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The desire for deranged & obsessive fans to harm famous people is sadly not new; John Lennon was assassinated in 1980 & Gianni Versace in 1997. YouTube & social media has proved to take these obsessions even further, giving an unhinged fan the belief that they personally know their idol, that that have a closeness that does not exist in reality & when their idol is staring directly into the lens, they may have the warped idea that they are performing or speaking to them & them alone. Because it can give you intimate access to a person, internet fame can create a sense that a person is your friend. Creators involve fans in achieving their dreams & goals & fans can feel a sense of ownership of those successes. Christina Grimmie’s murder proved to be a big wake up call for many YouTubers.
Christina Victoria Grimmie was born on March 12, 1994 to parents Tina & Albert Grimmie in Marlton, New Jersey & she had an older brother, Marcus (also known as Mark). When Christina was six years old, her family began to notice her talent for singing & when she was ten, she started playing the piano. Christina saw her mom Tina, who was a three-time breast cancer survivor, as a major inspiration for her music. Initially she resisted the attention from her talent due to her introverted personality, but Mark helped bring her out of her shell & soon, the nervousness fell away, replaced by growing confidence.
Christina was an active member of her church, Fellowship Alliance Chapel & an animal rights activist who participated in fundraising events for the Humane Society.
In 2009, when she was fifteen, Christina started to upload videos to YouTube under the username zeldaxlove64, hoping to connect with people through her music. She chose the name because of her love of Nintendo & the Legend of Zelda series. The first video she uploaded was a cover of Hannah Montana’s “Don’t Wanna Be Torn.” It didn’t take long before she gained attention for her voice & personality. In 2010, when she was a junior in high school, she transitioned to being homeschooled so that she could focus more on her music. That same year, she collaborated with two other YouTubers & covered Nelly’s “Just a Dream” which received more than 190 million views over the course of ten years. In 2011, she placed number 2 in the MyYouTube competition, behind Selena Gomez. As her popularity grew, Christina was discovered by Selena Gomez’s mom, Mandy Teefey who, alongside Mandy’s husband Brian, soon became Christina’s managers.
In 2011, Christina performed backup vocals for Selena Gomez & began touring & independently released her album, Find Me. In 2012, the family moved to Los Angeles to better pursue her music career even though Tina was in the midst of her chemo treatments. There were sacrifices but the family believed in Christina & wanted her dreams to become reality. In 2014, at age 19, Christina auditioned for season 6 of The Voice, NBC’s singing competition. She sang Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” & all four coaches, Adam Levine, Usher, Shakira & Blake Shelton, turned their chairs. Adam Levine told her that her voice & stage presence gave her the potential to be a huge star & she ultimately chose Adam as her coach. Selena Gomez supported Christina during her audition & Justin Bieber, who Christina often covered on YouTube, supported her during the finale. Host Carson Daley indicated that he was shocked that Christina didn’t go on to win that season.
Christina was described as a beautiful person with the biggest heart. She was said to be an incredible musician who was an even better friend. She had a carefree spirit & her laughter lit up every room that she entered. Carson Daly described her as a “confident & incredibly sweet girl who you would never forget meeting.”
During her season on The Voice Christina finished in third place. When the season ended, she signed a major record deal with Island Records; she was also offered to be signed by both Adam Levine & Lil Wayne. She released her single, “Must Be Loved.” Her popularity had grown by leaps & bounds & by this time, she had over three million YouTube subscribers & 947,000 followers on Twitter. Christina’s brother Mark often appeared on Christina’s social media accounts; sometimes he played guitar while she played the piano. Mark said that he was in awe of his sister’s talent & how incredibly hard she worked.
While on tour, Mark played guitar for Christina, worked as her road manager & generally watched over his little sister, making sure she ate breakfast every morning. They goofed around together & each sported player 1 & player 2 video game tattoos on their inner arms. People were often enamored by the fact that the two rarely, if ever, fought as typical siblings might. Mark was always thankful to have a sister who was also a friend.
By 2016, Christina had opened for Selena Gomez, appeared on Ellen, the American Music Awards & Radio Disney & she had just released a mini-album called Side A.
Christina continued to upload videos to YouTube & maintained her focus of keeping a real, unfiltered version of herself that she presented to her fans.
