Robert John Bardo is serving life imprisonment without parole after being convicted in October 1991 for the murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer on July 18, 1989, whom he had stalked for several years beforehand.

Prior to his involvement with Schaeffer, Bardo had stalked child peace activist Samantha Smith before her death in a 1985 plane crash. After writing numerous letters to Schaeffer, Bardo attempted to gain access to the set of the CBS TV series My Sister Sam, on which Schaeffer played a starring role. Ultimately, he obtained her home address via a detective agency, who in turn tracked it via California Department of Motor Vehicles records. On July 18, 1989, he confronted her at her home, angry at her for having starred in a sex scene in the film Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills and thus having "lost her innocence." He visited her at her apartment and told her he was a big fan. She signed an autograph, went back into her apartment and he left. About an hour later, Bardo again rang the bell to her apartment. Upon Schaeffer opening the door, Bardo fired one round of ammunition, killing her. Bardo was later arrested when observed walking aimlessly in traffic.

The prosecutor for the state was Marcia Clark, who later became known as a lead prosecutor in the O. J. Simpson murder trial (although she became prominent in the legal profession with her prosecution of Bardo). Bardo was housed in a Sensitive Needs Unit (SNU) for inmates such as gang members, notorious prisoners, and those convicted of sex crimes. During the trial, Bardo claimed the U2 song "Exit" was an influence in the murder; the song played in the court room as evidence (with Bardo lip-synching the lyrics).

One page (front and back) handwritten letter. Letter content is quite bizarre and is signed in full. Original matching handwritten envelope is included.