Carter Roy

Her lawyer convinced the judge that she had gone through enough already.

Reading her police statement to the jury would be sufficient enough testimony.

It was taken in the police station right after the murder and detailed how she stabbed Johnny to protect Lana.

And despite Cheryl's absence and the clothes hanger detail, the jury ruled that the killing was a justifiable homicide.

Cheryl would not be sent to prison or, thankfully, to death.

Though Cheryl's life would not be easy from here.

The court ordered that she move in with her grandmother, and when threats of revenge came in from the mob, the police stationed an officer outside at all times.

Cheryl felt constantly judged.

Being gossiped about as a teenager is hard.

Imagine if it was about you being a murderer.

One of the running jokes around school was that Cheryl was in charge of the cafeteria's knives.

As the years passed, Cheryl struggled to find her place in the world.

She spent time in institutions and psychiatric hospitals.

Meanwhile, Lana's career stalled.

Movie offers were dropped thanks to the scandal.

However, she'd eventually become top of the call sheet again in an odd niche, playing mothers who had tumultuous relationships with their daughters.

The first of these films, ironically called Imitation of Life, became her career's biggest box office success.

And eventually, Cheryl too found her footing again.

As an adult, she thrived in her father's hospitality business, moved to Hawaii, and in 2014, married her partner of 44 years.

But the shadow of Johnny Stompanato's killing still followed her.