Infamous 'Club Kids' Killer Found Dead on Christmas Day

The infamous leader of the 1990s "Club Kids," Michael Alig, was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on Christmas Day.

Police said he died of a suspected drug overdose, as People reported.

Alig's ex-boyfriend was the one who found him dead in his apartment six years after his release. The ex-boyfriend told police that Alig had been doing drugs and heroin was found in his apartment.

Alig, who served 17 years in prison, died at the age of 54.

Club Kids

The Club Kids, known to be cofounded by Alig, is a group of eccentric partiers popular in the NYC's '90s club scene for their out of this world outfits and behavior.

Another Man reported that the Club Kids embodied the character of the '90s and embraced the spirit of deconstruction in their creative process.

A lot of people took inspiration from the Club Kids' looks, attitude, and lifestyle, and soon their influence started to spread not just in New York but also on the international stage.

Them reported that designers like Calvin Klein and Jean Paul Gaultier found inspiration in the Club Kids world. Artists and musicians such as David LaChapelle and Elton John also took Club Kids' world as their muses.

Its influence did not get old in time as it is still present in culture today when it comes to queer aesthetics and gender fluidity representations.

Its Founder's Downfall

In March 1996, Alig and his roommate Robert "Freeze" Riggs murdered their roommate and drug dealer Angel Melendez.

On the night of the murder, Alig and Melendez got into an argument over an outfit, and it turned into an uglier fight about money each believed the other owed.

According to his written confession to the police, Freeze grabbed a hammer from the closet. He hit Melendez over the head, trying to knock him unconscious so he would stop strangling Alig, as The Cut reported.

Details of the crime have turned unclear whether Alig has tried to inject Drano into Melendez's veins or poured it into his mouth and taped it shut.

It was also not clear whether he may or may not have invited friends over to party while the corpse was in a trunk in which people have placed their cocktails.

Alig and Freeze had allegedly placed the body in the bathtub while they spent a week in a drugged state trying to figure out their plans. Alig then said he would dismember the corpse if Freeze would give him a sharp knife and 10 bags of heroin.

Alig chopped off Melendez's legs, and they threw the missing body parts into Hudson River. He then went on to tell everyone that he had killed Melendez, but no one believed him as they said that he would say anything for a little attention.

Nine months later, Staten Island police said they had an unclaimed legless corpse in their morgue. Alig was eventually arrested in a New Jersey hotel and was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. Freeze also got the same prison sentence.