Reporting on Rebecca Schaeffer
Los Angeles Times
Reported coverage offers a concise introduction.
1989 · Los Angeles, California
Rebecca Schaeffer
Fame, money & betrayal
Photo credit
CBS Network, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (U.S.). Cropped/resized.Photographs are cropped to fit. Photo dates and original images are available through the source credits.
Actress Rebecca Schaeffer was shot at her Los Angeles door in 1989 by stalker Robert Bardo. He had obtained her address through a private investigator. Her death drew attention to access to personal records and became a prominent case in the campaign for stronger anti-stalking protections.
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The Story
When1989
WhereLos Angeles, California
In this collection37 resources
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Crimes That Changed America — Rebecca Schaeffer (S1 E3)
fox.com
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Seeing Red — Rebecca Schaeffer
Apple Podcasts
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Blogs & Essays
Read our articles here and explore outside perspectives, credited to their writers and publications. See this case in the Journal →
From the journal
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Blogs & essays
3 itemsAbout these sources
Outside essays and reading guides reflect their authors’ perspectives. Compare claims with reported and primary sources.
Criminal Misconduct · Blog / essay
The Murder of Rebecca Schaeffer
An outside blog or essay discussing Rebecca Schaeffer. Read the author’s analysis alongside the dated reporting and court sources in this case guide. Some publishers require a subscription.
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moviesoftheeighties · Substack · Blog / essay
The Morning Rebecca Schaeffer Was Supposed to Become a Star
An outside blog or essay discussing Rebecca Schaeffer. Read the author’s analysis alongside the dated reporting and court sources in this case guide. Some publishers require a subscription.
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Dead in Hollywood · Blog / essay
Rebecca Schaeffer (November 6, 1967 – July 18, 1989)
An outside blog or essay discussing Rebecca Schaeffer. Read the author’s analysis alongside the dated reporting and court sources in this case guide. Some publishers require a subscription.
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Books
CONTINUE YOUR READING
Search this case on Amazon · paid linkSearch results may include unrelated titles. Check the author, edition, and case connection before purchasing.
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Books
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Movies & TV
Movies
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TV & documentaries
3 itemsAbout these sources
Episodes, documentaries and title listings. Season and episode numbers follow the linked catalog and can differ by service. Air dates are separate from crime dates. Playback availability varies by service and region.
fox.com
Crimes That Changed America — Rebecca Schaeffer (S1 E3)
Nonfiction screen coverage of this case. The linked page identifies the program or episode; playback, subscriptions, and regional availability vary.
Screen TitleAccess Varies · Check Source
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Search Amazon · paid linkViewing options & episode details
Title search; Amazon availability is not confirmed. Check the edition, format, and viewing region.
IMDb · TV episode
The 1980s: The Deadliest Decade — The Copycat Killer (2017)
IMDb episode reference connected to the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Listed release: 2017. Cast, credits, and title information; viewing availability is separate.
Screen TitleTitle Details · Not Playback
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Search Amazon · paid linkCredits & title details on IMDb
Title search; Amazon availability is not confirmed. Check the edition, format, and viewing region.
ABC · 2019 catalog, Episode 14 · Listed air date 2019-04-12
20/20 — Your Biggest Fan
Includes coverage of Rebecca Schaeffer.
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Search Amazon · paid linkEpisode details on TVmaze
Title search; Amazon availability is not confirmed. Check the edition, format, and viewing region.
Episode data: TVmaze · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Audiobooks
An audiobook edition has not been confirmed for this case yet. You can check the audiobook catalog or explore the case’s podcasts.
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Fiction Work
Fiction Work
Browse all →Scripted stories and fictional inspirations. Scenes, characters, and dialogue can differ from the record.
No verified fictional adaptation or inspiration has been identified in this collection. Nonfiction coverage is listed in the other media sections.
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Podcasts
Podcasts
14 itemsAbout these sources
Audio episodes and oral histories. Personal recollections are attributed perspectives; some services require sign-in.
Apple Podcasts
Seeing Red — Rebecca Schaeffer
Direct episode page for this case or its screen adaptation. Open it for listening options and the publisher’s episode notes.
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Residue: A True Crime Podcast
Off Script: Rebecca Schaeffer
Podcast coverage of the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Released September 4, 2026. About 36 minutes.
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Residue: A True Crime Podcast
Bonus Episode w/ The Murder Diaries: Tragic Hollywood - Rebecca Schaeffer
Podcast coverage of the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Released August 23, 2026. About 35 minutes.
