On this week's True Crime Tuesday Laila and Wayne are talking about the story of Lloyd Avery the actor who took on a life of crime after his portrayal in a movie.
Let's set the scene from John Singleton's coming-of-age movie portraying life in South Central, Los Angeles between the 1980s-90s era, Boyz N The Hood.
It's sunset as future college football player Ricky Baker (portrayed by Morris Chestnut) is walking home from the convenience store with his best friend Tre Styles (portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr.). Things were going routine when all of a sudden a car flies toward the alley they're walking in. Hostility takes up the oxygen in the air when at that moment, a member of the local blood gang leans his shotgun-bearing torso out of the car and fatally shoots Baker down in the alley.
From that moment on, the word "Riiiickyyyyyyyy!," yelled by Styles was forever edged into the minds of viewers of this movie.
The gunman was played by actor Lloyd Avery Jr.
Avery was only playing a role in the iconic movie. However, what happened next took place beyond the big screen. After portraying the gunman Avery began to receive street credit in the real world. Fans of the movie gave him "cool points" for having what it took to take a man down in cold blood. As a result, the lines between real life and his film performance began to blur in his mind.
Apparently, the praise was so high for him that he began to attempt to withhold the standard fans held for him in real life thus taking up a life of crime.
Avery would go on to be charged for a double homicide in 2005, earning himself life in prison. Well, get this, while in prison he converted to Christianity, repented for his sins, and began to attempt to live his life on the straight and narrow. Eventually, under unusual circumstances, he was paired with a Satan worshipper. One night Avery was killed by this cellmate after being bashed over the head and choked to death.
After 11 attendance counts done by prison guards his body was found in the center of a pentagram that this satanic cellmate used in a ritual.
An extremely bizarre case of post-release method acting.
Click here to watch a video on the story of Lloyd Avery Jr.
To listen to Laila and Wayne deliver this story click play on the link below.