The Mammoth Book of Celebrity Murders (34 page)

As Cheyenne grew up she blossomed into a true beauty, very popular amongst her peers and with a demonstrably high intelligence, not to mention a keen competitive streak. Her favourite subjects
at school were science and art, she was a keen dancer and in her spare time she was an accomplished horse rider. Sadly though, the trappings of her famous father’s success brought her into
contact with alcohol and drugs, but unlike other Hollywood children, Cheyenne indulged in adult levels of intake. The same self-destructive habit which characterized Brando’s food intake
appeared to have been passed to his eldest daughter.

Occasionally, to the surprise of those around her, Cheyenne would erupt into fits of rage, often at the drop of a hat. These outbursts were the first indications that she was suffering from some
form of mental illness. When she was 19 years old, her father was, as usual, away filming. On this occasion he was in Toronto shooting the movie
The Freshman
, with Matthew Broderick.
Cheyenne, in desperate need of her father’s attention, wanted to visit him on the set. Seeking his permission to make the trip, she was refused, a decision which angered the feisty Cheyenne.
Never happy when refused something, for she was used to getting what she wanted, the rebuttal hit her more heavily than might have been expected. Furious at her father, she decided that the best
way to burn off some steam was by going for a drive. Her boyfriend, Dag Drollet, had parked his car in Brando’s driveway; when Cheyenne came looking for the keys he knew better than to refuse
and allowed the obviously furious girl to take the car. The writing was on the wall, but Drollet could not read it. The mixture of instability and a deep-seated anger could be a potentially lethal
combination, as Cheyenne was soon to find out and as Drollet would a few months later. While she was driving away her anger rose and as her blood boiled the speed of the car gradually increased,
soon far exeeding the speed limit. Unfortunately she was unable to handle the car at such high speed and lost control of the vehicle on a bend. The car crashed and she sustained terrible facial
injuries in the process, including breaking her jaw, losing part of her ear and lacerating her face.

After having plastic surgery her scars faded and the surgeons managed to restore much of her good looks – but Cheyenne was devastated with the results. She blamed her father for the
accident, insisting that if he had allowed her to join him when she asked then she would still be beautiful. Her mental health deteriorated dramatically and she came to rely more and more on drugs;
she was struggling to keep on an even keel. With her father more absent than present, Dag Drollet became the centre of Cheyenne’s attention and in return he became the rock against which she
could lean. During her recovery, Cheyenne discovered that she was pregnant with Drollet’s child – the timing couldn’t have been worse, for her mental health was at an all-time low
and her drug use was at an all-time high.

The couple had been together for around a year, but the relationship was not a stable one. Drollet and Cheyenne would often argue, usually fuelled by drink, and would at times come to blows.
Drollet confided in his parents who, wanting the best for their son, encouraged him not to antagonize his pregnant girlfriend and instead try to make a go of it. He eventually explained to his
father Jacques about Cheyenne’s violent mood swings and her drug and alcohol abuse. It was during one of these discussions that Jacques realized the gravity of his son’s situation and
urged him to be very careful, warning him that there was no way of knowing what the outcome of their fights might be. Shortly before Drollet’s death his father made a final plea to his son to
leave Cheyenne, fearful that the drugged and alcoholically charged youngster might at any time explode into a fit of violence. Now more than ever before, Jacques was concerned for the safety of his
son. Sadly Drollet did not take his father’s advice – time would show that he was to pay dearly for his mistake.

By now Cheyenne was at rock bottom. She was taking much longer than expected to recover from the car crash, was depressed, pregnant and on top of all that she was upset that the situation with
her boyfriend was precarious and that he might, as he had threatened in the past, decide to leave her.

Brando was aware of his daughter’s psychiatric problems and decided that she should leave Tahiti and return to Mulholland Drive prior to having the baby. He wanted her to have the benefits
of a Los Angeles birth, worried that the Tahitian facilities might be a little primitive and with all of the added complications his daughter had brought upon herself, she more than anyone might
need access to the latest medical technology.

