Monalisa Perez
Monalisa Perez
Monalisa Perez is a 19-year-old pregnant mother living in Norman County, Minnesota. On June 28, 2017 fatally shot her boyfriend Pedro Ruiz III in a YouTube“prank” gone wrong.
Personal Life
DOING SCARY STUNTS AT THE FAIR | PART 1 (Video posted by Monalisa and Pedro the day before the fatal prank)
Monalisa Perez lived in Norman County, Minnesota. Monalisa had been in a relationship with Pedro Ruiz for six years and became pregnant at the age of 15. The couple had a three-year-old daughter and at the time of Pedro's death Monalisa was 25 weeks pregnant with a boy who would be their second child.
Monalisa was a supporter of Hillary Clinton and liked her page on Facebook.
Career
Monalisa Perez and Pedro Ruiz ran a YouTube channel with many videos the couple have made, with stunts and pranks prevalent. The morning before the shooting they posted a video titled "Doing Scary Stunts at the Fair, Part I" and shows the couple attending a fair last Thursday. Ruiz and a young relative were featured enjoying various rides. "Imagine when we have 300,000 subscribers," Perez says during the video. Ruiz replies, "I told them, the bigger we get, I'll be throwing parties."
Youtube Prank Gone Wrong
Photo of Monalisa
On June 26, 2017 Monalisa and Pedro filmed a YouTube video stunt. For the stunt Monalisa would shoot Pedro in the chest from a foot and a half away with a gold Desert Eagle 50 caliber, one of the most powerful handguns. To stop the bullet Pedro would hold a book in front of his chest to protect himself.
Soon after the shooting, Perez told a sheriff's deputy that it was Ruiz who had been pushing his idea for the video, which was recorded by one camera on the back of a parked vehicle and another on a ladder, according to the complaint.
He had shown her another book that he had shot and the bullet didn't go all the way through, the charging document continued.
"Perez stated that she shot from about a foot away while [Ruiz] held the book to his chest," the complaint read.
Ruiz’s aunt, Claudia Ruiz, told Valley News Live he had been talking about the stunt for awhile.“It was just a prank gone wrong.
It shouldn’t of happened like this.
It shouldn’t have happened at all,” Claudia Ruiz told the news station.
“”He had told me about an idea.
I said, don’t do it, don’t do it.
Why are you going to use a gun?
Why?
Because, we want more viewers.
We want to get famous.' " Claudia added that she and others related to Ruiz "are all supporting Mona.
It's a tragic incident.
What she did... she has to live with that.
It's the worst punishment she can get.
She is pregnant with their second kid.
It's just heartbreaking."
One hour before their fatal shooting, Perez wrote on Facebook, "We are in the process of making Pedro a YouTube channel oh man is it going to be sweet! LOL." She added: "All the crazy stuff will [be] on his channel and mine. will be our family life!!!"In May, Perez posted a video revealing the gender of the child they are expecting in late September. It is a boy.
Charges
Monalisa Perez was charged with second-degree manslaughter in Norman County District Court and was detained at a regional jail in Crookston in connection with the shooting Monday night in Halstad of 22-year-old Pedro Ruiz III. Perez appeared from the jail by video at a Norman County court proceeding Wednesday. She posted $7,000 cash bail and was released late Wednesday afternoon.