Obsessed Man Kills Co-Worker Who Refused to Date Him, Cops Say
A Florida man who harbored a romantic obsession with a female co-worker now faces murder charges after he allegedly showed up at the woman’s home and stabbed her to death before ripping off his shirt and stabbing himself, authorities said.
Delfina Pan, a 28-year-old aspiring designer, was found dead in Miami Beach on Monday night after her shift at the Kansas Bar and Grill where she worked with Agustin Lucas Mariani, the 20-year-old bartender now accused of second-degree murder in connection with her slaying.
Responding officers arrived outside of Pan’s apartment at around 6:30 p.m. to find Mariani, bloodied from a self-inflicted stab wound to the torso, lying on top of his co-worker’s body, according to an arrest report obtained by the Miami Herald.
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Mariani had made repeated attempts to establish a romantic relationship with Pan, who rebuffed his advances, authorities said after interviews with friends and co-workers familiar with his overtures.
Pan was pronounced dead after the pair were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where Mariani remains in recovery.
The restaurant’s manager told cops that Pan finished her shift early on the day she was murdered, and that Mariani headed out shortly after the 28-year-old left, even though he was supposed to work a double until 11:30 p.m.
Police said they recovered a knife at the scene that fit the description of a utensil that had gone missing from the restaurant.
Pan’s neighbor, who identified the young woman’s alleged killer from a line up, told cops that Mariani “arrived at the victim’s apartment, uninvited, and waited for” her there.
After Pan arrived, Mariani allegedly asked to be invited into her apartment to talk and when she refused, “he produced a knife and without being provoked began to stab the victim,” the arrest report states.
After allegedly stabbing his love interest, Mariani ripped off his shirt before proceeding to stab himself in the chest, the witness told cops.
Miami Beach Police have been dogged by criticism over their handling of Pan’s brutal death after failing to give concrete information on the fatal stabbing for days on end and suggesting on Twitter that “preliminary info suggests this incident is domestic related.”
It wasn’t until Thursday night that authorities shed light on what allegedly transpired before Pan’s death—including Mariani’s violent reaction to Pan rejecting his request to come into her apartment to chat.
Pan, an Argentinian native, was an aspiring graphic designer, and had been living with a childhood friend after moving to Miami Beach two years ago, friends told the Herald.
Police said that Pan’s friends and co-workers described Mariani’s apparent obsession with Pan, adding that he had repeatedly proclaimed a love for her that was unreturned that had lasted for months up until his advances turned deadly. Pan had been gentle in declining his advances, these acquaintances said, for fear of enraging him.
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