Drollet moved with Cheyenne to her father’s house, hoping that the steadying influence of the patriarch may settle his pregnant girlfriend down. But this would not prove to be the case for
Cheyenne had now come to resent the fact that her father had spent so little time with her as a child and actively displayed her annoyance at any given opportunity. She was also no longer
comfortable with the pace of life in Los Angeles, much preferring the peace and quiet she enjoyed in Tahiti. Brando encouraged his daughter to attend psychological counselling, but her moods did
not improve and she became more erratic and violent. Drollet knew that the relationship could not survive after the birth of the baby, but was determined to stay with her to offer what support he
could until the child was born.

The enormous house was constantly busy – as well as Drollet, Cheyenne, and her parents, a team of servants were constantly coming and going. Another frequent visitor to the property was
Christian. He had already been married, had a home of his own and occasionally worked as a welder. There were similar family traits emerging between the step-siblings – Christian was no
stranger to drugs and was also noted for his hot temper, especially after he had consumed a lot of alcohol. He was finding it difficult to be his own person; constantly recognized as his
father’s son he felt overpowered by the Brando image. He had a large number of acquaintances, but like many people who have famous relatives, he found himself surrounded by friends and
hangers-on, all keen to mix with the legendary Brando.

As a gun enthusiast Christian owned a selection of firearms. He was once reported to have suffered a blackout, during which it was suggested that he managed to shoot one of his friends. Luckily
the man’s injuries were only superficial, the bullet merely grazing his face, but had it been a couple of inches in the other direction Christian might well have found himself charged with
his death. After the blackout he was totally unaware of what had occurred and apparently had no recall of the events.

Less than ten days after Cheyenne and Drollet had moved into Brando’s palatial home Christian turned up and met his sister’s boyfriend for the first time. He considered him to be a
decent sort of guy and they got on reasonably well, although they did not find much to say to each other after their initial introductions. Christian invited the pair out for a meal, but Drollet,
happy to spend time alone, suggested that it would be nice for Christian and Cheyenne to go out together and catch up.

The two happily went off leaving Drollet in the den and Brando in his own room. By the time they returned Christian’s mood had completely altered and he was ready to avenge his
sister’s apparent violent treatment by her boyfriend – for his alleged abuse of Cheyenne, the price was to be his life in full and final settlement.

The news of Drollet’s death and the ensuing court case was to dominate Los Angeles tabloids with front-page news for almost nine months, the reading public being fed every ounce of
information they could stomach.

Drollet’s parents were understandably heartbroken at the news that their son had been killed. Aware that his girlfriend was unstable, they did not expect that her half-brother would be the
one to take their son’s life.

Brando was devastated too; he was a very private man, some would say almost reclusive when he wasn’t working. But he was all too familiar with how the press worked and was aware that his
family’s deepest secret would soon be splashed on the front of every newspaper in America, if not the entire world.

He wasted no time in contacting his friend and attorney, William Kunstler, and told him, “The messenger of misery has visited my house.” Kunstler, who handled the press during the
early part of the investigation, advised Brando to use the high-profile criminal lawyer Robert Shapiro to defend his son.

On examination of the den, and later during the autopsy of Drollet, a picture emerged as to what had transpired at the Brando house that evening. It started to become apparent that the evidence
didn’t point to a struggle, but rather it appeared that the victim was shot in the back of the head while relaxing. It was initially thought that the pair had engaged in a face-to-face
confrontation, resulting in Drollet suffering a shot to the front of his head, but this clearly wasn’t the case. The evidence suggested a cowardly attack from behind, not one intended as a
lesson, but one intended to kill – no discussion required.

