The Disappearance And Murder Of Aspiring Hollywood Actress Adea Shabani
Shabani went missing in February 2018. When her body was found in May 2018, an autopsy determined she suffered blunt force trauma to her head.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Screenshot from ID's "Death by Fame")
Adea Shabani was a 25-year-old aspiring model and actress living in Los Angeles when her life was cut tragically short in 2018.
Shabani went missing on Feb. 23, 2018, just days before her 26th birthday, according to Entertainment Tonight.
At the time of her disappearance, Shabani was dating Christopher Spotz. According to the New York Times, Spotz and Shabani got into an argument and he said he dropped her off in Santa Clarita, a city about 25 miles from her apartment. That was the last time she was seen alive. Authorities, however, said they suspected foul play was involved.
According to Newsweek, Spotz and Shabani had an on-again-off-again relationship. While dating Shabani, Spotz was engaged to another woman.
Days after she went missing, Shabani’s friends began to have search parties. Her mother even flew from Macedonia to hang up signs all over LA, offering a $25,000 reward for any information about Shabani’s disappearance or whereabouts.
After not being able to verify Spotz’s alibi, officials tried to question him again. According to the Los Angeles Times, detectives first went to Spotz’s father’s home to learn where Spotz and Shabani might be. They were told Spotz went to Colorado with his fiancée.
Authorities then put out an alert on the Toyota Tacoma Spotz was driving. It was the same vehicle Spotz used on the day Shabani disappeared. It turns out the truck was stolen, Newsweek reported.
On March 22, officials spotted the Tacoma in San Bernardino, California and chased Spotz for 60 miles. Before he could be apprehended, Spotz shot himself in the head.
Newsweek also reported that Spotz uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, in which he performed a monologue that seemed to predict Shabani’s death, days before she went missing.
“If I picked up the gun, and made the sacrifice, my life would be given back to me,” he said in the video. “Absolution. My love would be given back. And she would never know what I did to get it back.”
The Macedonia native’s body was found in a shallow grave in a “remote wildlife area” in California in May 2018, reporting by the BBC revealed.
Her death, which was investigated as a homicide, was caused by blunt force trauma to her head, the Nevada County Sheriff’s office told the publication.
According to Newsweek no one has been prosecuted for Shabani’s murder.
For more on this case, tune into Death by Fame Feb. 13 at 9/8c on ID. Stream other episodes now on discovery+.
