Remembering Christina Grimmie, one of NJ’s greatest phenoms

On March 12th, 1994, New Jersey singer/actress Christina Grimmie was born in Marlton. She started singing at an early age and, after becoming a YouTube sensation, eventually became the opening act for Selena Gomez. Gomez’s parents even went on to become Christina’s managers.

She auditioned for the NBC show The Voice in 2014 and was accepted as a contestant. During her onstage audition all four judges turned their chairs around signifying that they wanted to mentor her. She then selected Adam Levine. Grimmie ultimately finished third on the show. After her stint on The Voice, she signed with Island Records and released two EPs.

On June 10th, 2016, she performed in Orlando, Florida, at the Plaza Live. The show ended around 10 pm, and Christina stayed after the show to sign autographs for fans. Around 10:24 pm a man from St. Petersburg, Kevin James Loibl, approached Christina as she went to give him a hug, and opened fire with a handgun, hitting her in the head and in the chest. He was then tackled by Christina’s brother, Marcus, possibly saving other lives. Before anyone could hold him for the police, he shot himself to death.

Christina had never met Loibl and the only connection between the two is that Loibl was obsessed with her. He supposedly had lost weight, gotten hair plugs, and eye surgery in an attempt to make himself more attractive to her. She was pronounced dead at the hospital around 11 pm. Christina was buried in Berlin with a public memorial in Medford. An amazing talent taken from this earth far too soon.