Rebecca (21) opened the door. Outside stood her most dangerous fan

Promising actress Rebecca Schaeffer (21) opened the door to her Hollywood home when the doorbell rang. She was expecting a film script delivered to her door, but the teenage boy standing outside on this scorching July morning was no messenger from the film company.

He had made the trip to Hollywood as a result of what he experienced as a “big betrayal”. In the bag he had with him, he carried something completely different than a film script.

Core healthy star

Rebecca Schaeffer was born in Portland, Oregon in November 1967. At the age of 16, the only child Rebecca moved to New York to try her luck as a model and actress.

The modeling career never really took off, but after a minor role in a soap opera in 1984, she instead had a breakthrough as an actress two years later.

With 19-year-old Rebecca in the lead role, the TV series “My Sister Sam” became an instant hit in 1986. Corely healthy and likable Rebecca, who, among other things, became a spokesperson for an organization that helped disadvantaged youth, gained many fans. One of them was a teenage boy who himself had had a troubled upbringing.

But the teenage boy’s admiration for Rebecca gradually developed in a fatal direction.

Fell outside

Three years younger, Robert John Bardo grew up in Tucson, Arizona, as the youngest in a group of seven siblings. Growing up was turbulent. Robert John Bardo was allegedly abused by one of his siblings, and ended up in a foster home. He struggled mentally throughout his teenage years, and was for a period admitted to a psychiatric ward because of his problems.

Robert John Bardo dropped out of school after the 9th grade. Eventually he got a job at a fast food restaurant. But he apparently couldn’t get his life or his temper in order: Neighbors had to call the police on several occasions because of house disturbances and what they experienced as threatening behavior from Robert John Bardo.

But one thing made Robert John Bardo calm; The TV series “My Sister Sam”. Like so many other youths of his age, he was engrossed in the series, and captivated by Rebecca Schaeffer. He was so captivated that he sat down and wrote a fan letter to Rebecca.

“This is one of the nicest letters I have ever received,” answered Rebecca.

She had no idea that the teenage boy she was corresponding with was developing a morbid fascination with her.

Deadly sex scene

For soon Robert John Bardo took the step from admiration to persecution.

The youngster traveled from his hometown of Tucson to Los Angeles and Warner Bros. Studio in Hollywood, where “My Sister Sam” was recorded. With a bouquet of flowers in hand, Robert John Bardo tried to get an audience with his great idol Rebecca. But the security guards turned him away.

Bardo did not give up. During another attempt to meet Rebecca, he was told by the guards to stop seeking out the TV star. But beyond a definite expulsion accompanied by a reprimand, the incident had no repercussions.

The security people did not consider Robert John Bardo particularly dangerous. It turned out to be a serious mistake.

“My Sister Sam” was taken off the air after only two seasons. But Robert John Bardo’s enthusiasm for the lead actor did not abate.

In 1989, the year after the last episode of “My Sister Sam” aired, Rebecca got a role in the movie “Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills”. There she starred for the first time in a sex scene.

One of those who saw the film was Robert John Bardo. With Rebecca’s participation in the sex scene, his admiration and excitement for her gradually turned to hatred. In a letter to his sister, Robert John Bardo wrote that Rebecca had “lost her innocence” and become “another Hollywood whore”.

Wondered forward

Determined to find Rebecca to “punish” her for recording the sex scene, Robert John Bardo hired Rebecca’s private detective to find the actress’ home address. With a newly acquired gun in his trunk, Bardo then traveled to Rebecca’s neighborhood in Hollywood.

Armed with a picture of Rebecca, he asked neighbors if he had come in the right direction. At ten o’clock in the morning on 18 July 1989, he rang Rebecca.

– I wanted to see and talk to her first to see how she responded, explained Robert John Bardo later.

– I could hardly believe it when the door opened and Rebecca was actually standing there.

The first meeting was of the congenial variety. Robert John Bardo explained that Rebecca smiled kindly at him, took his hand and told him to “take care of yourself” before closing the door.

Shoot the idol

Robert John Bardo then had breakfast at a nearby cafe. After some back-and-forth consideration, he decided to seek out Rebecca one more time. An hour after the first visit, he went back to her apartment. Rebecca, who was waiting to be sent the screenplay for “The Godfather III” by courier, opened the door again.

It would be the last thing she did.

– This time her expression was cold, and she said that I had to stop wasting her time, explained Robert John Bardo later.

– A fan should not be met in such a mean and dismissive way, he thought.

Robert John Bardo explained that he told Rebecca he had “forgotten to give her something”.

He then produced the Magnum .357 caliber handgun and pointed the weapon at Rebecca’s ribcage and fired.

– Rebecca screamed and asked “Why, why?” (why, why) as she signed about.

Rebeccas died in hospital shortly afterwards. Robert John Bardo fled the scene, but was arrested the next day.

Regretted

During his trial in 1991, Robert John Bardo confessed to the murder in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. As a witness, Robert John Bardo’s sister explained that she had not understood how deep her brother’s obsession actually was:

– When I heard about the murder, I thought about the letter he had sent me. Then I broke down.

Robert John Bardo was sentenced to life in prison for the murder. The following year he gave an interview from prison.

– My greatest wish is that Rebecca was alive today, he stated before making an ever-so-slight understatement:

– I was a fan of Rebecca, but I may have taken things too far.

Changed law

Robert John Bardo explained that he got the idea to obtain Rebecca’s home address after reading about how another stalker found his victim’s address seven years earlier.

In 1982, actress Theresa Saldana (27) was attacked and stabbed in her home in Hollywood. A private detective had obtained the address of Theresa’s mother by searching the motor vehicle registers. The perpetrator then tricked Theresa’s mother into providing her daughter’s address by pretending to be a film agent. Theresa survived the knife attack, and the perpetrator was caught.

Robert John Bardo used the same method to find Rebecca’s Schaeffer’s address. Rebecca’s murder became the trigger for Congress to ban state registries of motor vehicles from releasing private addresses, and made stalking a crime.

Sources: “Deadly Fame”, Bardo v. Martel et al, cdcr.ca.gov, ABC News, history.com, Wikipedia, Time Magazine, allthatsinteresting.com

This matter was first published on 24/04 2024, and last updated on 25/04 2024.