Shortly before Stephanie Parze, a special effects artist and fast-growing social media influencer, went missing the day before Halloween in 2019, she reportedly told her family that she was scared to live in her New Jersey home. People Magazine.
Stephanie’s sister, Brianna Parze, said her brother “called our mother in a panic” in October 2019, “saying the house was haunted and possessed.”
Stephanie’s father, Ed Parze, said her 25-year-old daughter called her family to say she had noticed a strange handprint on her bathroom mirror, “like someone had put their hand there and pulled their fingers down, like you’re in a horror movie.”
A few days after she told her family about this strange occurrence, her pet parakeet was found dead at the bottom of its cage, and just a month after this incident, Stephanie mysteriously disappeared.
“She would always call or text us when she got home, but after 25 minutes had passed and we still hadn’t heard anything, we immediately knew something was wrong.”
Even though Stephanie had hinted that something mystical or supernatural was going on in the home, Ed immediately suspected his daughter’s ex-boyfriend had something to do with her disappearance, he said. Fox News Digital.
“I hated this guy from the day I met him,” Ed told Fox News. “I never made eye contact with this guy, he was in and out. I even told my daughter, ‘I don’t like this guy. You’d better be careful of him.’ He was weird. I had a gut feeling from day one. … I just said, ‘This is the guy.'”
The New Jersey makeup artist’s disappearance is the subject of Investigation Discovery’s true crime docuseries “Deadly Influence,” which specifically explores the dark side of social media and how online communities can suddenly turn dark and sometimes deadly.
“I’m speaking out because I need to raise awareness so this doesn’t happen to anyone else, and it will also save Stephanie’s life,” Ed said. “My daughter was 4ft 11in tall, passionate and had a deep passion for the arts.” As a result, she quickly gained a large following on social media.
“I had no idea how influential she was on social media until this happened,” Ed admitted. “I knew she was active on social media and put out art. She was always sending me her work, which I thought was great, but I didn’t realize how long it took her to build up a following.”
Stephanie eventually turned to an online dating site, where she met John Osbilgen, a stockbroker from New Jersey. The two first interacted on social media and eventually met in person, but Ed said the relationship developed too quickly and Osbilgen didn’t impress him.
Stephanie then accused Ozbilgen of assault and wanted to end the relationship. Ed tried to warn his daughter about Ozbilgen, but Stephanie insisted that her father give the 29-year-old stockbroker a chance.
“How do I feel about that? I have a strong, independent daughter who’s 25 years old. She knows what she’s doing,” Ed said. “You hope you’ll be proven wrong, but I still had that gut feeling. And my gut feeling was right.”
Stephanie was last seen on October 30, 2019, leaving her family home after spending the night with relatives. She drove to the nearby home of her late grandmother, but did not show up for a babysitting job the following day. Her phone and car were found at the home, but there were no signs of a break-in.
“Stephanie lived about six minutes from here,” Ed said. “She would always call or text when she got home, but when 25 minutes passed and we still hadn’t heard anything, we immediately knew something was wrong.”
The family tried to contact Stephanie but she did not respond to any messages, which led the Parze family to organize a search party to find her.
“I would go on Facebook every night and start posting,” Ed said. “More and more people were saying they wanted to help. It was heartbreaking. … I had no idea how many people these posts reached. … A lot of people recognized Stephanie by her face and by the fact that she was always online.”
Investigators quickly identified Ozbilgen as a suspect: He had reportedly sent Stephanie 10 angry messages, without reply, the night before she went missing.
On November 8, 2019, Ozbilgen was arrested and charged with child pornography. Images were found on his phone while authorities were investigating Stephanie’s disappearance. He was held until November 19, when he was eventually released.
Ozbilgen committed suicide just three days after his release, and although he was never charged in Stephanie’s disappearance, he reportedly left a note implicating him in her murder.
Stephanie’s body was later discovered by two teenagers in Old Bridge.
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