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Meredith Hunter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Meredith Hunter (October 24, 1951 – December 6, 1969) was stabbed to death directly in front of the stage at the Altamont Music Festival during the Rolling Stones' performance. He died en route to the hospital. The killing itself was recorded in the documentary Gimme Shelter. Alan Passaro, a 21-year-old member of the Hells Angels, was charged with the crime, but Passaro claimed he acted in self-defense after Hunter, probably as a result of being accosted and being high on methamphetamines, pulled a gun (as can be seen in the film). Passaro was acquitted.
There had been rumors over the years that a second, unidentified assailant had inflicted the fatal wounds, and, as a result, the police considered the case to still be open. On 25 May 2005, the Alameda county sheriff's department announced that it was officially closing the stabbing case. Investigators, concluding a renewed two-year investigation, dismissed the theory that a second Hells Angel took part in the stabbing. [1]
Perhaps because of early, incorrect reporting by Rolling Stone magazine, an urban legend holds that the song playing when Hunter was killed was "Sympathy for the Devil." This is false — while that song was part of the Rolling Stones' set at the show, they were performing "Under My Thumb" when Hunter was stabbed.
Mr. Hunter was interred on December 10, 1969 at the Skyview Memorial Lawn in Vallejo, California.[2]