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Who Killed Nancy?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 1, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 1, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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The Hotel Chelsea Blog explores theories about the hotel's most famous couple. This year marks the 29th anniversary of Nancy Spungen's death, who was murdered in room 100 of the legendary hotel. Since then, questions and rumors have surrounded her death - which was pinned on Sid Vicious.
Now, a former friend of the late Sid (who we recently saw in those Doc Martens ads) has accused the NYPD of wrongly accusing his punk rock pal. From Contact Music:
The bassist was arrested over the fatal stabbing of Spungen in New York's Chelsea Hotel in 1978 - but the 21-year-old star died of heroin overdose the night he was released on bail. Steve Dior - who played with Vicious in a band called the Idols - says his former bandmate was the victim of a police "set up" and hopes to clear his name. He says, "Sid didn't kill Nancy, I know that for a fact. I know who did it. He was a drug dealer from New Jersey who robbed the flat where Nancy was stabbed. Why would Sid rob himself? "This guy's fingerprints were on the knife but New York Police didn't want to get into it. It was a case closed if they pinned it on Sid, they didn't care if Sid Vicious went to prison. I'm trying to tell more people about it."
Neon Leon, another musician in the hotel, was reportedly the last to see Sid before the murder. In an interview that took place that next afternoon, he recapped Sid's actions from the night before:
“Sid came in here and said, ‘Look what I’ve got. Now people can’t beat me up any more’.” He was brandishing a knife with a five and a half inch blade, said Leon. “Nancy bought it for him so he could defend himself from the beatings he was getting.”
“He said he was going to kill somebody” said Neon, speaking rapidly and without hesitation. “But he always says he’s going to kill somebody. ‘New York is making me violent. People are picking on me. All I want to do is to be in a band. I’m gonna get me a weapon.’” Sid told him, he said.
Read more here. As for the new theory, the Hotel Chelsea bloggers are wondering if this is to generate press for Alan Parker's new bio of Sid, which Steve Dior helped launch.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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