After being questioned by police Cheyenne was exhausted and her mental state was in crisis. On 15 June, her father took the unusual decision to have her hospitalized back in Tahiti. The flights
were personally organized by Brando and some felt that he was trying to manipulate the legal process. Cheyenne had confirmed on numerous occasions while being questioned that the death of her
boyfriend was not an accident and that Christian had collected his gun with the intention of shooting Drollet. The reason for her relocation then became more apparent – Tahiti is under French
jurisdiction and as such the American authorities would be unable to subpoena her to testify in court. Her absence would therefore hinder the prosecution’s case, and in doing so would not
only spare Cheyenne the stress of the trial, but might also aid Christian Brando’s defence. Cheyenne’s movements, and more particularly her escape to a foreign jurisdiction, were not
lost on the press and media. Brando’s claim that he was looking after his daughter’s mental well-being was lost in the headlines claiming Brando was simply orchestrating his son’s
defence by removing a witness who might prove awkward.

On 26 June, not long after arriving in hospital, Cheyenne gave birth to a sickly child named Tuki. Shortly after his birth he began showing signs of solvent withdrawal and had to be detoxified
to clear his system. His mother was in such a state following the birth of her baby boy that she took a drug overdose, but was luckily discovered in time and survived this particular suicide
bid.

Christian on the other hand was in jail, his father unable to raise the $10 million bail which had been set by the municipal judge. Over the coming weeks his defence team compiled their case, as
did the prosecution, and throughout the pre-trial preparations the press were hot on their tails, reporting anything and everything which was thought to be of interest and which might help them
sell a few extra copies.

By early August the Judge decided that there was enough evidence to try Christian with first-degree murder. He also reduced the bail request to $2 million, a sum Brando raised by using his house
as collateral. Grateful to get his son out of jail he personally handed over Christian’s passport and took the opportunity to talk to the media who were encamped outside the courtroom. He
announced, “I have a hide this thick.” He held out his hand with his fingers wide apart before going on, “But when it comes to my son and my children, you’re speaking to
someone with a different impulse.”

He took his time and spoke to the reporters for more than half an hour. One asked, “Could anything have been done to prevent the May 16 tragedy?” to which he replied, “Where is
a feather dropped by a seagull on the heads of two thousand persons going to land? There are too many unknowns.”

The prosecution’s first-degree murder case was weakened by the fact that they were unable to subpoena Cheyenne back to the United States. In addition the Judge had informed them that
unless Cheyenne was present in court her statements could not be used. As she was in poor health both physically and mentally it became obvious that she would not attend the trial, statements
collected from her doctors in Tahiti having recommended that she was too unstable to be allowed to testify. To add to their problems the prosecution were informed that they would not be able to use
the police tape recording of Christian’s confession, as the police had neglected to make him aware that he was entitled to have an attorney present with him free of charge. The police had
assumed that the “free of charge” element of his rights were not necessary considering his father’s immense wealth.

The Municipal Court Judge, Larry Fidler, informed prosecutors, “It’s a clear error and I will not allow the statement to be used.” Disappointed but undeterred the prosecution
pressed on with the original charge of first-degree murder – the rest of the evidence, including the autopsy, told its own story.

Robert Shapiro was able to secure a plea bargain with the District Attorney who agreed to reduce the charge to voluntary manslaughter if his client was willing to admit his guilt. On 14 January
1991, Christian Brando entered a guilty plea to the charge of voluntary manslaughter. This was not well received by the press, public and even less by Drollet’s father, Jacques Drollet, who
was quoted as saying, “Marlon Brando is rich, well known and his lawyers are very clever. They will find a way to get Christian out.” The public opinion at the time was that Marlon
Brando could afford to somehow pay for his son’s freedom, do a deal which would lessen the charges and maybe even allow him to walk free.

Christian used the time he had before the trial to try and get some kind of sanity back in his life. He had been through detox, was regularly attending Alcoholics Anonymous and had started to
resume his work, although it seems that he was resigned to his fate – the charge of voluntary manslaughter had a maximum of 16 years imprisonment. He was not well received when he ventured
out and complained that he would be better off in prison serving his sentence rather than receiving abuse from members of the public. He was reported to have complained, “I did plead guilty
to a manslaughter, it’s a tragedy and I do feel bad. If I could give my life to have him come back I would do it, but there’s nothing I can do. But are people going to spit on me all
the time? Can’t I just go to jail? Is that OK?”