On Friday, June 10, 2016, 22-year-old Christina performed at The Plaza Live in Orlando, opening for the band Before You Exit. It was her last concert before she was set to head home to Los Angeles to catch up with her family & her dog, Chloe. She was looking forward to going to the E3 gaming expo, especially since she’d gotten VIP tickets. As the crew was setting up the stage, Christina & Mark went to the pizza place next door & grabbed a few slices of cheese pizza, Christina wearing a black cropped shirt, wrap around skirt & black high-heeled boots.
When they returned, Mark got the merchandise table at the back of the theater setup with posters of Christina, her most recent album & t-shirts with her face & tour dates on them.
The concert started at 7:30 pm & as Christina sang & performed, Mark played his red electric guitar. The event was attended by 250-300 people. A half hour after the concert, at about 10:30 pm, Christina was meeting with fans who had backstage passes, signing autographs & chatting with her fans, as she always did.
One of the people in the crowd was 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl from St Petersburg, Florida, 100 miles away. He arrived at the venue with two handguns & a hunting knife. A fellow fan named Destiny Rivera was standing behind Kevin as he walked over to the merchandise table where Christina stood, talking with fans & taking pictures. Destiny noticed that he seemed nervous & she could see that he was there by himself. She said he kept looking around & moving like he was trying to find something to do because he was on his own. Destiny described his appearance as creepy & he seemed to be around her age which was twenty. He had no bag with him & wore a black hat & a red & black flannel shirt.
As Kevin approached Christina he didn’t speak, but she opened her arms to give him a hug which she often did to break the ice with fans who were shy. This was when he opened fire. Destiny suddenly heard a popping sound which she initially thought was the sound of security guards popping the balloons that fans had brought since they’d been doing that earlier. She saw a yellow barricade fall & the two fans who had just met Christina started running away. Destiny saw Christina’s leg fall to the side on the ground like dead weight, but she wasn’t able to see her face.
It was at that point when Mark jumped over the merchandise table & Destiny turned to run & heard another pop. Destiny had mentioned that she & her friends were late arriving to the gig & got through security without being patted down. After shots were fired & fans realized what was happening, the room erupted into chaos, people throwing themselves to the ground, covering their heads or fleeing for the exit. Destiny feels that Mark was a hero & since Kevin came to the venue with three weapons, it’s any wonder what he had in mind had he not been taken down.
As Christina innocently signed autographs & took photos, surrounded by about 120 fans, Kevin shot her four times & almost immediately, her brother Mark jumped into action & tackled him. Mark later said that he wasn’t afraid since there was no time for fear, “it was my first instinct to tackle him so that’s what I did.”
As fans ran for the exit, some tripping & hurting themselves, Mark continued to scuffle with Kevin, ripping part of his flannel shirt. In the meantime, he recalls seeing Christina on the floor as he screamed bloody murder as he jumped on Kevin & began to hit him. Mark pulled the gun from Kevin’s hands as his little sister lay, dying on the ground. Somehow Kevin managed to wriggle from Mark’s grasp & back himself against the wall. This was when Mark saw him pull out a second gun & he immediately thought, “this is the end.” Kevin pushed the gun to the side of his head & pulled the trigger. This was when Mark finally had the chance to look around & saw that everyone had fled the building & it was a scene from a nightmare, two bodies on the ground, bleeding.
56-year-old doctor, Mark McDonough, who is the father of three sons who make up the band “Before You Exit,” was escorting fans to meet them when he heard the commotion. He rushed over to Kevin who was lying in a pool of blood that had poured from the merchandise table to the stage, but he was already deceased. As he ran to the second body, he recognized Christina based on her outfit; he felt that she had a weak pulse & she tried to take a breath. When her pulse was lost, he began CPR while emergency crews rushed to the scene.
Christina was transferred to Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition & tragically, she was pronounced dead at 10:59 pm. It was around this time that Mark’s phone rang, his father on the other line, calling to check in & see how things were going. Mark was out of breath & could only say, “Dad, Dad, Dad!” It was then that he had to deliver the devastating news.
When an Orlando police detective picked Christina’s parents up at the airport, they wanted answers because they couldn’t understand why this happened. Normally fan’s bags & purses are checked before entering The Plaza Live, but there were no metal detectors. As police learned more about Kevin, they found that there were a lot of clues that something wasn’t right with his mental health, but he was undiagnosed & hadn’t gotten the mental care he so clearly needed.
