Albanian actor Florind Belliu, living in the US, is suspected of killing his pregnant wife and himself in a devastating incident over the weekend.
Belliu and his wife Ornela Shehi were found in the rear courtyard of their apartment in The Bronx, New York, on Saturday morning. Their two children remained in the sixth-floor apartment.
Eyewitnesses and video footage published in the media show Shehi plunging to her death first, followed by Belliu moments later, leading to suspicions he murdered his wife first and then took his own life.
Belliu graduated from the University of Arts in Tirana, Albania, and performed on TV and in the theater before moving to the US. As of two years ago, he was working on two books and a movie script he hoped to pitch to Netflix, the report said.
Those living in the apartment block said they were a quiet couple, and there were no previous reports to the police about domestic violence. Neighbors did, however, tell the media they heard arguing before the tragic incident.
They leave behind two children aged six and two years old. Authorities are currently working to establish whether it was a murder-suicide, double suicide, or murder, but the main suspicion is a murder-suicide.
Shehi’s sister spoke out on Monday, mentioning Belliu’s mental health issues, her sister’s pregnancy and accusing him of murder.
“I note with regret that all the portals are filled with sad words about the loss of the life of Florind Belli, the person who killed not only our sister, but also the child who would be born in a few months, and not a single word of regret has been written about our sister, who worked and raised two minor children almost alone, since the one who took her life in the most macabre way had been suffering from mental disorders for years,” she wrote.
