A year after her daughter Stephanie was murdered by an abusive boyfriend, the strong bond they had plagued Sharlene Parze since.
On the first anniversary of the 25-year-old New Jersey makeup artist's disappearance and murder, her devastated family holds on to one last desire for closure on what happened to their daughter on the evening of Oct. 30, 2019.
It is presumed that Stephanie Parze, a 25-year-old citizen of Freehold, was killed about a year ago. After a night away with family in New Brunswick, Parze was last spotted leaving her parents' residence in Freehold.
She drove to the nearby home of her late grandmother but somehow failed to turn up the next day for a babysitting job. Her vehicle and phone were found by relatives who came to the house; however, there has been no evidence of forced entry.
Parze's ex-boyfriend, 29-year-old John Ozbilgen, had been identified in her case as a prime suspect.
Deprived of closure by the suicide of the murder suspect of Parze, John Ozbilgen, the parents of Parze, as well as the prosecutors of Monmouth County, are now augmenting in upon what Ozbilgen told his parents before he took his life.
Ozbilgen, who was also from Freehold, had been detained on a child pornography allegation in November 2019 when police reportedly discovered the pictures on his mobile phone to investigate Parze's disappearance.
A year after the disappearance
Presently, almost one year after Parze's alleged murder, a source told a news outlet that prosecutors in Monmouth County "believe there were texts between [Ozbilgen and his parents] after he killed her."
However, when authorities asked the Ozbilgens to inspect their gadgets and asked their phone passwords, the couple allegedly resisted.
The source had said that "They believe he confessed to his parents early on."
The officials believed that throughout their months-long relationship, Parze had charged Ozbilgen with abuse.
Several days after he had been arrested, Ozbilgen was found dead in his house, with his death determined as a suicide. In relation to Parze's disappearance, he has never been convicted.
Ozbilgen's parents, Cynthia and Hakan, are now being investigated by authorities for destroying evidence as they have grounds to suppose that, as per the report, they may have erased their messages with their son.
Shortly after the death of John Ozbilgen, Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni of Monmouth County said that such a note supported the conclusions of authorities who "accumulated a great deal of evidence that indicated he was responsible for her killing" and had been preparing to prosecute him.
Ozbilgen allegedly wrote from one of the two notes retrieved: "I dug myself in a deep hole. This is the only choice."
Authorities now have reason to suspect that another note did exist, yet, as per the report, the couple had not even disclosed it. The source had said that authorities have also been considering filing charges of tampering with evidence and impeding proceedings.
Moreover, Hakan Ozbilgen admitted that he would never give over his password for his mobile phone. Yet, he said he was not willing to work with authorities because he believed that their allegations contributed to the suicide of his son.
MORE ON HNGN:
