Killing of Michael Nigg

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Michael Nigg
Hollywood, California, US
Cause of deathHomicide by gunshot wound
Occupation(s)Waiter, actor, model

Michael Nigg (April 28, 1969 – September 8, 1995)

Hollywood.[2] The Los Angeles Police Department later arrested three suspects but soon released them for lack of evidence. No other suspects have ever been identified, and the killing remains unsolved.[3]

The case attracted some media coverage at the time, because Nigg had formerly worked at the Mezzaluna restaurant in

his highly publicized trial had reached closing arguments
.

Simpson, who consistently professed his innocence in the Brown and Goldman killings, was acquitted of the murder charges almost a month after Nigg's death.[a] Alternative theories of the murders, supposedly shared by Simpson, have suggested they were related to drug trafficking in the Los Angeles area,[4] and that Nigg's was as well; Nigg apparently lived very well for a waiter,[5] and there were some allegations he too had been involved in the drug trade while working at the Mezzaluna branch in Colorado before.[6] It has also been noted that Nigg and Goldman were not the only waiters at Mezzaluna to be the victims of criminal activity during the mid-1990s.[6]

Background

Nigg was born in

Western State University. After graduating, he went to the Los Angeles area to try to start an acting or modeling career.[3] He made an appearance on Liars, a syndicated television series.[2]

While seeking jobs and roles, he worked at restaurants waiting tables to support himself. By 1994, he was working at the Mezzaluna restaurant in

Hollywood.[2]

Crime and investigation

On the evening of September 8, 1995, Nigg and his girlfriend Julie Long were on their way to another restaurant in his

ATM, where he withdrew $40.[2]

As he did so, two men walked up to him and demanded money. When he refused, one of the men shot Nigg in the head. Afterwards, both robbers walked away, departing in a waiting car. Long, who witnessed the entire incident, was not harmed. The killers did not appear to have taken anything despite their initial aims.[6]

The crime was reported promptly. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) looked for the suspects over the weekend but found no leads. On the night after the killing, Nigg's friends gathered in the parking lot for a candlelight vigil. Among them was actor Mickey Rourke, who spoke to television news crews that came to cover the event. "If anyone knows anything about the shooting that took place," he said, "just give the cops a call."[2]

Three months later the LAPD arrested three suspects, including the alleged getaway driver. However, they were quickly released for lack of evidence. Rewards have been offered, and the killing was dramatized on a segment[

which?] of America's Most Wanted. The case remains open and unsolved.[3]

Possible connection to O. J. Simpson murder case

Main article:
O. J. Simpson murder case

The

speculated that Nicole had been planning to open a restaurant of her own using proceeds from cocaine sales. Mezzaluna Trattoria, where she ate her last meal, and where both Nigg and Goldman had worked, was reportedly a nexus for drug trafficking in Brentwood.[4]

Authors

Corona del Mar in 1994.[6]

See also

  • Brett Cantor, Hollywood nightclub owner whose unsolved 1993 stabbing death was also seen by Simpson's defense as possibly related to the two killings he was charged with
  • Crime in Los Angeles
  • List of unsolved murders

Notes

  1. ^ He was later found liable in the deaths in a civil suit brought by the Brown and Goldman families.

References

  1. ISBN 9781589981515
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e "Goldman Friend Slain Resisting Robbery". Deseret News. Associated Press. September 12, 1995. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  3. ^
    Denver
    . Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  4. ^
    ISBN 9780765316134
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 9780688144135
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 9780028613406
    .
  7. ^ a b Killing Time, 233
  8. ISBN 9780806520414
    . Unless they were a special brand of surrealist muggers, I can only conclude that something rather fishy occurred that night
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Killing_of_Michael_Nigg&oldid=1218814547"