Which means exactly jackshit outside of the United States. The murder case OTOH was international news fodder for years.
In the vein of Marion Barry, how about Rob Ford, former mayor of Toronto?
“It’s not unusual…”
(Sorry, couldn’t resist). 
Who saved Abraham Lincoln’s son Robert!
Rob Lowe was a minor league Bratpack member before the sex tape scandal.
Yoko Ono. Who had even heard of her before she broke up John Lennon’s marriage AND the Beatles?
Indeed. I lost it when Kurt Cobain, the Biggest (if reluctant) Star in Rock Music while alive, was mentioned here.
I agree that Kurt Cobain doesn’t belong here(although I admit he did become bigger after his death). Courtney Love definitely became more well known as Kurt’s widow after his death and is probably a better candidate here than Kurt himself.
I was going to mention Anna Nicole Smith. She was a relatively famous model, biggest campaign was Guess Jeans, who was a Playboy Playmate of the Year. She was never Kardaishian huge, but did have her own reality show that lasted two seasons. She eventually became notorious after marrying an 89 year old billionaire and fighting for her inheritance after he died. Tragically, her son died then she, herself, died, spawning a huge custody battle over her daughter and the final disposition of the estate. She became much more famous after her death with the court cases. If I recall, she was the third big “Court TV” case, after the Menendez Brothers and OJ Simpson.
Herman Tarnower was a minor celebrity, writing The Scarsdale Diet book. He became more famous for being shot to death by his lover, prep school principal Jean Harris.