By now, everybody knows the story.
In 1996, elementary school teacher Mary Kay Letourneau began an illicit sexual relationship with one of her sixth-grade students, Vili Fualaau. He was 12.
After receiving a relatively light sentence for child rape, she was unable to stay away from him and was re-arrested when she was caught having sex with him, again, in a car. She was sentenced to seven years in prison. Letourneau became pregnant twice before Fualaau was 15.
LeTourneau and Fualaau eventually got married in 2005 and raised their children in Washington State. She worked as a paralegal; he was a DJ. Earlier this year,...
In 1996, elementary school teacher Mary Kay Letourneau began an illicit sexual relationship with one of her sixth-grade students, Vili Fualaau. He was 12.
After receiving a relatively light sentence for child rape, she was unable to stay away from him and was re-arrested when she was caught having sex with him, again, in a car. She was sentenced to seven years in prison. Letourneau became pregnant twice before Fualaau was 15.
LeTourneau and Fualaau eventually got married in 2005 and raised their children in Washington State. She worked as a paralegal; he was a DJ. Earlier this year,...
- 8/19/2017
- by Steve Helling
- PEOPLE.com
In 2009, Rachel Uchitel became a household name.
The 34-year-old was romantically linked to Tiger Woods, sparking a sex scandal that would last for months as more and more women came forward claiming they had affairs with the then-married golf star. Uchitel was hounded by paparazzi as details of her sex life became front page news.
The scandal picked up steam and cost Woods endorsement deals, golf championships — and ultimately, his marriage to Elin Nordegren. Dozens of women claimed to have had sex with Woods, and each of their claims had varying degrees of credibility. The message was clear: although Uchitel...
The 34-year-old was romantically linked to Tiger Woods, sparking a sex scandal that would last for months as more and more women came forward claiming they had affairs with the then-married golf star. Uchitel was hounded by paparazzi as details of her sex life became front page news.
The scandal picked up steam and cost Woods endorsement deals, golf championships — and ultimately, his marriage to Elin Nordegren. Dozens of women claimed to have had sex with Woods, and each of their claims had varying degrees of credibility. The message was clear: although Uchitel...
- 8/12/2017
- by Steve Helling
- PEOPLE.com
As scandals go, this one was huge.
Televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker had built a multimillion dollar empire in South Carolina. Known as Ptl, it was a conglomerate of Christian-based businesses. In addition to a Christian broadcasting network, it included a theme park, water park and residential complex. It raked in millions of dollars per year.
Jim was known for his all-inclusive messages. Tammy Faye became famous for her garish makeup — false eyelashes, red rouge and heavy lipstick.
But everything came crashing down in 1987, when the Charlotte Observer began investigating the organization’s finances. Among the newspaper’s findings:...
Televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker had built a multimillion dollar empire in South Carolina. Known as Ptl, it was a conglomerate of Christian-based businesses. In addition to a Christian broadcasting network, it included a theme park, water park and residential complex. It raked in millions of dollars per year.
Jim was known for his all-inclusive messages. Tammy Faye became famous for her garish makeup — false eyelashes, red rouge and heavy lipstick.
But everything came crashing down in 1987, when the Charlotte Observer began investigating the organization’s finances. Among the newspaper’s findings:...
- 8/5/2017
- by Steve Helling
- PEOPLE.com
On July 27, 1998, a young woman named Monica Lewinsky finally agreed to speak with prosecutors about her sexual relationship with then-President Bill Clinton. That meeting would eventually lead to impeachment hearings against Clinton.
Lewinsky, then 25, had become the central figure in the biggest political scandal in modern American history. She was the punchline of late night comedians. Reporters camped out at her house. Even though the internet was still in its infancy, people dissected Lewinsky’s life on message boards and chat rooms.
Lewinsky was devastated by the attention, and went on to work with biographer Andrew Morton to tell her side of the scandal.
Lewinsky, then 25, had become the central figure in the biggest political scandal in modern American history. She was the punchline of late night comedians. Reporters camped out at her house. Even though the internet was still in its infancy, people dissected Lewinsky’s life on message boards and chat rooms.
Lewinsky was devastated by the attention, and went on to work with biographer Andrew Morton to tell her side of the scandal.
