Meredith Hunter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Meredith Hunter

Meredith Hunter (October 24, 1951 – December 6, 1969) was a spectator at the infamous Altamont Free Concert. During the performance by The Rolling Stones, Hunter was stabbed and killed by a Hell's Angel. The incident was caught on camera and became a central scene in the documentary Gimme Shelter.

Hunter was described by friends as a flashy dresser with a big afro. During a scuffle at the Altamont Free Concert he fired a revolver and was fatally stabbed directly in front of the stage during The Rolling Stones' performance as they played "Under My Thumb". He died en route to the hospital. The killing itself was recorded in the documentary Gimme Shelter. Alan Passaro, a 21-year-old member of the Hells Angels, was charged with the crime, but Passaro claimed he acted in self-defense. Passaro was acquitted. An autopsy showed that Hunter was on methamphetamines when he died.

There had been rumors, over the years, that a second, unidentified assailant had inflicted the fatal wounds, and, as a result, the police considered the case still open. On 25 May, 2005, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office announced that it was officially closing the stabbing case. Investigators, concluding a renewed two-year investigation, dismissed the theory that a second Hells Angel took part in the stabbing.^[1]

Perhaps because of early, incorrect reporting by Rolling Stone magazine, an urban legend holds that the song playing when Hunter was killed was "Sympathy for the Devil." This is false — while that song was part of the Rolling Stones' set at the show, they were performing "Under My Thumb" when Hunter was stabbed.

The death of Hunter and the Altamont Free Concert was later viewed as the end of innocence and the end of the sixties and hippiedom.

Mr. Hunter was interred on December 10, 1969 at the Skyview Memorial Lawn in Vallejo, California.

There is a short documentary film by Sam Green titled, Lot 63, Grave C (Hunter's gravesite), which sheds more light upon Meredith's last day and the questions that remain. ^[2]