In 1958, at the age of 14, she fatally stabbed her mother's lover,
gangster Johnny Stompanato, during a quarrel. Jerry Giesler represented her. The murder was deemed justifiable homicide at a coroner's inquest.
Even when I was a toddler, I knew there were certain rules I had to observe regarding mother's profession. I was on the set of The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). I knew then not to tug on her hair as babies do or mess her up. It became so ingrained that it was just a natural act for me not to do.
