Claudine Longet, singer and actress who shot Olympic skier Spider Sabich, dies

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Singer-actress Claudine Longet (Credit: Getty Images)

NEW YORK - Claudine Longet, the French singer and actress who was at the center of a 1976 trial after she was charged with the fatal shooting of her boyfriend, Olympic skier Spider Sabich, has died. She was 84 years old.

Longet’s nephew, Bryan Longet, confirmed her death in a social media post on Thursday. 

Claudine Longet dies

What they're saying:

"You have been a true inspiration in my life and you will always be," he wrote in French. "Another star in the sky. Thank you for everything, my aunt."

Singer-actress Claudine Longet (Credit: Getty Images)

Reached by phone by The Associated Press, he confirmed Longet had died but did not reveal the cause of her death.

Claudine’s life

The backstory:

Longet appeared in numerous TV shows, recorded hit albums as "Claudine" and was widely known for the bossa nova-style ballad "Nothing to Lose," a highlight of the 1968 movie "The Party" that starred Longet and Peter Sellers.

At the time, she married singer and television entertainer Andy Williams. But by the mid-1970s, she and Williams divorced, and she was living near Aspen, Colorado, with Sabich, who had competed for the United States in the 1968 Olympics.

On March 21, 1976, Longet shot Sabich with a .22-caliber gun that had been purchased by his father. She claimed the gun accidentally discharged as he was showing her how it worked. Sabich died from his gunshot wound on the way to the hospital, and Longet was charged with reckless manslaughter in April, facing up to 10 years in prison.

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Her trial attracted worldwide attention. Williams was among those present, escorting her to and from the courthouse, paying for her legal fees and otherwise supporting his former wife and the mother of their three children.

"I thought it was unfair, I thought she was innocent, I thought it was an accident," Williams told "CBS This Morning" in 2009.

Longet had been charged with reckless manslaughter, but law enforcement officials made such critical errors as taking a blood sample from Longet without a warrant. After four days of deliberation in January 1977, the jury found her guilty of negligent homicide. She was given two years’ probation, fined $250 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, eventually served on dates of her choosing.

Longet later married her defense attorney, Ron Austin, and lived with him in Aspen. After Sabich’s family filed a $1.3 million lawsuit in 1977 against her, the two sides reached a settlement that barred Longet from ever discussing Sabich or the trial.