'Psychotic in His Eyes': Boyfriend Accused of Killing 'Beautiful, Strong’ Woman in Apparent Murder-Suicide

Authorities say they found Loren Marino and Austin Amaral fatally shot when conducting a welfare search

A Massachusetts mental health professional was killed by her boyfriend in what authorities believe was a murder-suicide.

Loren Marino and Austin Amaral, both 24, were found fatally shot in a Haverhill, Mass., home when authorities responded to the residence for a welfare check on Sunday, the Essex District Attorney’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The two died in what appeared to be a murder-suicide, the statement said. Authorities determined during a preliminary investigation that the two were in a romantic relationship.

Investigators believe Amaral shot himself after shooting Marino, authorities told Boston 25.

“Loren was a beautiful strong young lady, her amazing beautiful spirit always lit up the room,” an online obituary reads. “She was the life of the party, and loved to dance, sing and cook.”

Even though Marino and Amaral were familiar with each other for some time, they only began dating seriously two months ago, Marino’s friend Katie Iandolo told Boston 25. She told the outlet that Amaral had an “obsession” of Marino.

“There was a lot of obsession with him. He kind of came and never left,” she said. “He didn’t want anybody but him to have a relationship with her.”

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Iandolo said he showed two guns to her when she was at Marino’s residence about a month ago, per the outlet. She added that on one occasion, he “shoved [Marino] into a dresser hard.”

“I kind of freaked out on him,” she told the outlet. “He was so psychotic in his eyes when he was yelling at me.”

She alleged that Amaral “removed” her from Marino’s social media and blocked her number on Marino’s phone when she was asleep, per the outlet.

The investigation remains "active and ongoing," the DA's office said in their statement.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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