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Around midnight on July 3, 1969, Brian Jones was found in his swimming pool. Common consensus suggested the Rolling Stones founder get high and fell in. The coroner called it "death by misadventure," a common cause of death for rock stars. (See Bonham, John; Scott, Bonn.)
Then the rumors began. Actually, Jones lived in Sussex, so the rumours began. Mick and Keith had him rubbed out by the Krays. Jones was sacrificed by devil worshipers. The pool had it in for him. (Okay, that one only makes sense with a chemical assist.)
Then in the early nineties, a worker renovating Jones's house confessed on his death bed that he killed Jones over money. Frank Thorogood claimed to have argued with Jones of the fee for some construction on the property. Thorogood said he wanted more. Police reopened the case, but decided the original death ruling stood.
That leaves two questions. If Jones was some random guy found in his swimming pool, wuld anyone believe he was murdered? Second, if Thorogood murdered Jones, why was his confession simply tossed aside?
There is the possibility Thorogood, dying of cancer in 1993, might have wanted the notoriety before he died. The confession appeared close enough to his own death that authorities couldn't do anything about it. Getting away with murder even if you didn't commit it.
The other piece is celebrity. Read any Stephen King novel and you see how rumors spread just through small towns. The Stones are still iconic. Drummer Charlie Watts died with the press covering his illness. At this level of fame, a few rumors can become gospel all over the globe. Jones famously bolted the Stones, so Mick Jagger and Keith Richards could become the top suspects for the conspiracy minded.
