Convicted killer and self-acclaimed “King of the Club Kids”, Michael Alig, was found dead in his Upper Manhattan home of an apparent drug overdose. A friend had discovered Alig unresponsive and called in the police; the EMS arrived shortly after and declared him dead. Police searched his apartment and found several plastic bags that contained heroin and other drug paraphernalia, Eonline reports.
The 54-year-old gay partied hard and staged weird night parties as well as crawled the nightclubs in the mid-1980s to early 1990s. He said in an interview after his 2014 release from prison that he came from South Bend in Indiana and came to New York in 1984. He got admitted to Fordham University where he met another student known as Ludovic who introduced him to gay clubs and night parties; Ludovic was the boyfriend of Keith Haring, a popular pop artist.
“[I was] a misfit from the Midwest who came to New York City in search of acceptance, opportunity, and a whole lot of fun,’’ Alig recalled. “As a gay teen coming to terms with my sexuality, I was overwhelmed and exhilarated. It was liberating.’’
He developed an eccentric way of dressing and always looked outrageous in silly makeup, hair, and costumes that made him appear alien and outlandish. He frequented the Tunnel and Limelight among other famous nightclubs of the day until he began dealing in hard drugs such as ketamine, ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin among others. He also boozed heavily.
In 1996, Alig and his friend, Robert “Freeze” Riggs, had a fight with Andre “Angel” Melendez, a drug peddler, and ended up beating him to death. There were all high on ketamine. Alig and Riggs preserved the body of Melendez in their apartment and later dismembered him – and still organized several parties at their home while their victim was decomposing in the tub. They later disposed of the body parts in the Hudson River, Fox News writes.
Both Alig and Riggs admitted to their crimes, and they were sentenced to prison. Alig served 17 years and was released in 2014 while Riggs was released earlier in 2010. He later acknowledged that the prison straightened him out and was now a more somber individual.
“It takes going to prison for 17 years and going through extensive therapy, then having to face what you are and how you behaved,” Alig revealed. “Because while you’re on drugs, you’re not facing anything. I was responsible because I made the decision to do drugs. And when I made that decision I wasn’t on drugs.”
His rascally way of life even inspired a few movies and documentaries. There was the 1998 Party Monster: The Shockumentary and the 2003 movie Party Monster where famous child actor Macaulay Culkin starred as Alig himself.
Source: eonline.com
