‘Her life was taken by a coward’: Friend of Haverhill woman killed in murder-suicide speaks out

HAVERHILL, Mass. — The best friend of a young woman killed in a murder-suicide in Haverhill says she saw warning signs in the weeks leading up to the deadly gunfire.

The Essex County District Attorney’s Office announced the names of the deceased couple on Monday as 24-year-old Loren Marino and 24-year-old Austin Amaral.

A spokesperson with the DA’s office told Boston 25 News on Tuesday that investigators believe Amaral murdered Marino before turning the gun on himself.

A neighbor who lives downstairs said she found the wounded bodies of the couple in Marino’s bedroom.

“I was flying back from Las Vegas, and I got these words, Loren got murdered,” said friend Katie Iandolo. “I was hysterical. People were bringing me water and praying over me.”

Iandolo told Boston 25 News that Marino had previously known Amaral but just seriously began dating him two months ago.

“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.”

Iandolo said that Amaral showed his two guns to her inside Marino’s apartment on Broadway about a month ago.

She recalls another glaring red flag several weeks ago that she could not ignore.

“He shoved her into a dresser hard. I kind of freaked out on him,” she explained. “He was so psychotic in his eyes when he was yelling at me.”

She describes feeling an immediate distance after that with the best friend she was used to seeing on a daily basis.

“While she was sleeping, he took her phone and blocked me from it,” said Iandolo. “He removed me from her Facebook, her Snapchat and her Instagram.”

Iandolo is now trying to channel her anger toward Amaral into constructive advice for others in abusive dating relationships.

“First red flag, please just go,” she said. “It’s only going to get worse. There’s no fixing somebody. There’s no light at the end of that kind of tunnel.”

She wants her friend to be remembered as an independent woman who worked two jobs, a bright light who uplifted others and an unwavering source of support.

“We had an instant connection. The day we met, we used to call each other soul sisters,” added Iandolo. “I loathe him. He took my best friend from me.”

Iandolo said Marino aspired to become a registered nurse.

Friends are organizing foster homes for Marino’s two dogs.

Her beloved pets were found inside the upstairs apartment where the bodies were discovered on Sunday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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