Six 9mm shell casings were found on the floor, five near the merchandise table where Christina had been standing & one near Kevin. To 9mm Glock handguns lay near his body with their full magazines. In the back of his black jeans, police found two concealed nylon holsters clipped to the inside. With his shirt untucked, the guns would have been fully hidden from view. He wore spongy blue earplugs in his ears. A tactical knife was found strapped to his ankle & the ticket for the concert was in his pocket & had been printed five days earlier.
A room key for the Courtyard Marriott was found in Kevin’s pocket along with his Florida driver’s license. Police responded to the Marriott & the front desk manager said Kevin had checked in the day before at 1:30 pm on Thursday, June 9 after arriving in a cab. He described him as “strange” & said he had no luggage & paid $269 for the room he was scheduled to check out of on the morning of the concert. When police entered his hotel room, there was no luggage or personal belongings found & the bed was not turned down & it appeared that he had slept on top of the covers. The trash can showed that he had eaten $16 worth of food from the hotel snack bar in his room.
When the hotel room safe was opened, police found a drawstring Nike backpack with personal hygiene items inside as well as a plastic Glock gun case. The case contained 9mm ammunition & spare magazines. At the time police were investigating the room, they were notified that a cab arrived to pick Kevin up. The driver informed them that he had paid $200 for a roundtrip ride.
The Plaza Live reopened four days after the shootings & management asked police to evaluate the club’s security. Christina’s death led to calls for increased security at other venues which began installing metal detectors & added security officers while banning informal meet-and-greets. One witness that night complained that security was concerned about the food & beverages that had been brought in yet hadn’t caught the guns that Kevin brought.
Dozens of artists & celebrities took to social media in response to Christina’s death. Selena Gomez just happened to be performing only a few miles away that night; she wrote a tribute to her friend & dedicated her Miami performance to Christina.
At the time of the shootings, Kevin had been living with his dad Paul & his brother Chris. When police spoke with them, they indicated he had no history of mental illness & had never threatened to hurt himself or anyone else. They said that he lived like a hermit & only left his room to go to his part time job at Best Buy. He only had one friend who he worked with. When police were given permission to search his room, they noted a thin mattress with blankets lying on the floor, aluminum foil & heavy curtains covering his windows & his dad explained he had “an aversion to light.” Police found blue earplugs in his room that matched what were found in Kevin’s ears at the concert venue & Paul said that he wore them because he was uncomfortable with loud noises. On the dresser, police found a flier for a special burial service which would spread your remains on the base of a tree & this same flier was also found in Kevin’s pocket.
Police were unable to access his cell phone because it was encrypted & his computer was non-functional & it appeared Kevin had intentionally destroyed the hard drive.
He had no criminal record, but in 2014 the St Petersburg police responded to the family’s home because of a domestic disturbance between Kevin & his dad’s girlfriend, but no arrests were made. The other police record that included Kevin was from 2010 when his mom died in the home of an aspirin overdose & her death was ruled accidental. Kevin’s only friend, Cory, described Kevin’s home life as “semi-abusive” & indicated that Kevin told him that his mother beat him with a frying pan, threw dishes at him & broke his brother’s arm. His mother’s death only fueled the turmoil in Kevin’s life.
His father, Paul, began dating a new woman & the relationship was extremely volatile & over a two-year span, police were called on six occasions about fights between the two which often centered around alcohol & violence. Kevin would often retreat to his bedroom during these times. He attended St Petersburg College for three years until he dropped out in 2010, months before his mother’s death. With his additional free time, he became obsessed with playing World of Warcraft, a multi-player fantasy online role-playing game. Until he discovered Christina online, he showed little to no interest in girls.
Kevin had legally purchased the guns from two different gun shops in St. Petersburg; one was purchased on May 25, 2016 & after a five-day waiting period, he picked it up on May 31, 2016. The second gun was purchased on June 1, 2016 which he picked up on June 7, three days before the murder.
Neither Paul nor Chris had ever heard Kevin mention Christina’s name nor did they ever see him watching The Voice. They said he spent a great deal of time on the computer that was in his bedroom. They had no idea that he owned any guns & had never seen them in the house. A second plastic Glock handgun case was found in Kevin’s room that contained spare magazines & ammunition. No photos of Christina or any documents were found related to her. Paul told police that Kevin had recently made some physical changes that included losing 50# by following a vegan diet, getting his learner’s permit, whitening his teeth, undergoing Lasik eye surgery & hair plugs.
