re: A few days past a death anniversary: anybody remember Rebecca Schaeffer’s murder?

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Wasn’t he inspired by the U2 song “Exit?”

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Yep, they refused to play it in concert for several years afterwards.

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During the touring cycle of the record, ‘Exit’ was prominently featured in the Irish band’s set. However, once The Joshua Tree chapter was brought to a close, U2 left the track in their past and chose against playing it live for 28 years despite it being a favourite among their ardent fanbase.

The song came naturally to the band during a jam session on the final day of recording The Joshua Tree, with Bono’s lyrics taking inspiration from Norman Mailer’s novel The Executioner’s Song and In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. After reading both books, Bono decided he wanted to write a piece of music from the perspective of a murderer, which led to the lyrical theme of ‘Exit’.

In 1989, the song took on a darker meaning when Robert John Bardo murdered the actress Rebecca Schaeffer and claimed his action was inspired by ‘Exit’. The track was even played in court during the murder trial, with The Edge later referring to the ordeal as “very heavy”. While Bardo’s unforgivable act would have happened even without U2 releasing ‘Exit’, the two were intrinsically linked in the eyes of many.

U2 toured The Joshua Tree in full to celebrate 30 years of the album in 2017 and finally reintroduced the song into their live shows. Now, enough time has passed for people to disconnect ‘Exit’ with Bardo, and the track’s ownership is rightfully back in their own hands.

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Would've been a much bigger deal in today's age, but didn't register much back in the day that was before social media and conspiracy theories and multiple 24 seven cable news outlets

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Oh, it registered. It was big news at the time. There were many magazine covers, TV news segments, etc. We were fans of "My Sister, Sam", and I recall following the story for a long time, along with followup news about legislation to protect privacy and some true crime type shows.