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Crimes of the Centuries
Rebecca Schaeffer: The Slaying of a Starlet
Podcast coverage of the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Released March 8, 2021. About 40 minutes.
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Crime and Coffee Couple - True Crime Podcast
Two Stalking Stories - The stalking & murders of Kenneth Fandrich & Rebecca Schaeffer
Podcast coverage of the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Released February 12, 2023. About 52 minutes.
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Morbid
The Senseless Murder of Rebecca Schaeffer Mini Morbid
Podcast coverage of the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Released October 7, 2019. About 31 minutes.
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Casefile True Crime
Case 97: Rebecca Schaeffer
Podcast coverage of the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Released October 20, 2018. About 78 minutes.
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Once Upon A Crime
S1 Ep14: Fatal Fans: Chapter 2: Rebecca Schaeffer
Podcast coverage of the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Released October 4, 2016. About 27 minutes.
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My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
83 - The MFM/Unqualified with Anna Faris Crossover Special Pt. 2
Podcast coverage of the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Released August 22, 2017. About 50 minutes.
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Crimes of the Times
Rebecca Schaeffer
Podcast coverage of the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Released January 28, 2025. About 28 minutes.
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True Crime Society
Stalked & Murdered | Zohreh Sadeghi, Rebecca Schaeffer, Christina Grimmie
Podcast coverage of the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Released June 1, 2023. About 60 minutes.
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Mysteries and Histories
145: The Solved Case of Rebecca Schaeffer
Podcast coverage of the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Released April 7, 2024. About 34 minutes.
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Killer Instinct
Rebecca Schaeffer: Stalked By An Obsessed Fan
Podcast coverage of the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Released July 24, 2024. About 44 minutes.
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STALKERS : The Truth Behind the Obsession
Rebecca Schaeffer : When Obsession Rewrote the Law
Podcast coverage of the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Released July 17, 2026. About 51 minutes.
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Social Media
BRING YOUR PERSPECTIVE
Where would you start?
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Talk about sources and storytelling with care for the people affected. A documentary, a book and a court record serve different purposes.
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News & Reading
More Reading & Audio
0 sourcesExplore book records, previews, library audiobooks and selected documents. Access labels distinguish free material from library loans and paid subscriptions.
No additional case-specific reading source was confirmed in this review. The reporting and original summaries elsewhere on this page remain available.
Reading Access Notes
Search reviewed 2026-09-16. Sources searched: Google Books, Internet Archive, Open Library, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Magazine, The Atavist Magazine, Google Books (case/title search), Scribd, Everand, OverDrive and hoopla (combined title search). Search indexing is incomplete; this is not an exhaustive list of the web. Access can change by edition, country and library membership. Library loans may require sign-in or a wait. Everand titles may need a paid subscription; a trial is not permanent free access. Scribd documents are third-party uploads, with uploader details noted where checked. We link to source pages and write our own descriptions rather than reproducing copyrighted books.
A separate Texas Monthly search was blocked by the publisher’s automated-access rules and could not be verified.
News & reporting
1 itemsLos Angeles Times
Reporting on Rebecca Schaeffer
Linked reporting or commentary. Read the source date for its historical context; access may require a subscription.
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Newspaper clippings
1 itemsFeatured newspaper clipping
Read our original summary below. The archive link opens the newspaper’s own clipping viewer.
The Los Angeles Times · 1989-07-19 · Page 1
Rebecca Schaeffer killed at her apartment
Local reporting covers the actress’s death and the initial investigation.
Opening part of a report written before the suspect was established.
Newspaper ReportingAccess Varies · Check Source
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Read the original at Newspapers.com. Access and subscription requirements are set by the archive.
Open full clipping at Newspapers.comKeep following the newspaper trail.
Search original reporting, follow the trial, and compare how newspapers covered the case over time.
Explore more on Newspapers.comNewspapers.com controls access to its archive. A subscription may be required; existing subscribers can sign in.
Internet Archive
1 itemsAbout these sources
Library records and preserved media. A catalog listing does not guarantee full reading or playback.
Internet Archive · TV News Archive
20/20 : KGO : April 12, 2019 9:00pm-11:00pm PDT
The archive indexes this broadcast under Rebecca Schaeffer. It may contain several stories; use any available captions or previews to locate the relevant segment. Full playback may be restricted.
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Court & Files
Court records & documents
1 itemsAbout these sources
Documents are labeled by type and scope. Allegations in filings are not findings of guilt. This collection is not the complete case file.
