Last year, a YouTuber was shot dead by his girlfriend through a book in a stunt they were both filming for YouTube.
The final moments of the dead YouTuber’s life has now been revealed.
Prosecutors in Norman County, Minnesota on Friday released video and transcripts from the fateful final video of Pedro Ruiz, 22, and his then-pregnant girlfriend Monalisa Perez, 20.
“I can’t do it, babe. I’m so scared,” Perez told her boyfriend in the transcript from the June 2017 video, as she held a .50-caliber Desert Eagle – one of the most powerful handguns in the world.
“As long as you hit the book, you’ll be fine. Come on,” Ruiz responded, holding a hardcover encyclopedia to his chest, and encouraging her to shoot him.
“Babe, if I kill you what’s gonna happen to my life. Like, no this isn’t okay,” Perez told her boyfriend according to the transcript.
While cameras were rolling, she fired and the bullet went through the book, killing Ruiz.
Perez, of Redfield, South Dakota, was sentenced earlier this year to 180 days in jail for second-degree manslaughter. She was pregnant with her second child at the time of Ruiz’s death and their son was born in September. The couple also have a daughter who was born before the deadly stunt and they had an enviable relationship.
In the released portion of the video from the stunt, Ruiz addresses the camera and says: “So if I’m going to die, I’m pretty much ready to go to heaven right now. If I die, I’ll be ready for Jesus.
“He probably won’t accept me into the pearly gates because of how stupid this is, but I have confidence that my girlfriend will hit the book and not me.”
The mother-of-two took a plea deal in December that will allow her to serve out half of her jail term in increments of 30 days per year for the next three years. She is also banned from ever possessing firearms.
After the shooting, Perez told police on a 911 call that Ruiz had asked her to fire a bullet from a pistol into an encyclopedia as he held it against his body. But the projectile penetrated the volume and fatally wounded the young father. The fatal shooting was captured on two cameras that had been set up to record the stunt.
Their three-year-old daughter, Aaliyah, was present when the shooting occurred.
“We were doing a YouTube video and it went wrong. Please hurry up,” Perez told the 911 dispatcher in June 2017.
Prior to the shooting, Perez had tweeted: “Me and Pedro are probably going to shoot one of the most dangerous videos ever. HIS idea not MINE”.
