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The Murder of an Instagram Influencer: Celebrity Stalking and the Delusional “Soulmate”
On Sunday, August 29, 2021, the body of thirty-three year old Instagram model and influencer Jenae Gagnier (AKA “Miss Mercedes Morr”) was found by her father, Mark Gagnier, who had become concerned that he hadn’t been able to reach his daughter for a few days. When she didn’t respond to phone calls or answer his knocks, the increasingly desperate dad kicked in the door. What he walked in on was a scene that would haunt any parent for the rest of their days. His baby girl had been beaten and strangled to death.
Upstairs, he found a dying thirty-four year old man he’d never seen before; Kevin Alexander Accorto. He had apparently stabbed himself several times with a knife. Ms. Gagnier’s apartment was in complete disarray and there were rambling messages written in lipstick all over the wall. Mark Gagnier believes Kevin Accorto spent two or three days inside his daughter’s apartment after he killed her and committed suicide when he was about to get caught.
There’s a lot we don’t yet know about the man who is suspected of killing Jenae Gagnier. So far, there is no evidence that the two had ever met; none of Ms. Gagnier’s friends or family recognized Kevin Accorto’s name or face or had ever heard her mention him. Ms. Gagnier’s sister recently posted a message saying her sister…