February 2 was the 31st anniversary of the death of Sid Vicious, punk rock’s most infamous character. When he died, he was awaiting trial, accused of murdering his American girlfriend, Nancy Spungen in October 1978.
There are many theories as to what actually happened that night at the Chelsea Hotel–and here’s another one of them. Both of them took a type of tranquilliser that under certain circumstances can make you irritable. Nancy, upset that Sid hadn’t’ scored enough drugs for the night, so she was all over him.
Sid, too stoned to know what he was doing, stabbed her in the abdomen, creating a small punctured wound. Nancy, too stoned to do anything about it–or even care–went to the bathroom where she eventually collapsed, bled out an died while Sid went out to get the drugs she wanted.
But when he came back, he passed out before he checked the bathroom. Just a theory, but it’s one that some people believe.