TIL That Mark Ruffalo’s younger brother, Scott Ruffalo, was murdered in 2008. He had been shot. In memory of his brother, Mark sometimes takes roles that remind him of his personality. The murder remains unsolved.
Scott Ruffalo, successful hairdresser and brother of Mark Ruffalo, was found shot in the head on December 1st, 2008. The case is closed but it remains unsolved.
[Unresolved Murder] Scott Ruffalo, brother of actor Mark Ruffalo, died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot. Police later ruled the death a homicide. A Saudi princess was present that night, but the case went unsolved after her death.
Scott and Mark Ruffalo moved out to LA together in their late teens, Mark obviously trying to make it in the movies while Scott followed in his mom’s footsteps as a hairdresser. Licensed in ‘91 Scott had his own salon “Ruff Inc.” a decade later in 2001. He went on to have a successful career until his untimely demise.
On December 1st 2008, Scott Ruffalo was found dead of an apparent suicide in his Beverly Hills home with a gun in his left hand. He was 39. Minimum traces of coke and morphine were found in his system (not under the influence at the time of his death).
There was one witness, a 26 year old of Saudi royal blood named Shaha Mishaal Adham. More on her in a sec. According to this article Ms. Adham claimed to have gone to Ruffalo’s to get her keys, heard him mention Russian Roulette, got nervous and tragically left before she could prevent what happened.
But according to this article, both quoting from her attorney, she and her boyfriend saw him lose R.R. and he convinced her not to call 911.
However, the coroner’s report told a different story. Ruffalo had been murdered, shot from behind in an execution. Police check surveillance and it turns out she was at Ruffalo’s with her boyfriend, 29 year old Brian Schofield.
The two turn themselves in, but questioning goes nowhere. Eventually they are released due to insufficient evidence. Based on my research no other suspects were named. The couple told TMZ that the truth would come out and that a 3rd party was out there.
Adham is an interesting character. She was related to King Faisal. She grew up with bodyguards in her school and her older sister ran in the same social circles as Paris Hilton. Seemingly estranged from her family, Adham lived the Beverly Hills lifestylez She was a client of Ruffalo’s
Adham died in 2012 of a drug overdose. Schofield is very difficult to find online, and the police seem to have given up.
EDIT: okay so this is from the website of Ronald Richards, who was Adham’s attorney. It’s an article by Mark Ebner, big time Hollywood reporter who is quoted in the ABC13 article about Adham’s sister and Paris Hilton. The end in particular is interesting as it’s Assistant Chief of Investigation Ed Winter saying the angle and entry wound don’t make sense for RR versus Richards contending that it could still be a suicide.
It also mentions the drug angle, wherein Ruffalo is cast as a potential steroid user and recreational drug addict with a temper and penchant for street fights. We know he tested positive for some substances although he was not high at the time. There are rumors he had run afoul of the wrong people and/or it was a drug deal gone bad, but those are unsubstantiated rumors and we don’t know to what extent the people saying this were really Scott’s “friends”