Sheriff: Woman blamed boyfriend’s death on YouTube stunt
HALSTAD, Minn. — A Minnesota woman charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend in a failed YouTube video stunt foreshadowed the event when she tweeted that it would be “one of the most dangerous videos ever.”
Monalisa Perez, of Halstad, was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Pedro Ruiz III. Perez, who is pregnant, was released on $7,000 bail. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
According to the criminal complaint filed by the Norman County Sheriff Jeremy Thornton, the 19-year-old Perez told investigators that Ruiz wanted to make a video of her shooting a bullet into a book he was holding against his chest. She says she fired from about a foot (0.3 metres) away.
Hours before the Tuesday night shooting, Perez tweeted: “Me and Pedro are probably going to shoot one of the most dangerous videos ever. HIS idea not MINE.”