The last time Paul had seen Kevin was on Thursday when he got into a cab; he didn’t tell his dad where he was going when he left. Paul said he got concerned when Kevin hadn’t come home on Friday & didn’t answer his phone. When Paul called Best Buy, he was told that he’d failed to show up for work.
Kevin had worked part-time for Best Buy in St. Petersburg for eight years; he worked mostly weekends & rode his bike to & from work since he didn’t have a driver’s license or car. He was also part of their Geek Squad technical support. When police spoke with his friend Cory, he told police that he believed he was Kevin’s “only friend in the world.” He had known Kevin for fifteen years & was aware of his fixation of Christina for about six months to a year. Cory believed that his friend spent basically every waking hour of his life watching YouTube videos of Christina & stalking her social media pages. Kevin himself didn’t have any social media accounts.
Cory said that he started to realize that Kevin’s interest in Christina was not healthy about six to eight weeks earlier. He recalled a troubling conversation they had when Kevin, who claimed to be an atheist, said that Christina’s belief in Christianity had changed him & allowed him to see the world in a different way. He said, “if there is a God, he has seen it in her.” It was Cory’s understanding that Kevin had never tried to directly contact Christina & had never attended a concert before. Christina had previously performed in Orlando on March 4, 2016, three months earlier, but Best Buy records indicate that Kevin worked that night. Cory was unaware that Christina was performing in Orlando in June or that Kevin planned to go see her.
Cory said that when he voiced to Kevin that his ideas of beginning a relationship with Christina might be illogical, he would get angry & defensive. He would not entertain the idea that the plan might not work & threatened to end his friendship with Cory when he continued to voice doubts. Cory said that Kevin referred to Christina as his soulmate but never spoke of any specific plans of meeting her.
The last time Cory talked to Kevin was Sunday, June 5, five days earlier when they worked together. Police asked about Kevin’s demeanor that day & Cory said that in hindsight, there had been a lot of weird & strange things. Kevin returned some magazines he had borrowed from Cory months before & told him, “I love you brother.” He told Cory that he was tired & he was ready to ascend. Cory wasn’t sure what he meant by this, but he never mentioned hurting himself or anyone else & had made no mention of purchasing guns.
Cory was concerned enough to mention Kevin’s obsession with their boss at Best Buy & when word spread of his “internet crush” on Christina, his co-workers teased him in a good-natured way. There was an alleged interaction between Kevin & another co-worker who claimed that when he was shown a picture of Christina & her producer, Kevin became enraged. However, of the eight Best Buy workers police spoke with, none claimed to be the source of this story. Kevin’s supervisor, Luke Dahl, described him as socially awkward & detached. He said that he lacked social skills & over the years, managers had moved him around to various departments in the store & found he was best suited to work on computers in the back where he did not interact with customers. Luke had never heard Kevin mention Christina but had spoken with Cory who told him that his relationship with Kevin was deteriorating because of his unrealistic infatuation with Christina. Luke never spoke with Kevin about this but did see him at his workstation watching her YouTube videos. Five other co-workers were aware of his infatuation, but weren’t aware of the extent of it. They’d noticed his physical changes but didn’t notice any mental changes. One co-worker mentioned that during a conversation with Kevin, he bragged that he’d played online games with her but this was never proven to be true.
On the day of the murder, he taped a note to his door on the home he shared with his family that read, “Deepest sorrow for lost to the family, friends & fans of the very talented, loving Christina Grimmie. No other comments.”
A loss prevention officer from the Old Navy store that shared the shopping center with the Plaza Live Theater contacted police & told them that he believed that Kevin had been in the store before the shooting. When police reviewed surveillance footage, they watched as he entered at 6:54 pm, thirty minutes before the concert started. He purchased a black baseball hat & a bottle of water. He put the hat on while he was still in the store & exited. When video from a man who had been hired to film the show was reviewed, police could see Kevin standing against the back wall as Christina performed. All reviewed footage indicated that he was at the venue by himself.
When Mark spoke with police, he said that Christina had never received any threats or unwanted attention from overly aggressive fans. He had never seen Kevin before & hadn’t noticed him during the concert or any previous shows of their tour. Neither Mark nor any other witness overheard Kevin speak to Christina before he opened fire. Witnesses said that at the time that Christina was shot, she was standing with open arms, completely unaware of her tragic fate. Mark said that his little sister made efforts to connect with her fans, she treated everyone the same; it wasn’t easy for Christina because at heart, she was an introverted person. When police inspected Christina’s phone, it was clear there had never been contact between herself & Kevin & there was no evidence of threatening texts or emails.
