Claudine Longet shot and killed her boyfriend, Olympian Vladimir “Spider” Sabich, on March 21, 1976
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She claimed the gun accidentally discharged while Sabich was showing her how to use it
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Longet and Sabich's relationship was reportedly strained before his death
Olympian Vladimir “Spider” Sabich was preparing to take a shower on the evening of March 21, 1976, when he was shot in the stomach by his girlfriend, Claudine Longet.
Longet, who had been holding an imitation World War II model Luger pistol at the couple's Aspen, Colo., home, called an ambulance, but Sabich was pronounced dead from the gunshot wound before reaching the hospital. The American alpine skier died at 31.
Longet was arrested, but insisted that the gun had accidentally discharged while Sabich was showing her how to use it. While Longet was initially charged with reckless manslaughter, percourt papers, a series of mistakes by investigators limited the evidence that could be used in court. She was ultimately convicted of a much lesser charge.
Here's everything to know about the death of Vladimir “Spider” Sabich — and Claudine Longet's involvement.
Claudine Longet was a French-born actress and singer
Longet, who was born in Paris, moved to Las Vegas in 1960 to perform at the Tropicana casino, where she metAndy Williams, the host of theEmmy-winningThe Andy Williams Show, according toGQ. The two got married in December 1961 and welcomed three children — Noelle, Christian and Bobby.
With the help of Williams, Longet began to establish herself as a singer and actress in the U.S. She appeared many times onThe Andy Williams Show, costarred in the 1968 box office hitThe Partyalongside Peter Sellers and released two albums through Williams' record label.
However, their romance didn't last. The couple separated in 1970 and divorced in 1975.
Longet went on to meet Sabich in 1972 at a celebrity ski race in Bear Valley, Calif., according toTahoe Quarterly. Sabich's friend Moose Barrows recalled their first meeting in a restaurant during the race, when Sabich walked in to see Longet sitting withLiza Minnelli,Clint Eastwoodand Robert Conrad.
Sabich introduced himself, and they struck up a romance. “We thought she was crazy,” Barrows toldThe Denver Post. “She had a temper and a few other things — she was French.”
After splitting time between California and Aspen for a year, Longet and her three children moved to Aspen to be with the skier, per theAspen Times.
Spider Sabich was a decorated Olympic skier
Sabich was a successful star in his own right, having been a member of the U.S. Ski Team at the World Cup for its first four seasons. He placed fifth in the slalom at the 1968 Winter Olympics, won the slalom at the World Cup later that year and was the pro ski racing champion in 1971 and 1972.
“He was just instantly likeable, a typical California kid,” Billy Kidd, a fellow ski racer, toldTahoe Quarterly. “Within five to 10 minutes, you feel like you've known him for a lifetime.”
In fact, Sabich and Kidd were the inspirations behindRobert Redfordand James Salter's 1969 filmDownhill Racer.
“[Sabich] was one of the most charismatic and fun people to ever be on this planet,” Kidd said. “There wasn't any girl around who, from the instant she heard the word 'Hello,' didn't want to spend more time with him.”
However, Sabich had been suffering from ski-related knee and back injuries around the time of his death, perGQ.
Sabich died in March 1976
During the afternoon of March 21, 1976, Sabich went home after a training session to change his clothes before meeting a friend, Bob Beattie, for dinner, perThe Denver Post. But while he was preparing to take a shower, Longet shot him in the stomach.
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Responding officers found Sabich's body slumped on the floor of the bathroom, perGQ. He was 31 years old.
During Longet's trial, Aspen detective David Garms testified that immediately after the shooting, the actress claimed it had been an accident. Garms said that Longet claimed she had found the .22-cal. pistol in their house and asked Sabich how to work it, thinking it would be helpful when she was home alone, perTIME.
“I raised the gun and playfully went ‘Boom, boom,' and it went off," Garms said Longet told him.
While on the stand, Longet told the jury, “I continued walking toward him, telling him I wanted to know more about it." She then insisted that she didn't do so “playfully” as Garms testified, because “I wouldn't joke with guns.”
After the gun went off, “Spider called my name many, many times,” Longet said on the stand, according toThe New York Times. “He sort of slid down and I told him I would call the hospital and not to move. I told him to try to make it. He was fainting, and I tried to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."
Their relationship was rocky before Sabich's death
However, Longet and Sabich's relationship reportedly wasn't in a good place before his death.
Sabich's ex-girlfriend, Marty, toldGQthat, shortly before his death, the two went out to dinner and Sabich told her “he could not get rid of Claudine” and “she was throwing tantrums.” Beattie claimed that their relationship was about to end, according to the outlet.
While responding to their house on the afternoon of Sabich's death, officers found a diary that revealed "explosive" details about the couple's relationship, according toGQ.
On the stand, Longet said that “Spider and I loved each other very much," perThe New York Times. However, she later admitted that she was looking for another place to live at the time of his death.
Significant pieces of evidence were inadmissible in court
Pitkin County Sheriff's Office deputies did not have warrants when they took Longet's diary and blood and urine samples from her, which made them inadmissible in court, perThe New York Times.
The prosecution claimed that her sample contained cocaine, but it could not be used as evidence, according toGQ.
The weapon was also handled improperly. It had been wrapped in a towel from someone at the crime scene and stashed away in a police car glove compartment for days, rather than properly stored as evidence. The defense claimed that this was evidence tampering, perEBSCO.
Longet was found guilty of misdemeanor negligent homicide and sentenced to 30 days in jail
On January 14, 1977, Longet was found guilty of misdemeanor negligent homicide, perThe New York Times. Longet was given two years' probation and ordered to spend 30 days in jail — which she could serve on consecutive weekends — starting on a date she chose, and was charged a $25 fine to pay the costs of her probation report, according to theoutlet.
“There is not really very much to say,” Longet said after receiving her sentence, per EBSCO. “Only that I have too much respect for living things to do that. I'm not guilty.”
In May 1977, Sabich's family filed a civil lawsuit against Longet for $1.3 million, which was settled out of court. Longet signed a confidentiality agreement that she would not speak publicly about Sabich or the killing, and promised never to publish a book about her life or the trial.
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