Stabbing Case from 1969 Altamont Concert Finally Closed

By Ian Rice
Arts and Lifestyle Editor


When the Rolling Stones proposed the idea for a free concert at Altamont Speedway to the officials of San Francisco, CA, nobody could have forseen the debacle it would turn into. What began as a generous thought to harbor peace and love in the wake of the successful Woodstock Festival a few months prior became one of the biggest nightmares in rock and roll history. With the local chapter of the Hell's Angels taking over security measures and violence unanimously ensuing, the day quickly changed from peace and love to frenzy panic. The culmination of these negative elements came with the fatal stabbing of Meredith Hunter, an eighteen year old fan.


Now, nearly 36 years after the fact, investigators have closed the case, dismissing a long-argued theory that a second member of the Hells Angels gang played a role in the stabbing. The incident, which occurred amidst nearly 300,000 people, was documented in the film documentary "Gimme Shelter." As the Stones play on stage, a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang can be seen stabbing Hunter in the film footage.


The Hells Angel in question, Alan Passaro, was acquitted of the charges against him after a jury concluded his actions were in self-defense because Hunter was carrying a gun. But there had been rumors over the years that a second unidentified assailant had inflicted the fatal wounds, not Passaro, and the case remained open since.


But Alameda County Sherrif Department member Sgt. Scott Dudek said Wednesday that after a renewed investigation over the past two years, authorities came to the conclusion that Passaro acted alone in his assault on Hunter and did so only after Hunter pointed a gun toward the stage where the Rolling Stones were performing.


Sgt. Dudek said Passaro's lawyer confirmed his client (who passed away in 1985) was the lone assailant. In addition, enhanced and slowed-down footage from the film shows Hunter brandishing the gun just before Passaro leaps from the stage and stabs him, Dudek said. This time-altered footage is similar to the footage viewed by Stones frontman Mick Jagger in an early scene from "Gimme Shelter."


Hunter's relatives said Wednesday they had always held out hope that someone would be convicted in the case. "The problem is the wounds that have been reopened are still devastating to the family," Hunter's sister, Dixie Ward, 63, told the San Francisco Chronicle.


The Rolling Stones themselves, who have always regarded the incident as a tragic black mark on both their legacy and humanity itself, have yet to comment.




Some information provided by the AP Newswire.