Nursing student kidnapped and shot dead by ex made heartbreaking confession
A nursing student who was kidnapped and shot dead by her ex-boyfriend had just left the abusive relationship after a heartbreaking call with her mum.
Gina Nicole Bryant, 26, was abducted by Dr Justin Wendling, 26, at a petrol station in La Salle, Illinois earlier this month before killing himself, according to the Macomb County Sheriff's Office. Gina's heartbroken family revealed they managed to convince her to move out of her flat after hearing Wendling, who was a medical resident at Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc Township, was abusive to her.
The student had moved in with her then-boyfriend at Grand Blanc Township shortly after the two began dating in December 2022. It wasn't until September that the victim told her mum and sister about her boyfriend's abusive tendencies. “She was a very beautiful, down-to-earth, giving woman,” Angelica Gintner, Gina's older sister, said. “She could brighten up a day with just her smile. She’d give you the shirt off your back. She was caring and compassionate.”
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The nursing student was much loved by her colleagues (Facebook)“It’s with a heavy heart that we write this post,” Charlotte Jolly, Bryant’s best friend, wrote on Facebook. “The family has suffered an unspeakable and tragic loss due to domestic violence.”
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Gina was reported missing on October 12 after her colleagues noticed she didn't return from her lunch break. The Macomb County Sheriff's Office said they grew more suspicious after receiving strange messages from her number. The investigation determined that Wendling was waiting for Gina when she returned home for lunch.
Surveillance footage from a neighboring residence showed Wendling luring Gina to his car that afternoon. Authorities weren't apprised of the situation until Wendling parents made a report. Apparently, the ex-boyfriend called them to confess to what he had done saying he was going to commit suicide.
“Tragically, surveillance video and witnesses from a truck stop in LaSalle, Ill., confirmed that the suspect had shot and killed the victim at approximately 12:00 a.m. on 10/13/2023,” the sheriff’s office said. “The suspect then fled to Bettendorf, Iowa. It was reported to the MCSO that as local officers approached the vehicle, the suspect shot and killed himself."
Tributes poured in for the nursing student who was highly regarded and much loved at work. In a statement, officials at Ascension said they were saddened by Gina's death and it was fully cooperating with officers. According to an email to students in Bryant’s cohort and faculty sent by Cynthia McCurren, the Dean of University of Michigan-Flint’s School of Nursing, Bryant was in her senior year and enrolled in the school’s nursing course.
“There are truly no words to fully capture the anguish that losses like this cause our community,” McCurren said. “Gina was an extraordinary young woman with much ahead of her. I am personally struggling to make sense of this horrible news as I imagine many of you will be doing as well.”
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