The Hollywood scandal surrounding Lana Turner’s boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato’s death in the late ’50s remains one of the most shocking tales to emerge from that era.
The incident occurred on April 4, 1958, when Turner’s 14-year-old daughter, Cheryl Crane, fatally stabbed Stompanato during a domestic violence episode while protecting her mother.
Crane was later acquitted of the killing, which was deemed a “justifiable homicide” by the court.
Despite the legal resolution, the media’s intrigue with the case persisted for years, eventually leading both Turner and Crane to recount the events in their memoirs.
Presently, this captivating narrative is being revisited in Casey Sherman’s book, “A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown’s Most Shocking Crime,” shedding new light on Stompanato’s relationship with Turner.
Sherman’s publication alleges that not only was Stompanato physically abusive towards Turner, but he was also involved in a plot to extort her.
According to the New York Post, the author asserts that Stompanato collaborated with mobster Mickey Cohen, aiming to film Turner in a compromising situation for blackmail purposes.
Describing the scheme, Sherman suggests that Stompanato was employed as bait to lure Turner into a trap where they planned to record her engaged in intimate activity.
Subsequently, they intended to leverage this footage to extort money from her.
Surprisingly, Sherman reveals that Stompanato developed genuine feelings for Turner, shifting his focus away from blackmail.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Sherman recounts a significant revelation from his book, disclosing that after Stompanato’s demise, films were found showing Turner in compromising positions.
Allegedly, Stompanato had orchestrated scenarios where Turner was drugged and placed in bed with other women, intending to use these recordings for extortion.
Sherman speculates that Turner went to great lengths to safeguard her family, implying that the conspiracy theory suggesting Turner was the actual perpetrator behind Stompanato’s death holds merit.
Sherman posits that Turner might have been the one who fatally wounded Stompanato, with Crane assuming responsibility due to her minor status, which would result in a more lenient sentence.
During the trial, Crane testified that she grabbed a knife from the kitchen upon overhearing Stompanato arguing with her mother.
She claimed that Stompanato inadvertently walked into the blade during their altercation.
Reflecting on the incident, Sherman describes the fatal outcome of Stompanato’s encounter with the knife, delineating the injuries sustained by the victim.
In a recent conversation with People magazine, Sherman expressed his belief that Turner was responsible for Stompanato’s death, citing her actions as an attempt to shield her family from harm.
He asserts that Stompanato had issued threats against Turner and her loved ones, compelling her to take drastic measures to protect them.
Turner, who passed away in 1995 at the age of 74, and Crane, now 80, remain central figures in this enduring saga that continues to captivate audiences with its blend of tragedy and intrigue.
