Michael Aligwho was at the center of the LGBTQ "club kids" scene in late 1980s and early '90s Manhattan, and whose involvement in the murder and dismemberment of his drug dealer was chronicled in the 2003 feature film Party Monsterdied Dec. 25 of a suspected heroin overdose, Deadline reported. He was 54.
Even before the 1996 disappearance and murder of fellow nightlife figure Andre "Angel" Melendez, Alig was well-known, having appeared on daytime talk shows such as The Joan Rivers Show and Geraldo. Alig and fellow Club Kid Robert "Freeze" Riggs pled guilty to Melendez's killing, which was an open secret in the clubs. Alig served 17 years in prison, was released in 2014 and in 2017 finished his parole.
Alig was rearrested in 2017 on a drug charge, just after finishing his parole, which could have landed him back in prison had the drug arrest occurred before the end of his parole. At the time Alig alleged that he was carrying healing crystals and not crystal meth.
The murder was detailed in the documentaries Party Monster: The Shockumentary and Glory Daze: The Life and Times of Michael Aligbut is most widely known via 2003's Party Monster, starring Macaulay Culkin, Dylan McDermott and Seth Allen.