In the wake of a gunman shooting and killing Grimmie at an Orlando concert, many from her Voice family are still devastated.
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Grimmie was fatally shot by 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl, of St. Petersburg, Florida while she signed autographs after a show at Orlando’s Plaza Live theater on June 10.
Loibl’s friend, Cory Dennington, said the suspect constantly monitored Grimmie on social media and watched all her YouTube videos.
Loibl described Grimmie as his “soul mate” and told Dennington that he’d lost 50 pounds, gotten LASIK surgery and hair implants and his teeth whitened to improve his appearance for her, the report said.
He worked at Best Buy, and lived “like a hermit”, according to the report.
“He said Loibl would not entertain the idea that his plan would not work and when Dennington did, he threatened to end their friendship”. His father was unaware Loibl owned firearms, and detectives said it appeared Loibl had destroyed the hard drive on his home computer and also encrypted his phone, making it difficult to extra any data.
Played up as the “rock “n” roll nanny” on Season Six of “The Voice” – when she came in fifth and Grimmie took third place – Perkins told Rolling Stone, “Not sure what to do, I chose to honor her the only way I know how: with a song”. Dahl decribed Loibl as “socially awkward, detached”. They were at work, and Loibl returned some magazines he had borrowed months before and said, “I love you, brother”.
In Dennington’s final conversation with Loibl, Dennington noticed a lot of “weird” and “sad” things in hindsight. But he never heard Loibl talk about guns or threaten to hurt himself or Grimmie.
It eventually got to the point that Dennington felt the need to bring the issue to the attention of his supervisor at Best Buy, Luke Dahl.
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Dennington spoke to Loibl last about five days before the shooting, and Loibl told him that he was “tired and ready to ascend”.
