Rebecca Lucile Schaeffer, 21, was shot and killed at her West Hollywood apartment on July 18, 1989. She had been preparing for an audition that morning when an obsessed fan, Robert John Bardo, arrived. Bardo had stalked her for about three years, sending numerous letters and hiring a private investigator to obtain her address. After an initial brief interaction at her doorstep, he left and then returned; when Schaeffer opened the door again he shot her in the chest with a .357 Magnum. She was pronounced dead 30 minutes later at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Bardo was identified as the prime suspect and was apprehended the following day. He confessed and was charged with first-degree murder; his defense argued he was mentally ill. The killing prompted changes in law and policy: California passed anti-stalking legislation, and later the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act restricted access to motor vehicle records after it was shown how Bardo had obtained Schaeffer’s address.

Does anyone have memories of Rebecca’s career or details about her life before 1989 that could add to this thread?