5 chilling details about Adea Shabani's murder

Adea Shabani arrived in Los Angeles with a bucketful of dreams, much like many other young, aspiring actresses. The North Macedonian seemingly had it all to succeed in the industry- talent, zeal to work her way up, and striking looks that could turn heads.

However, the 25-year-old was never seen on screen before she was seen in the newspapers as she went missing in February 2018. A month later, her body was found in a shallow grave in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

This case shook Los Angeles in 2018 and is now going to be the subject of People Magazine Presents: Crimes Of The 2010s episode 9, which will premiere on August 29, 2024, at 8.00 PM EST. The synopsis for the episode reads:

"A 25-year-old Macedonian woman with aspirations of stardom moves to Hollywood to pursue her dreams of becoming famous; on February 23, 2018, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed bombshell leaves her apartment and vanishes, never to be seen again."

This case was never formally solved, and investigators only assume that Chris Spotz was behind the murder. This case is also filled with small details that would intrigue true crime fans.

Ahead of the latest episode of People Magazine Presents: Crimes Of The 2010s, let us dive into this case and go over five such chilling details.

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5 key details about Adea Shabani's murder

1) Adea Shabani was in a very complex relationship

Adea moved to Los Angeles after she completed her degree in International Business Administration at the American University of Paris to pursue her dream of acting. There, she enrolled in Stella Adler Studio of Acting in February 2018. She met fellow actor Chris Spotz there and the two began an affair.

However, this was far from a perfect love story as Chris was already engaged to Mary Elmalak at the time he started dating Adea. It was not clear what Chris wanted since he reportedly even visited his home in Colorado with Mary.

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2) Adea stopped texting her friends and family on February 23

Adea Shabani disappeared in February 2018 (Image via Pexels)

Adrea was an avid texter and it was only because she went on a weekend getaway with Chris Spotz that her friends and family members were not more worried when she stopped texting them.

She was last seen leaving with Chris Spotz in a car. They were reportedly bound for Northern California.

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3) Chris Spotz claimed that he dropped her 25 miles away from her home and never saw her since

In what remains one of the more unbelievable things about Chris' behavior when Adea Shabani disappeared, he claimed that he dropped his girlfriend at Santa Clarita, about 25 miles from her home, after a bitter argument. He claimed that he drove away and never saw her again.

This made Chris the chief subject in the case.

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4) Chris Spotz committed suicide after a high-speed chase with the police

Spotz was the most likely suspect in the murder (Image via Pexels)

The police began doubting Chris after finding some discrepancies in his side of the story. They also realized he had left town when they tried to question him further. On March 22, 2018, Chris was seen driving Shabani's stolen Toyota Tacoma near Hesperia.

The police tried to stop him but he led them on a high-speed chase right up to Corona. He reportedly got off the Green River Road freeway and stopped on Rio Vista Street. There, he fatally shot himself with a handgun.

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5) Adea Shabani's murder officially remains unsolved to date

As Chris, the prime suspect in the case, committed suicide, the case was never formally solved. This also means that even if we assume Chris is the murderer, a motive still remains missing.

Anyhow, no one has been formally charged with Adea Shabani's murder.

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The upcoming episode of People Magazine Presents: Crimes Of The 2010s will cover Adea Shabani's murder in more detail.