After she became popular thanks to YouTube and The Voice, rising pop star Christina Grimmie was well on her way to worldwide fame — then an obsessed fan shot her to death after a concert in 2016.
Christina Grimmie’s death in 2016 came as a shock to her friends, family, and fans. The 22-year-old singer was on her way to becoming a world-famous star. She’d become popular performing song covers on YouTube as a teenager, and her celebrity only continued to rise when she appeared on The Voice in 2014.
Justin Higuchi/Wikimedia CommonsChristina Grimmie in 2014, two years before she was murdered by an obsessed fan after a concert.
Tragically, Grimmie’s promising future was ripped away by Kevin James Loibl, an obsessed fan who fatally shot her while she was signing autographs after a concert in Orlando on June 10, 2016. Loibl then turned the gun on himself without giving any insight into why he’d taken Grimmie’s life.
However, police interviews with those who knew Loibl soon revealed his intentions. His friend noted that the 27-year-old man spent hours every day watching videos of Grimmie online. Loibl’s co-workers claimed that he was infatuated with Grimmie and had even said he was going to marry her one day.
The investigation painted a chilling picture of a man who was seemingly determined to have Christina Grimmie for himself — or at least make sure nobody else could.
How Christina Grimmie Rose To Stardom
Christina Grimmie was born on March 12, 1994, and she was interested in music from a young age. As a child, she sang and played the piano, but she wanted to share her talents with the world. So, when she was 15, Grimmie started a YouTube channel under the username zeldaxlove64. There, she posted covers of songs like Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” and “One Time” by Justin Bieber.
The teen quickly amassed followers, reaching a million by 2011. That same year, she released her debut EP, Find Me. Grimmie then moved to Los Angeles to better pursue her singing career. She even connected with pop star Selena Gomez and started opening for her on tour.
Christina Grimmie/YouTubeChristina Grimmie in one of her first YouTube videos, which now has more than 13 million views.
However, Grimmie’s biggest break came in 2014, when she earned a spot on NBC’s singing competition show The Voice with Maroon 5’s lead singer Adam Levine as her coach. Grimmie finished in third place, but her time on the show had exposed her music to a wider audience, and her fanbase continued to grow.
On June 10, 2016, the day of Christina Grimmie’s death, she was performing at Plaza Live in Orlando as an opening act for the band Before You Exit. After she finished her set, she prepared to take photos and sign autographs for a long line of eager fans — but she had no idea her killer was there waiting for her, too.
The Chilling Murder Of Christina Grimmie
At 10:24 p.m., it was Kevin James Loibl’s turn to meet Grimmie. The singer opened her arms to give Loibl a hug — and he quickly pulled out a gun and shot her three times. Grimmie’s brother Marcus, who acted as her manager, immediately tackled Loibl to the ground.
Loibl was able to pull away, and he backed against a wall and shot himself in the head before anyone else could act.
Christina Grimmie/InstagramChristina Grimmie with her brother, Marcus, who fearlessly tackled her killer the night of her death.
Josh Call was working outside of Plaza Live the night Christina Grimmie died, and he recalled the moment he heard gunshots to the Orlando Sentinel the following day. “It was quick,” Call said, “like pow, pow, pow, pow.”
After waiting a few moments, Call headed into the venue to see if he could help. There, he saw both Grimmie and Loibl bleeding on the floor. “It was horrifying,” he said.
Although she was rushed to the hospital, Christina Grimmie died shortly after the attack. She had been shot once in the head and twice in the chest.
There was no evidence that Grimmie and Loibl had ever interacted with each other, so the police started interviewing those who knew Loibl in an effort to determine a motive. What they discovered was disturbing.
Why Did Kevin James Loibl Kill The Young Singer?
Kevin James Loibl was a 27-year-old man from St. Petersburg, Florida. Days before Christina Grimmie’s murder, he’d purchased two handguns, which he packed in a drawstring bag with two loaded magazines and a large hunting knife. Then, on the day of the concert, he took a taxi to Orlando and carried the bag with him into Plaza Live. Security seemingly never checked inside.
Before he left his house for the final time, Loibl put a handwritten sign on his door that read: “Deepest sorrow for lost to the family, friends, & fans of the very talented, loving Christina Grimmie. No other commets.”
The attack was clearly premeditated, but why? What reason did Loibl have for killing Christina Grimmie?
Public DomainKevin James Loibl was identified as the gunman who shot and killed Christina Grimmie on June 10, 2016.
According to a 2016 article in the New York Daily News, a man named Cory Dennington, who described himself as Loibl’s “only friend in the world,” told investigators that Loibl had an unhealthy obsession with Grimmie.
Loibl reportedly spent “most of his waking hours” watching videos of the singer on YouTube, and he stalked her social media accounts.
In fact, Loibl was so obsessed with Grimmie that he even changed his appearance in an attempt to impress her. He lost weight, got hair plugs, and underwent LASIK eye surgery.
Loibl’s co-workers at Best Buy said they often teased him when he said he wanted to marry Grimmie because they didn’t think he was serious, but he reportedly became defensive whenever they questioned him about her. Dennington, who also worked at Best Buy with Loibl, was so concerned that he reported his friend’s obsession to their boss, but nothing ever came of it.
To this day, Kevin James Loibl’s true motives for the murder of Christina Grimmie aren’t entirely clear. He seemingly thought, “If I can’t have her, no one can,” but that doesn’t explain why he killed her before ever speaking a word to her. Some people believe that he saw Grimmie post about her boyfriend on social media and grew angry that she was dating someone else, but because Loibl died by suicide, his exact reason will likely never be known.
The Aftermath Of The Tragic Murder
When the news broke of Christina Grimmie’s death, the musical artists she had worked closely with throughout her short career took to social media to express their grief.
Adam Levine wrote on Twitter, “There are no words. We lost a beautiful soul with an amazing voice.” Selena Gomez shared a photo of her and Grimmie together with the caption: “My heart is absolutely broken.” Other singers, like Justin Bieber, dedicated performances to Grimmie in the weeks following her murder.
Selena Gomez/XStars like Selena Gomez posted tributes to Christina Grimmie in the days after her death.
Grimmie’s family was determined to carry on the young star’s legacy. They started the Christina Grimmie Foundation in 2017 to financially support other victims of gun violence. The same year, they posthumously released Grimmie’s final single, “Invisible,” donating all proceeds to the foundation.
They also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Plaza Live, per a 2016 report by CNN, claiming that the venue only performed “superficial bag checks” and didn’t pat down attendees or use metal detectors to ensure no firearms were brought inside. The case was dismissed in 2019.
Today, Christina Grimmie’s father and brother continue to post images and clips of the singer on her Instagram account, sharing her music with the world just as she wanted to do when she was a young girl.
After reading about the tragic death of Christina Grimmie, go inside the murder of Selena Quintanilla, the “Queen of Tejano Music” who was killed by the former president of her fan club. Then, learn about the actress Rebecca Schaeffer’s murder at the hands of a disturbed stalker.
