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Stephanie Parze was training to be a make-up artist and had created a solid presence for herself on her social media. Her disappearance in October 2019 led investigators to the harrowing discovery of her decomposed remains three months later.
Her ex-boyfriend, John Ozbilgen, took his life as he was named the person of interest in her disappearance. The Deadly Influence: The Social Media Murders episode titled Hashtag Halloween Horror showcases the shocking details of Stephanie Parze's murder as it airs on July 1, 2024 at 9 p.m. EST. The official synopsis reads,
"Meet Stephanie a feisty, loveable young woman from New Jersey. Online, she's building a brand as a bespoke makeup and SFX artist. But offline, her life becomes complicated and spirals into mystery when she vanishes into thin air on Halloween Eve."
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Five details of Stephanie Parze's murder explored
1) Stephanie disappeared on October 30, 2019
The 25-year-old makeup artist and aspiring influencer, Stephanie Parze, had stepped out of her New Jersey home to meet a psychic medium with her mother and sisters after days of being spooked at her apartment. On her way back, she had sent a Snapchat to her mother and had also allegedly stepped out around 10 p.m. local time for a drive.
Stephanie's mother, Sharlene Parze, spoke to News 12 New Jersey sharing,
"She would never go out of the house without her phone. And she was supposed to be at work and she never showed up. Everything is just not her. You know, and I had just left her. And she was supposed to text me when she got home and she never did, but we know that she made it home because her car was in the driveway."
Per News 12 New Jersey, Stephanie was last seen wearing a burgundy v-neck shirt and burgundy sweater.
2) Her remains were found on January 26, 2020
Stephanie had been missing for over three months when remains were found off Route 9 south of Old Mill Road in Old Bridge Township, per CBS News. Two teenage boys walking down the road discovered the remains in a highly decomposed state on January 26, 2020.
The place where Stephanie's body was discovered was one where the police had already conducted their search, per the New York Times. As AP News reported, the Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni revealed that investigators believed Stephanie Parze was killed late on October 30 or early the following day.
3) Her cellphone and social media records brought to light her relationship with John Ozbilgen
Stephanie met Ozbilgen on an online dating site and the two spoke over social media before they started seeing one another. John Ozbilgen (29) was a stockbroker from New Jersey who worked on Staten Island, according to Fox News.
The New York Times reported that the couple shared an on-and-off relationship with multiple instances of domestic abuse. Per Fox News, Parze had called the police to complain against John Ozbilgen twice - once in June and another time in September.
4) John Ozbilgen had several domestic abuse complaints registered against him
Fox News reported that John Ozbilgen had sent 10 angry, unanswered text messages to Stephanie Parze the night before her disappearance. As the investigations unfolded, the authorities discovered a trend of domestic violence in Ozbilgen's relationships.
According to Asbury Park Press, one of Ozbilgen's former girlfriends alleged that he would choke her during s*x to the point of unconsciousness.
5) Ozbilgen took his life by su*cide on November 22, 2019
While the authorities built a case against Ozbilgen, they arrested him on charges of possession of child p*rnography. The authorities reportedly found evidence of ten images of young girls and babies, per the New York Daily News.
He was let out on bail on November 19, 2019, but ended up taking his life three days later, Ozbilgen hung himself in the garage of his parent's home in Freehold and left behind two suicide notes. He confessed to killing Stephanie Parze in the notes, per the New York Post.
Catch all the details of Stephanie Parze's murder as Deadly Influence: The Social Media Murders airs on Investigation Discovery on July 1, 2024.
