NOTORIOUS MURDERS > CELEBRITY CRIMES

The Life and Death of Marvin Gaye

By David Krajicek

The Final Fight

In his paranoia, Marvin Jr. had begun to stockpile guns when he returned home from the Sexual Healing Tour. He kept a cheap machine gun in his bedroom at one point until his mother insisted that he get rid of it.

For reasons not entirely clear, Marvin gave his father a handgun, an unregistered .38-caliber Smith & Wesson, at Christmas time in 1983.

On the night of March 31, 1984, Marvin Sr. was angered because he was unable to find a document concerning an insurance policy. He stormed around the house and yelled at Alberta, whom he blamed for losing the document.

He was still angry when he awoke the next morning, Sunday, April 1, the day before Marvin Jr.'s 45^th birthday.

At about 11 a.m., Marvin Sr. hollered up the stairs at his wife, who was in Marvin Jr.'s bedroom. The son went to the top of the stairs and hollered back that he should speak to Alberta's face if he had something to say.

The father hurried up the steps and entered his son's room. Marvin Jr. leaped up off the bed and pushed his 70-year-old father out into the hallway, knocking him down and kicking him.

Alberta interceded and the men separated. Marvin Jr. returned to his bed.

The father got up and went down the hall to his own bedroom. After a few moments, he returned to Marvin Jr.'s threshold. He raised a hand toward his son, and Alberta could see he was holding the .38 pistol Marvin Jr. had given him.

He pulled the trigger, and shot his son in the chest, tearing through his heart. As Marvin Jr. slumped off the bed to the floor, his father strode forward and fired again. The second shot was unnecessary.

Marvin's brother, Frankie, ran to the sound of shots. His wife, Irene, called 911. Paramedics arrived to find Marvin Sr. sitting on the front porch. They demanded to see the gun before they would enter the house. Irene found it under Marvin Sr.'s pillow and threw it on the lawn.

Gaye was rushed to California Hospital. Resuscitation efforts were in vain. He was declared dead at 1:01 p.m.

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1. Setting The Stage
2. Motown's Lover Man
3. Tangled Roots
4. Gay Goes To Washington
5. Nightmare Childhood
6. Marvin Sr. "Enjoying the Whole Thing"
7. Music & the Military
8. Marquees & Moonglows
9. Hitsville, USA
10. The Top
11. The Superego
12. Let's Get It On
13. "He Wanted To Suffer"
14. The Influence Of Narcotics
15. The World Closes In
16. To The Beach
17. To Europe
18. Sexual Healing
19. Increasingly Bizarre Behavior
20. Flying Home
21. "If He Touches Me I’ll Kill Him"
22. The Final Fight
23. The Postmortem
24. Conclusion
25. Photo Gallery
26. Bibliography