A Tale of Many Murders: Montreal’s Mafia, Brazil’s Rainforest, and an MSN Chat Room

A special delivery from the Vanity Fair Archive View in your browser | Update your preferences In this edition of the VF Archive digest, we dive into five deadly tales of murder from around the globe. Deep in a remote corner of western Brazil, a journalist journeys to investigate and chronicle the death of an Amazonian Gandhi. Plus, a tabloid drama of sex, drugs, and betrayal in New York City, and Coen brothers–level mayhem in the wake of gory murders in Montreal by Mob henchmen. Murder at Sutton Place When the surrogate son—and alleged lover—of New York's "jeweler to the stars" was involved in a brutal killing, some of the city's rich and powerful were entangled in a tabloid drama of sex, drugs, and betrayal that landed three men behind bars. But what really happened the night of Joey Comunale's murder? R E A D  M O R E » The Sound of Murder Getting the lowdown on LA's latest killing—with music producer Phil Spector hiring O.J. lawyer Robert Shapiro amid rumors of an insanity defense—Dominick Dunne also kept his ear to the ground on Sydney Simpson's frantic 911 call, Ted Maher's Monaco-prison breakout, and Liz Smith's 80th-birthday bash. R E A D  M O R E » Murder in the Rainforest One evening Chico Mendes stepped out his back door and was blasted by a 20-gauge shotgun. It could have been just another killing in Brazil's badlands, but Mendes was a central figure in the worldwide movement to save the rainforest, a sort of Amazonian Gandhi, and he immediately became an environmental cause célèbre. Alex Shoumatoff journeyed to a remote corner of western Brazil to investigate and chronicle a death foretold. R E A D  M O R E » The Montreal Mafia Murders When an unwitting rural Canadian couple met two local Mob henchmen, Coen brothers–level mayhem ensued. But the gory murders they became party to were anything but a joke. R E A D  M O R E » "U Want Me 2 Kill Him?" After constructing a fantasy world of girls, spies, and villains in an MSN chat room, a lonely 14-year-old was found in a deserted alley with nearly fatal stab wounds. He survived, only to be convicted of inciting his own murder, in a stunning case that Britain still doesn't fully understand. R E A D  M O R E » Get on the list Subscribe to our Hollywood newsletter for your essential industry and awards-season news, every day. Sign Up Now This e-mail was sent to you by VANITY FAIR. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2025. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.