Hollywood True Crime Story That Changed Lives Forever

By Muhammad Saleem

A simple decision can change lives forever. Hollywood never imagined the consequences of his actions would impact his and others’ lives. Get ready, because we are taking you into this thrilling story where crime, revenge, and the cost of a broken conscience are revealed.

The Kidnapping

Let’s start today’s true crime story. The boy is 19 years old and people call him Hollywood. He is quite famous in his neighborhood because he is a Zaza dealer.

If you have influence in your area and people fear you, how can someone owe you money and refuse to return it? Hollywood had to collect $1,200 from a boy named Ben.

Hollywood goes with his team to Ben’s house to collect the money, but Ben is not home. Hollywood is very angry but controls his temper and kidnaps Ben’s younger brother, Nick.

Nick is 15 years old and unlike Ben, he is a good kid living a peaceful life. Nick had nothing to do with the gang’s life or his brother’s debts, but his situation was about to get worse because Hollywood kidnapped him to teach Ben a lesson.

A Twisted Turn

Since Ben wasn’t home, Hollywood and his friends were very angry. When they see Nick walking down the street, they jump out of their car and start beating him. After beating him, they throw him into the back of their car and flee.

Nick’s parents find out a few hours later that their son is missing. Anyone in this situation, whether parents or other family members, would be worried. As we told you, Nick was a good kid with no connection to bad activities. His disappearance troubles everyone.

When Nick’s parents realize the situation, they call the police for help to find Nick and ensure nothing bad happens to him.

But they didn’t know that Hollywood and his gang had taken Nick 70 miles from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. The gang continued their journey with Nick tied up, not knowing what to do with him next.

A Strange Turn of Fate

The gang gives Nick alcohol and other intoxicating substances to calm him down. Ideally, they should have kept Nick in an unknown place and mistreated him to teach Ben a lesson, but they didn’t. Instead, they took Nick to various parties in Santa Barbara.

They even attend a pool party at a motel with many people. As Nick parties with them, he doesn’t feel like he has been kidnapped. He meets people at parties, makes friends, and enjoys himself.

Nick even befriends a girl he met at a party, and he starts to like her. Usually, a kidnapped person is very distressed, but Nick starts enjoying himself.

Because his life became exciting after the kidnapping. Before the kidnapping, he led a simple life, but after Hollywood’s gang kidnapped him, he started enjoying his life fully.

A Dark Turn

On one side, Nick is enjoying, while on the other side, Hollywood suddenly realizes he has kidnapped someone and if caught, he will spend his life behind bars.

Even though he was taking Nick to parties, he was still a criminal for Nick and his parents because he had kidnapped him and kept him in an unknown place, and his parents didn’t know his condition.

Thinking about Nick’s kidnapping, Hollywood becomes worried and decides to meet a lawyer. The lawyer is a family friend. After calling him, Hollywood goes to meet him.

During the meeting, he tells the lawyer everything. The lawyer, understanding the seriousness of the situation, clearly tells Hollywood that if caught, he will face severe punishment and might rot in jail for life.

Hollywood gets scared by the lawyer’s words and says he will handle the boy they kidnapped. Meaning, Nick’s colorful life was about to turn dark. How? We will tell you.

A Tragic End

Hollywood was about to do something terrible regarding Nick. For this, he contacts a man named Reinhardt. Like Ben, Reinhardt also owed money to Hollywood. During their conversation, Hollywood tells him that if he sends Nick to another world, his debt will be forgiven. Instead of thinking about committing such a serious crime, Reinhardt makes a deal with Hollywood to kill Nick.

To execute the plan, Hollywood gives Reinhardt a bag with tools for the crime.

Nick had no idea what was going to happen to him. He was still partying with the gang, thinking they were treating him well and might release him soon. But obviously, that wasn’t going to happen.

According to the plan, Reinhardt and his accomplices take Nick to the mountains of Santa Barbara. As per the deal with Hollywood, they were going to kill him. They take Nick there, tie his hands and feet with tape to prevent resistance. A pit was already dug by some boys for this purpose.

Standing in that terrifying situation, Nick assesses the situation when suddenly Reinhardt hits him hard on the head with a shovel, causing Nick to fall. Then Reinhardt pulls out his gun and shoots Nick nine times. Poor innocent Nick falls into the pit and dies, and the boys bury him and flee.

Justice Prevails

After burying Nick, the boys flee. They didn’t realize the pit wasn’t deep enough to hide Nick’s body properly. And that’s when the situation was about to unfold, revealing the serious crime.

The place where the pit was dug to bury Nick was near a popular hiking trail. A few days after the crime, some hikers passed by the pit and saw Nick’s body. They immediately informed the police.

A few days later, Nick’s body’s story hit the Santa Barbara newspapers. The police were investigating the case and wouldn’t face much trouble as many people had seen Nick at the parties with the gang members.

The girl Nick befriended informs the police when she learns about his death. Within hours, the police arrest Reinhardt. Then, the police arrest a few other boys.

During the investigation, while the police were raiding and arresting people, no one knew where Hollywood was. Meanwhile, Hollywood had left the USA, first going to Canada, then moving to Brazil.

During the investigation, the police knew Hollywood was behind the heinous crime. They were searching for him, and the FBI also got involved. Both agencies continued searching for Hollywood for several years.

While Hollywood was living a new life in Brazil, law enforcement finally arrested him after four years of effort and brought him to court.

For Nick’s murder, the court sentences Hollywood to life imprisonment, while Reinhardt receives the death penalty. Later, Reinhardt’s sentence was changed to life imprisonment. Other gang members also receive various sentences, but the harshest punishments go to Hollywood and Reinhardt.

A Lesson Learned

This story makes us think about how often we make decisions that seem harmless, but later we find their effects not only on our own lives but also on others’ lives.

Today’s story is not just a crime story; it highlights the delicate nature of human decisions and the bitter reality of the justice process.