TMZ is cracking open an age-old Hollywood case, peeling back the layers of the murder of Poltergeist star Dominique Dunne. A rising star with ties to Hollywood royalty suddenly met her demise at the hands of her boyfriend, John Sweeney. As the family of Dominick Dunne, the famous writer and director, grappled with the tragedy, they couldn’t shake the feeling that Sweeney’s served sentence was a mere slap on the wrist. The interesting details revealed in this new documentary further reveal the terrifying aftermath of the family’s devastating loss.
What Was the Cause of Dominique Dunne’s Death?
On October 30th, 1982, Poltergeist actress Dominique Dunne fell victim to the brutal hands of John Sweeney, who strangled her in the driveway of her West Hollywood residence. After which she fell into a coma and was kept at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the actress finally took her last breath on November 4th, 1982. However what is interesting is Sweeney, despite the heinous nature of his crime, he managed to slip through the justice system, serving a mere three and a half years behind bars for his actions.
The new TMZ documentary Killing a Movie Star: A Grave Injustice, will be delving into the nooks and crannies of the situation and how the Dunne family dealt with everything after the loss of their beloved daughter who was only 22, when her life was taken from her.
In addition to this, during the trial, a very crucial testimony from Sweeney’s ex-girlfriend, also a victim of his physical abuse, was inexplicably omitted. Nevertheless, Sweeney was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, a verdict that conflicted with the presiding judge’s belief that his actions constituted murder. Despite a 6 1/2-year prison sentence, Sweeney walked free in 1986, serving less than four years behind bars.
Dominick Dunne Reflects on His Daughter’s Murder
The writer and director, Dominick Dunne provided a comprehensive account of his side of the story to Vanity Fair, revealing every little detail of the moments leading up to the news, the aftermath, and the struggles he faced amidst it all. Describing the moment he got the news, he wrote,
“When the telephone in my New York apartment woke me up at five o’clock in the morning on October 31, 1982, I sensed as I reached for the receiver that disaster loomed. Detective Harold Johnston of the Los Angeles Homicide Bureau told me that my twenty-two-year-old daughter, Dominique, was near death at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.”
Initially, Sweeney, a chef at Ma Maison, failed to make a positive impression on the actress’ brothers. The shocking incident involving the Dunne daughter garnered extensive media coverage at the time. The outrage spread so much, that according to a TMZ report, a renowned actor even offered to take care of the situation by eliminating the threat.
In response to the brief time Sweeney spent in prison, Dunne’s brother, father, and family friend and Oscar-winning producer Charles Wessler, took it upon themselves to get Sweeney fired from at least seven jobs after his release from prison.
According to Dominick Dunne, he buried her daughter near actresses Norma Crane and Natalie Wood with the gravestone inscription “Loved by All.”
Killing a Movie Star: A Grave Injustice is now streaming on Hulu.