Trial recordingsBroadcast archive
People v. Bardo — archived courtroom recordings
Court TV’s indexed recordings of Robert John Bardo’s trial for Rebecca Schaeffer’s murder, including witness testimony, motions, closing arguments, and the verdict. These are courtroom videos, not downloadable court filings.
- Court / agency
- Los Angeles County Superior Court, California
- Document date
- 1991
- Hosted by
- Court TV
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Roads Traveled
Roads Traveled
Open case map →Los Angeles, California. The map provides regional context; individually verified historical places are listed below.
Where this story happened
Los Angeles, California
Highlighted states show regional context, not exact addresses. Ontario and regions outside the contiguous U.S. are listed by name.
Explore the interactive case atlas →Boundaries: Natural Earth · public domain
Location research & source notes
Map sources checked September 14, 2026. 1 individual Odd Stops location pages matched this case.
See this case’s source review
- Odd Stops
- Location pages found · 1 location pages. Read the location summaries in our place guides; photographs appear where reuse rights are verified.
- MurderData
- No verified match found.
- ArcGIS essay
- Not included in this essay.
- Reddit map
- Reviewed as a general resource. Its coordinates and victim counts were not adopted as case evidence.
“No verified match” describes the accessible material found in this review, not proof that a source has never covered the case. MAP’s anonymous records were not individually matched to people.
See the full case checklist →Rebecca Schaeffer's former building
Private property120 North Sweetzer Avenue, Los Angeles, California
Schaeffer was fatally shot by her stalker at her apartment building in July 1989.
Historical reference only. No tour or public entry has been verified; respect residents and do not contact occupants.
Explore This Place →EXPLORE THE CASE
Positive Outcome
Positive Outcome
1 itemsAbout these sources
Documented laws, advocacy and reforms. Listing a change does not claim it is effective or universally supported.
Enacted law · United States · 1994
Driver’s Privacy Protection Act
Rebecca Schaeffer’s murder helped expose the danger of obtaining personal information from motor-vehicle records. The Justice Department describes that connection in its defense of the federal privacy law. The law restricts disclosure of protected DMV information subject to specified permitted uses; it is not a blanket ban on all address disclosure.
Laws & ChangeAccess Varies · Check Source
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Social Media
12 itemsAbout these sources
Case-specific posts, videos and communities. Community opinions are separate from verified reporting. Platforms may require sign-in.
True Crime Central
The Truly Sickening Murder of Celebrity Rebecca Schaeffer | Stalker Files
Video from True Crime Central covering the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Length: 44:30.
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Entertainment Tonight
Rebecca Schaeffer's Murder: Inside the Hollywood Tragedy That Inspired Anti-Stalking Laws
Video from Entertainment Tonight covering the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Length: 16:57.
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Truly Criminal
Deadly Fame: The Case Of Rebecca Schaeffer
Video from Truly Criminal covering the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Length: 27:27.
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Killer Instinct Podcast
SOLVED: Rebecca Schaeffer: Stalked By An Obsessed Fan
Video from Killer Instinct Podcast covering the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Length: 41:44.
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Ty Notts
The Murder of Rebecca Schaeffer | True Crime Documentary
Video from Ty Notts covering the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Length: 46:55.
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Absolute Crime
How One Fan’s Obsession Ended Rebecca Schaeffer’s Life
Video from Absolute Crime covering the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Length: 48:03.
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dreading (crime and psychology)
“I have an obsession with the unattainable” : The Stalking of Rebecca Schaeffer
Video from dreading (crime and psychology) covering the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Length: 20:25.
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Once Upon A Crime | True Crime
EPISODE 014: FATAL FANS: REBECCA SCHAEFFER
Video from Once Upon A Crime | True Crime covering the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Length: 1:08:16.
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ABC News
Loved ones remember impact of actress' murder at hands of stalker
Video from ABC News covering the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Length: 8:26.
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YouTube Movies & TV
Dead on Arrival
Video from YouTube Movies & TV covering the Rebecca Schaeffer case. Length: 43:36.
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Reddit · r/Casefile
Discussion: Rewind Discussion - Case 97: Rebecca Schaeffer
Public community discussion connected to Rebecca Schaeffer. Posts and comments are reader perspectives, not independently verified reporting.
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TikTok · Creator channel
Crime and Coffee Couple - True Crime Podcast — TikTok channel
Linked by this creator in the episode notes for “Two Stalking Stories - The stalking & murders of Kenneth Fandrich & Rebecca Schaeffer.” This creator channel covers multiple cases. The matching case episode is linked below. The platform may ask you to sign in.
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