Actresses Who Have Been Charged with Homicide
Stories about performers and the criminal justice system are rare, but they do happen—and when they do, they’re complicated. Below are actresses whose cases involved homicide-related charges, including manslaughter and vehicular homicide, with brief context for the charges and a look at the screen work many people know them for.
To keep things clear and useful, each entry pairs confirmed case details with film and TV specifics—plots, key cast members, and creative teams—so you can place the headlines alongside the projects that shaped these careers.
Amy Locane
Locane co-stars in John Waters’ teen musical rom-com ‘Cry-Baby’, a Baltimore tale of “drapes” and “squares” that pairs Johnny Depp’s rebel with Locane’s straight-laced Allison; Waters wrote and directed, with Rachel Talalay producing and Patrick Williams composing, and the cast also features Ricki Lake, Traci Lords, Iggy Pop, Susan Tyrrell, Polly Bergen, Troy Donahue, Patricia Hearst, and cameo turns by Mink Stole, Joe Dallesandro, Joey Heatherton, David Nelson, and Willem Dafoe. Locane’s 2010 New Jersey crash led to convictions for vehicular homicide and assault by auto, multiple resentencings culminating in an eight-year term in 2020, and her release from custody in December 2024 following eligibility for parole under state law.
On television, she originated Sandy Harling on ‘Melrose Place’, the Darren Star–created, Aaron Spelling–produced ensemble soap about twenty-somethings sharing an L.A. apartment complex and congregating at the Shooters bar; the early cast included Thomas Calabro, Heather Locklear, Josie Bissett, and Andrew Shue. Court records and contemporaneous reporting detail her 2012 jury conviction on vehicular homicide and assault-by-auto counts, with subsequent appeals and resentencings documented in New Jersey opinions and national coverage.
Rebecca Gayheart
Gayheart appears in the campus slasher ‘Urban Legend’, directed by Jamie Blanks and written by Silvio Horta, about killings staged like infamous folklore tales; the ensemble features Alicia Witt, Jared Leto, Joshua Jackson, Michael Rosenbaum, Tara Reid, and Robert Englund, with Neal H. Moritz among the producers and Christopher Young scoring. In Los Angeles in 2001, she struck a pedestrian with her car, and later that year pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter; she received probation, community service, a fine, and a driver’s-license suspension.
She also co-stars in Darren Stein’s dark teen comedy ‘Jawbreaker’, whose plot follows a clique’s fatal birthday “prank” and ensuing cover-up; the film stars Rose McGowan, Gayheart, Julie Benz, and Judy Greer, with cinematography by Amy Vincent, a score by Stephen Endelman, and a Sundance premiere before a TriStar release. Later coverage has summarized the legal outcome of her 2001 case alongside her filmography.
Ibinabo Fiberesima
In ‘Letters to a Stranger’, Fiberesima appears in Fred Amata’s romantic drama about Jemima, a writer whose misdialed call sparks a new connection that complicates her engagement; the cast includes Genevieve Nnaji, Yemi Blaq, Fred Amata, Joke Silva, Elvina Ibru, and Segun Arinze, with Victor Sanchez Aghahowa writing and Tunji Awelenje composing. Following a 2006 Lagos accident that killed Dr. Giwa Suraj, Fiberesima faced manslaughter and reckless-driving charges; the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal affirmed a five-year sentence in 2016 while further proceedings addressed bail and appeals.
Her screen work also includes the historical drama ”76′, directed by Izu Ojukwu and set around the attempted 1976 coup and the assassination of General Murtala Mohammed; Ramsey Nouah, Rita Dominic, and Chidi Mokeme lead the cast, with cinematography by Yinka Edward and production by Adonaijah Owiriwa and Ojukwu. Nigerian press accounts and profiles summarize the case timeline and court decisions alongside her tenure leading the Actors Guild of Nigeria.
Nandini Kashyap
Kashyap plays Surabhi in the Assamese action-thriller ‘Rudra’, written and directed by Roopak Gogoi and led by Ravi Sarma alongside Adil Hussain, Joy Kashyap, Arrchita Agarwal, and Nandini herself; the film is produced under the Shyam Productionz banner with producers including O. P. Garodia and Rajesh Kumar More, and follows a betrayed commando drawn back into a covert fight. On July 25, 2025, a collision in Guwahati’s Dakkhingaon area fatally injured 21-year-old student Samiul Haque; police arrested Kashyap on July 30 and added the non-bailable charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, seizing her SUV and citing CCTV footage in the investigation.
‘Rudra’ opened in Assamese cinemas on June 27, 2025, with credits listing Manas Ganguly as cinematographer and Zubeen Garg among the film’s featured singers; promotional materials and listings also note the principal cast of Ravi Sarma, Adil Hussain, Joy Kashyap, Arrchita Agarwal, and Nandinee R. Kashyap under Gogoi’s direction. In early September 2025, a Guwahati court granted Kashyap bail in the hit-and-run case while proceedings continued.
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