Killing of Johnny Stompanato

Common card · No. 214215

On the evening of April 4, 1958, 14-year-old Cheryl Crane fatally stabbed 32-year-old Johnny Stompanato, the boyfriend of her mother, actress Lana Turner, at Turner's rented home in Beverly Hills, California, United States. Stompanato, a former Marine and an associate of the Los Angeles crime family, had been in a year-long relationship with Turner that had been rocky and marked with physical abuse. Crane and Turner alleged that the former had stabbed Stompanato in the stomach when Turner was ushering him out of her bedroom during a violent argument. Crane had heard the fighting and armed herself with a kitchen knife, planning to defend her mother. After Crane turned herself in to police in the early morning hours of April 5, she was held in a juvenile hall. A coroner's inquest was held on April 11, during which the homicide was deemed justifiable and Crane was exonerated of any wrongdoing. She was released in late April and placed under the guardianship of her grandmother. Public response...

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