We are all going to die. It happens... but when it happens to a celebrity its all over the news and people want to know all the details. Remember the circus of Anna Nicole Smith? How about Kurt Cobain? It's interesting to learn about the people we idolize, including how they died. FindADeath.com is a fantastic website that has a database full of the famous and infamous. The articles include stories of their lives, photos, and all the info leading up to the last days of their life. You should check it out. Here is a little preview of one of my favorite celebrities, Phil Hartman.
The following events took place on the morning of Thursday May 28, 1998. I thank Findadeath.com Terri Rios again, for her terrific photographs.
The Hartman's lived in Encino, California. Just around the corner from the Cha Cha Cha fine Caribbean Cuisine.
40 year old Brynn Hartman showed up at the house sometime between 2 and 3 AM, completely drunk and coked. She had been drinking that night with a friend till 10 o'clock, in the Buca di Bepo restaurant on Ventura Boulevard, I don't know where she was after that.
The Hartman Home
They lived at 5065 Encino Avenue, in The Valley.
49 year-old Phil was asleep in bed, wearing a purple T-shirt and boxer shorts with cartoon Dachshunds on them, from The GAP. I couldn't make that up. She shot him 3 times: in the forehead, neck and forearm. Weirdly, it was the forearm bullet that killed him. It re entered his chest, and got him that way.
After she killed him, she went to a friend's (Hello. I've just murdered my husband, and I've come to involve you.) house and told him, "I shot Phil." He didn't believe her. She fell asleep, and friend searched her purse, and found a Smith and Wesson revolver. Friend put it in a plastic SAV-ON grocery bag. Brynn woke up three hours later, and she took the friend back to the scene. Friend checks out that Phil is indeed deady dead dead, and calls 911.
"Yeah, hi…um…I think there's been a shooting here. She came to my house and she was drunk. She said she had killed her husband and I didn't believe her."
Shortly after the police arrived at 6:20 am, Brynn locked herself in the bedroom. Friend gave police the revolver, and they escort the couple's 2 children from the premises. Police tried to talk Brynn out of the bedroom, but she crying hysterically and wasn't budging. They broke a bedroom window to try to distract her. It didn't work. Well, not the way they intended it to. She pulled out another gun, stuck it in her mouth, and pulled the trigger. Cops broke down the door, and found her unresponsive. They confiscated the gun. She was wearing white cotton T-shirt with the number 9 on the chest (also from The GAP), and brown argyle socks. Oh, the indignity.
Both of them were lying on the King-size bed. Phil was lying on his right side, and Brynn's head was on a pillow.
Their bodies were removed and taken to the Medical Examiners for an autopsy. Upon examination, it showed that Brynn's had consumed alcohol, cocaine and an antidepressant, Zoloft.
The official verdict was murder/suicide.
Their bodies were cremated at Forest Lawn Glendale. There was a funeral service on the 4th of June, attended by the kids. Their ashes were supposedly scattered off Catalina Island, per Phil's will.
Brynn's family are suing the makers of Zoloft.
For updates and tons of info, check out the site... it's awesome.