Foul Play: Sports and Murder

Arturo Gatti, left, called the "Thunder" for his all-or-nothing style, was best known for three punishing fights against Micky Ward, shown here. Gatti's world came crashing down July 11, 2009. Police found him strangled to death at a posh Brazilian resort.

Arturo Gatti

Former boxing champ Arturo Gatti's wife, Amanda Rodrigues, is escorted by police officers after being arrested in Recife, Brazil, July 12, 2009. Brazilian authorities say she is the primary witness in her husband's murder at a posh Brazilian resort.

Steve McNair

Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair runs with the ball against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Oct. 16, 2000. McNair, a 13-year NFL veteran who led the Titans within a yard of forcing overtime in the 2000 Super Bowl, was shot and killed by his mistress on July 4, 2009.

Steve McNair

Steve McNair's mistress, Sahel Kazemi, is seen here in an undated Facebook photo. Police say Kazemi murdered the Titan star because she was jealous he may have had another young lover, then turned the gun on herself. McNair's wife, Mechelle Cartwright, did not know of the affair until her husband was killed, according to family friends.

Donte' Stallworth

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth served 24 days of a 30-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter. The NFL star struck and killed a pedestrian in an early morning crash March 14, 2009. Police said he had spent the night drinking at a swank Miami Beach nightclub.

Donte' Stallworth

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth, left, is finger printed after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter during a hearing in a Miami-Dade courtroom. Stallworth took full responsibility for killing 59-year-old Mario Reyes while driving drunk in Florida and served most of a 30-day jail sentence. He also reached a financial settlement with the Reyes family.

Shaun Gayle

Chicago Bears All-Pro safety Shaun Gayle reaches in and knocks a pass from the hands of New Orleans Saints wide receiver Greg Scales during a 1991 playoff game. Gayle played with the Bears during two Super Bowls and is a Chicago hero, but he became a suspect in the 2007 murder of his pregnant girlfriend Rhoni Rheuter.

Shaun Gayle

Rhoni Rheuter, shown here in a family photo, was murdered in 2007. After her boyfriend, Shaun Gayle, quickly cooperated with the police, officers turned their attentions to Gayle's real estate agent and friend, Marni Yang, who, police say, became obsessed with Gayle and shot the pregnant Rheuter, killing her and the unborn child. Yang is awaiting trial.

Jayson Williams

Former New Jersey Nets Star Jayson Williams, a ferocious rebounder and shot blocker, was tried in 2002 for allegedly shooting to death his limousine driver, Costas "Gus" Christofi, at his New Jersey mansion.

Jayson Williams

A video still shows the body of limousine driver Costas Christofi lying on the bedroom floor of former NBA star Jayson Williams' N.J. mansion. Williams was convicted for trying to cover up the death, but acquitted of the most serious charge, aggravated manslaughter. The jury deadlocked on a third charge, reckless manslaughter. Williams awaits a new trial on that charge.

Ray Lewis

Baltimore Ravens Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis cemented his athletic legacy by winning a Super Bowl MVP award, a rare award for a defensive player. But his off-the-field antics have left the player with a darker image. He and two friends were charged with murder & aggravated assault after a post Super Bowl party fight left 2 men dead.

Ray Lewis

Ray Lewis testifies in an Atlanta court on June 6, 2000, in the murder trial of Joseph Sweeting and Reginald Oakley. Lewis testified that Sweeting showed him how he repeatedly stabbed a man during the fatal street brawl. Murder and assault charges against Lewis were dropped after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor obstruction of justice and agreed to testify about what he saw during the brawl.

Rae Carruth

Carolina Panthers receiver Rae Carruth seemed headed for a stellar career when he was drafted in the first round of the 1997 NFL draft. But his dreams unraveled when his pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams, was shot four times in a 1999 drive-by shooting in North Carolina. She later died at the hospital and Carruth was convicted for conspiring to murder her.

Rae Carruth

A photo of a Rae Carruth's pregnant girlfriend Cherica Adams was presented during Carruth's murder trial. Adams was hit four times in a 1999 drive-by shooting, but lived long enough to make it to the hospital and finger Carruth as one of her killers. Doctors were able to save her unborn child, Chancellor.

O.J. Simpson

O.J. "The Juice" Simpson was a giant on and off the field. He was the first NFL player to run for 2000 yards in a single season and scored parts in Hollywood films and television endorsement deals - a relative rarity for a black athlete in the 1970s. But O.J. is now most famous for his alleged role in the 1994 murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

O.J. Simpson

On June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson, right, was slashed to death along with a friend, Ronald Goldman, outside her condominium in Los Angeles. All eyes turned to O.J., but the football star beat the rap in a globally televised 1995 trial in which his lawyer, Johnnie Cochran, famously said of a glove found at the scene, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit." The jury did.

Lyman Bostock

California Angels' Star Lyman Bostock stares down a pitch during batting practice just before a game with the Seattle Mariners in Seattle, April 19, 1978. Bostock's life was cut short after being murdered by Leonard Smith in his hometown of Gary, Indiana.

Lyman Bostock

Leonard Smith, shown here, was booked for the murder of star California Angel Lyman Bostock. Smith was tried for murder twice and was ultimately found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Ruben "Hurricane" Carter

Former boxer Ruben "Hurricane" Carter addresses a rally in Harrisburg, Pa., in 2002 in support of Steven Crawford, a man Carter believes was wrongfully convicted of murder. Carter was himself released after serving 20 years for the 1966 murder of three people in a N.J. bar. Carter has always maintained his innocence and a 1985 federal appeals court voided his conviction.

Ruben "Hurricane" Carter

Denzel Washington appears in "The Hurricane," based on the life of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, who was imprisoned for two decades over questionable evidence tying him to a 1966 triple murder. The film received three Golden Globe nominations.