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Ex-Boyfriend Of Missing Nanny Stephanie Parze Found Dead By Possible Suicide
The former stockbroker and person of interest in Parze's disappearance is believed to have taken his own life while awaiting trial in an unrelated child pornography case.
The ex-boyfriend of missing New Jersey nanny Stephanie Parze, has been found dead in his home.
John Ozbilgen, 29, apparently took his own life overnight at his home in Freehold Township, New Jersey, law enforcement sources told NBC New York.
Ozbilgen, a former stockbroker, had been named by prosecutors as a person of interest in the 25-year-old woman’s Oct. 30 disappearance. The pair dated on and off for a couple of months, though their relationship was rocky and marked by multiple domestic violence accusations. At the time of her disappearance, Parze had listed herself as single on Facebook.
Parze was last seen attending a psychic show with family members the day before Halloween. She failed to message her parents saying she'd gotten home safely that night and didn't show up for work the next morning. Her car and cell phone were found at her house.
In the days and weeks since she was reported missing, authorities have conducted multiple searches of a wooded area in Staten Island near where Ozbilgen used to live, though it's unclear what, if any, evidence they've collected.
In the course of questioning Ozbilgen in the case, investigators allegedly found pornographic material involving children on his phone, resulting in his arrest on Nov. 8. Ozbilgen had been freed from custody pending trial since Tuesday when he appeared in court regarding the child pornography charges.
It was at that hearing where Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Caitlin Sidley disclosed two other domestic violence allegations against Ozbilgen in the last year. He also had one active restraining order against him in New York City, according to NJ.com.
The prosecutor also described investigators observing distinct marks on the Ozbilgen’s neck when they initially questioned him about Parze and revealed aggressive, expletive-laden messages he sent her prior to her disappearance.
“Detectives learned that this defendant was texting and Facebook messaging Parze the night before her disappearance," Sidley said, according to NJ.com. "Those messages spanned just over nine minutes long. There were 10 unanswered messages, concluding with calling Stephanie Parze 'a f------ c---' and telling her that she ‘always has to make their relationship suck.’”
Ozbilgen denied the child porn charge against him and, though a person of interest in Parze's disappearance, had not been charged in that case at the time of his death.