Christina’s autopsy showed that she had suffered from a fatal gunshot wound to the side of her head & it was clear that the bullet was fired within close range. There were also three gunshot wounds to her torso.
Six months after Christina’s murder, her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the concert promoter, the foundation that owns the venue & the security company working the event. The lawsuit was dismissed but the family was allowed to re-file the suit. The Grimmie family felt that security measures were not adequate though records show that on December 3, 2019 the Grimmie family voluntarily dismissed the case.
For those with hopes & dreams of one day becoming famous, it’s a very fine line between seeming accessible to fans & maintaining personal safety. Very high profile celebrities tour with security & body guards at all times, whereas those who are just starting out & paving their way, are much less likely to afford this protection. There have been so many instances of fans crossing the lines of a celebrities’ personal safety & space during their performances before security had the chance to quickly intervene; a woman rushed at Adam Levine to hug him as he performed, Taylor Swifts’ leg was grabbed as she sang, Justin Bieber was charged as he was on stage, Beyonce nearly pulled from the stage as she performed in Brazil. Even celebrities with protection can only minimize their risks, never completely eliminate them.
Christina’s tragic murder was quickly overshadowed by the Pulse Nightclub massacre that happened about 26 hours later, on Saturday June 11, 2016 only 3.5 miles away from The Plaza Live where Christina was murdered. The venue is one of Orlando’s best-known gay clubs & was hosting Latin Night which packed the place with gay, straight, young & non-so-young patrons who were looking for a good time. At about 2 am, now in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 12, 320 people remained in the club when shots rang out & all hell broke loose. People began running for the door, jumping over gates & trying to escape the chaos that felt like a warzone. The shooter was Omar Mateen who identified himself as “an Islamic soldier” & threatened to detonate explosives as he held club goers hostage until police as well as the SWAT team broke through the bathroom wall with explosive charge & armored vehicle at 5:02 am, three hours later. Mateen emerged & began firing at police until he was shot dead. The 29-year-old gunman was born in New York & a US citizen. His parents moved to New York from Afghanistan in the 1980s & eventually, the family relocated to Port St. Lucie, Florida, about a two hour drive from Orlando. He was married & had a 3-year-old son. His father couldn’t understand why his son had done what he did, but indicated that he had recently become angered after seeing two men kissing. 49 innocent victims lost their lives & dozens of others were injured.
Christina’s family held a private funeral for her on June 16, 2016 in her hometown & the next day, a public memorial was held which was attended by thousands of loved ones & fans who offered their condolences & remembered the incredibly talented singer. Adam Levine offered to pay for Christina’s funeral which touched her family & made them remember that there was “still good in the world when the world just seems so dark.”
In March of 2022, Christina’s song “Rule the World” was released as part of her family’s goals to keep her legacy alive. Her family formed the Christina Grimmie Foundation in April of 2017 with a goal of supporting families that have been affected by gun violence. In the first year alone, they gave away more than $420,000. Sadly, Christina’s mom Tina lost her battle with breast cancer at age 59 in September of 2018. Mark said that with his mom’s death, the family was able to prepare for it & say goodbye which is a stark contrast to how he lost Christina. Mark, paid tribute to his sister on Facebook & wrote that she was his partner in life, “She was a superstar. A goofball. Introverted. And a friend to everyone. Genuinely. But above all.. She was my baby sister.”
References:
- Orlando Weekly: The cold-blooded murder of Christina Grimmie was Orlando’s most tragic & shocking crime.. For about 26 hours
- Christina Grimmie Foundation
- NBC News: Gunman who killed ‘The Voice’ singer Christina Grimmie had two weapons, ammo, knife
- Time: What the murder of Christina Grimmie by a fan tells us about YouTube influencer culture
- Billboard: Co-workers of Christina Grimmie’s killer details his obsession with ‘Voice’ singer
- Daily Mail: ‘Deepest sorrow or Christina Grimmie’: Family of ‘deranged’ gunman who hunted down & killed The Voice star pen hasty apology note on their front door as his smiling photo is released
- Christina Grimmie police report
- Wikipedia: Christina Grimmie
- YouTube: ABC News: Christina Grimmie final moments before singer was killed
- NPR: 3 hours in Orlando: Piecing together an attack & its aftermath
- Courier Post: Forgotten story of Christina Grimmie & the man who killed her
