The 21-year-old German woman Shalina turned out to have the boyfriend from hell, with the ex moving from talk of suicide after their break up, to outright threats, and then to the tragic murder of Shalina’s mother.
In the early morning of May 19, Shalina’s ex-boyfriend, 23-year-old Luca I., murdered Shalina’s 52-year-old mother, Alexandra, in a parking lot while Alexandra was outside walking her dog in Hanau, Hesse.
Shalina said when a neighbor raced to tell her and Shalina arrived to see police and ambulance at the crime scene, she knew immediately who was responsible.
Luca I. was arrested on scene and remains in pre-trial detention for murder, but Shalina’s nightmare has only begun with the passing of her mother.
Shalina said she knew the threat level was already high for the family after she broke up with Luca, as he had first repeatedly threatened to kill himself and then threatened Shalina’s life.
“I’m going to kill myself, I’m going to kill you. Wait. If I ever see you, you’ll regret it,” read one text message.
However, there were countless messages like that, which Luca sent over and over again. Although Shalina secured a restraining order after filing two complaints, she still feared leaving her house for months and only went outside accompanied by her parents.
Despite the police complaints, Shalina said she still felt alone and exposed to Luca.
The day before the murder of her mother, Luca sent one last message, writing: “You will think of me your whole life, and everything that happens now is your fault.”
She even took the message to the police that same day. The police, however, took no action.
Instead, Luca was free to murder her mother. Shalina believes he specifically targeted her by targeting her mother, the person she was closest to.
“He wanted to harm me. He wanted to destroy me,” said Shalina.
The young woman remarked that her mother was the one who wanted to help Luca, even being described as a “second mother.”
“She was like a best friend. She had a huge heart. She also wanted to help my ex-boyfriend. She walked with him for hours and talked to him. She was like a second mother to him,” Shalina said.
Shalina has decided to go public to raise awareness.
“This happens so often. This is not an isolated case. I don’t know how many people like him are still walking around outside and how many more times that will happen. If no one does anything, it won’t stop,” she warned.
Shalina and her mother were not the only victims. The father of the family, Mark, is also in a state of grieving.
He described how he saw his dead wife under a cloth in the parking lot as “an emotional atomic bomb.”
He said his family did everything to stop it, including police reports and restraining orders, but nothing worked.
He, Shalina, and the rest of the family are now fighting for the German political system to take action against stalkers and violent offenders, including electronic ankle bracelets to prevent another tragedy, although even ankle monitors have failed to work in the past.
“We really tried everything that was legally available to us. But law is not law these days. Something always has to happen first,” the father said. He says his deepest wish is now that no other family has to endure what they have.
Police have issued no information about Luca’s background, including whether he has a migration background. Although, users across social media have speculated based on his appearance that he has a foreign background.