- 7/27/2017
- by Steve Helling
- PEOPLE.com
When Anna Nicole Smith was found dead in a Florida hotel room in 2007, authorities recovered nearly a dozen different prescription and illicit drugs from her bedside, many of them prescribed by the hundreds. The drugs included sedatives, muscle relaxers, painkillers and sleep aids.
Investigators soon charged several people in Smith’s inner circle with felonies related to her death.
Dr. Sandeep Kapoor was a Los Angeles physician who was alleged to have prescribed Smith with methadone and Vicodin, among other drugs. In 2009, he was charged with eight felonies, including conspiring to furnish controlled substances, unlawfully prescribing a controlled substance and obtaining fraudulent prescriptions.
Investigators soon charged several people in Smith’s inner circle with felonies related to her death.
Dr. Sandeep Kapoor was a Los Angeles physician who was alleged to have prescribed Smith with methadone and Vicodin, among other drugs. In 2009, he was charged with eight felonies, including conspiring to furnish controlled substances, unlawfully prescribing a controlled substance and obtaining fraudulent prescriptions.
- 4/28/2017
- by Steve Helling
- PEOPLE.com
It was an international murder case that captivated the world.
American college student Amanda Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were charged with the 2007 death of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher, who was sexually assaulted and found fatally stabbed in the Italian apartment she shared with Knox. Both Knox and Sollecito were convicted after police said DNA evidence linked them to the crime – but then were acquitted in 2015 by Italy’s highest court because of “stunning flaws” in the investigation and a lack of evidence.
The Amanda Knox story became international news and landed on the cover of People.
As...
American college student Amanda Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were charged with the 2007 death of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher, who was sexually assaulted and found fatally stabbed in the Italian apartment she shared with Knox. Both Knox and Sollecito were convicted after police said DNA evidence linked them to the crime – but then were acquitted in 2015 by Italy’s highest court because of “stunning flaws” in the investigation and a lack of evidence.
The Amanda Knox story became international news and landed on the cover of People.
As...
- 4/22/2017
- by Steve Helling
- PEOPLE.com
Nearly every criminal leaves behind one clue — that one piece of evidence that helps authorities solve the case.
For Tonya Harding, that piece of evidence was an envelope. On the envelope: doodles, notes, phone numbers and addresses that convinced authorities that she had planned out the attack on her skating rival, Nancy Kerrigan.
It was just seven weeks before the 1994 Olympic Winter Games when Kerrigan was clubbed on the knee by an assailant who had been hired by Harding and her husband. Known as “the whack heard around the world,” the ensuing scandal thrust both young women into the national spotlight.
For Tonya Harding, that piece of evidence was an envelope. On the envelope: doodles, notes, phone numbers and addresses that convinced authorities that she had planned out the attack on her skating rival, Nancy Kerrigan.
It was just seven weeks before the 1994 Olympic Winter Games when Kerrigan was clubbed on the knee by an assailant who had been hired by Harding and her husband. Known as “the whack heard around the world,” the ensuing scandal thrust both young women into the national spotlight.
- 12/10/2016
- by skhelling
- PEOPLE.com
It was one of the biggest sports scandals in American history.
Just seven weeks before the 1994 Olympic Games, figure skating frontrunner Nancy Kerrigan was brutally clubbed in the knee as she left her practice rink in Detroit. The shocking twist: the assailant was a man who had been hired by the ex-husband and bodyguard of another Olympic hopeful, Tonya Harding.
The media couldn’t get enough of the scandal that had all the elements of a Lifetime TV movie: a beautiful figure-skating victim, a brutal attack, and a rival from the wrong side of the tracks. (The scandal landed on...
Just seven weeks before the 1994 Olympic Games, figure skating frontrunner Nancy Kerrigan was brutally clubbed in the knee as she left her practice rink in Detroit. The shocking twist: the assailant was a man who had been hired by the ex-husband and bodyguard of another Olympic hopeful, Tonya Harding.
The media couldn’t get enough of the scandal that had all the elements of a Lifetime TV movie: a beautiful figure-skating victim, a brutal attack, and a rival from the wrong side of the tracks. (The scandal landed on...
- 12/10/2016
- by skhelling
- PEOPLE.com
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