This podcast details true crime cases. It contains adult themes and may contain descriptions of violence.

It is not intended for children.

Listener discretion is advised. Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime.

This is the second episode in the series

Falling Stars, where I detail cases involving up-and-coming social media stars. This

week I'll tell you about a rising singing star who began her career on YouTube before making it to Hollywood to compete on a nationally televised talent show.

Christina Grimmy had a bright future ahead of her as an entertainer in 2016 when an obsessed

fan cut her career short when he committed an unprovoked act of violence.

This is Chapter 2 of Falling Stars, YouTube star Christina Grimmy. If I asked you right now to name one person you're a fan of, who would it be?

Most of us have a person who in reality is a stranger, but whom we admire and consider special. Maybe we admire them for their talent as an actor, singer,

or musician. Or perhaps it's for their leadership qualities or because they are a passionate

activist. Or let's be honest, we could simply like their

personality or the way they look. I myself am a big fan of James Hetfield,

lead singer and guitars for Metallica. I admired him for his talent, but also because, well, he's super hot.

For most of us, it's just fun to follow a celebrity or famous person and maybe even daydream about what it would be like to meet them, have a conversation, or even become friends.

It's just a fun fantasy to contemplate while sitting in traffic or doing the laundry.

But it's a harmless enough momentary escape from our day-to-day reality.

Although I'm optimistic that if James and I met, we'd become fast friends. So James, if you're listening, call me. Anyway, back to reality.

And for some, that's more of a problem than you'd think. Some take the dream of knowing those they admire and

consider themselves fans of and become obsessed with them. It's become so common

and increasingly problematic that several terms have even emerged to describe this phenomenon.

These people are sometimes called super-fans.

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