy and Daniel, placed Bibles beside their
07:04bodies and then took his own life.
07:06An autopsy later revealed that Benoit suffered from severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy
07:11and had misused steroids and alcohol, which could all have contributed to his unimaginable actions.
07:16In reality, WWE superstar Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their son Daniel are dead.
07:25Hiroshi Ogawa
07:26Financial struggles are common, but they can sometimes push people to take disastrous actions.
07:31Take Hiroshi Ogawa, a former professional baseball pitcher for the Lot Marines in Japan.
07:36Ogawa left the sport in 2002 and began working at an industrial waste disposal firm.
07:40Not long after, he went bankrupt and decided to seek financial help from his boss.
07:43When he visited his boss' home, he encountered the housekeeper, 67-year-old Kazuko Nishiuchi,
07:48whom he reportedly asked for a loan.
07:50Nishiuchi denied this request, causing Ogawa to physically attack her, leaving her unconscious.
07:55He then stole money from the house and disposed of the housekeeper's body in a nearby pond.
07:59Ogawa was ultimately found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in September 2005.
08:03Oscar Pistorius
08:05Now all anyone cares about is what drove this Olympian to shoot his girlfriend four times
08:09in the early hours of Valentine's Day.
08:11In 2012, South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius made history as the first double-leg amputee
08:17to compete in the Olympics.
08:18Before this momentous achievement, he had already won several Paralympic gold medals,
08:22becoming both an inspirational and influential figure in sports.
08:25But things took a tragic turn in 2013 when he was charged with the murder of his girlfriend,
08:29Riva Steenkamp, at his home.
08:31This legal saga has lasted nearly five years now, but this morning it took just minutes
08:37for a judge to more than double the jail sentence for Oscar Pistorius.
08:41Pistorius never denied shooting Steenkamp, but he claimed to have mistaken her for an intruder.
08:46Initially, he was convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to five years in prison.
08:49However, on appeal, this conviction was upgraded to murder, and his sentence was increased
08:53to 13 years and five months.
08:55After serving over eight years, Pistorius was granted parole in 2024.
08:59He managed to spirit him away from the prison near Pretoria without being seen.
09:03He is now believed to be at home at his uncle's house in a wealthy suburb of Pretoria.
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09:25Aaron Hernandez
09:35Aaron Hernandez was a fierce NFL tight end who played three seasons with the New England
09:39Patriots.
09:40He seemed destined for a long, successful career, but that all changed in 2013.
09:44In June of that year, the body of Odin Lloyd was discovered at an industrial park near
09:48Hernandez's home.
09:49Lloyd had met up with Hernandez the day before his death, and they had driven around together.
09:53You were with him just hours before he was murdered.
09:55Yeah.
09:56What'd you guys do?
09:57Uh, hang out.
09:58It was a typical Sunday.
09:59Hernandez became the prime suspect and was soon arrested and charged with first-degree
10:03murder.
10:04Less than two hours after his arrest, the Patriots released him from his contract.
10:07Hernandez was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
10:10In 2017, while still appealing his conviction, he took his own life in his prison cell.
10:15We do move on tonight and to new reporting here this evening after a former Patriots
10:19star was discovered dead in his cell.
10:22Did we miss any other killer athletes?
10:23Let us know in the comments below.
10:25Few have fallen as far or as hard as former NFL star Aaron Hernandez.
10:31Did you enjoy this video?
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