WARNING: EXPLICIT MATERIAL

Sal Mineo

AKA:

Switchblade Kid

Birth Name:

Salvatore Mineo Jr.

Birth Date:

January 10, 1939

Birth Place:

The Bronx, New York

Death Date:

February 12, 1976

Place of Death:

8567 Holloway Drive, West Hollywood, California

Age:

Cause of Death:

Murder - stab wound to the heart

Cemetery Name:

Gate of Heaven Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Show Business

Sal Mineo was a talented American actor who was best known for his role as John "Plato" Crawford in the drama film Rebel Without a Cause (1955), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at age 17, making him the fifth-youngest nominee in the category. Mineo also starred in films such as Crime in the Streets, Giant (both 1956), Exodus (1960), for which he won a Golden Globe and received a second Academy Award nomination, The Longest Day (1962), John Ford's final western Cheyenne Autumn (1964) and Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971). In fact, he either starred or was featured in over 20 major films before his untimely murder. He also made dozens of appearances on dozens of TV shows including Combat!, Hawaii Five-0, My Three Sons and Mission Impossible. On the night of February 12, 1976, Mineo returned home from a rehearsal for the play P.S. Your Cat Is Dead at 10:00 pm. After parking his car in the carport below his West Hollywood apartment, he was stabbed in the heart by a mugger. Mineo was found lying and bleeding profusely in the parking alley by his neighbor Raymond Evans, who had heard his cries for help, but Mineo was only able to walk a few steps, after which he collapsed immediately and was pronounced dead at the age of 37 due to massive hemorrhage.

Who Killed Sal Mineo?

A little more than a year after Sal Mineo’s death, in May 1977, Theresa Williams, wife of initial suspect Lionel Ray Williams, shocked detectives when she claimed that her husband had, in fact, killed Mineo. She reported that her husband had returned home the night of the murder, covered in blood and when they saw a news report of the slaying, he told Theresa, “that’s the dude I killed”. Jailed on an unrelated charge in Michigan, Williams also told a cellmate that he killed Sal Mineo.

Charged with the robbery and murder of Sal Mineo, along with 10 charges from a string of other crimes around the same period of time, Williams went to trial in early 1979. One major problem with the prosecution’s case was that initially, eye witness reports said the suspect was a white man with blonde hair and Willams was an African-American man with an afro. It was later determined that the white man with blonde hair was a bystander who had chased after the suspect. Williams was convicted of second-degree murder for the robbery and killing of Sal Mineo along with the other 10 charges and was sentenced to a minimum of 51 years in prison. William’s appeals were all denied.

Williams was released after only serving 12-years for murder. Upon release, he was quickly picked-up again for violating the terms of his parole. Today his whereabouts are unknown.

Williams wife, Theresa, committed suicide shortly after his arrest.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Gate of Heaven Cemetery

10 West Stevens Avenue

Hawthorne, New York, 10532

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York

Grave Location:

Section 2, Row 211, Space 4

Grave Location Description

As you drive through the entrance on Stevens Avenue, make an immediate right turn and continue up the hill. As you come to Section 6 stay to your right and Section 2 will be on your left. Drive around to the other side and look to your left for the large D’Onofrio mausoleum. Directly in front of the mausoleum about 40 feet away you will find the final resting place of legendary actor Sal Mineo along with his family.