text: The detectives found something truly sickening after investigating my sister’s murder. My sister was one of those people that cared about everybody. It’s pretty fucked up that that’s the thing that got her killed. She wasn’t “promiscuous” but she came across as very flirty. Guys were constantly falling for her. Up until about a year and a half ago, she never had an issue putting up the friendzone when things started to escalate. She was good about that. She never wanted to hurt anyone’s feelings. Then came Derek, and shortly after, Mark. My sister and I were very close, we talked on a daily basis, and I can testify that she really did just “stumble” into two relationships. She met Derek a week before Mark. Derek was tall, built like a statue, had jet black hair and a nice smile. He worked as the director of public relations for a fortune 500 firm. He was the type of guy that had everything going for him, but he was always down-to-earth. Danielle met him through a mutual friend and he asked her out for coffee. About a week later, she met Mark. Mark was an artist, and he looked the part. He wore black jeans, beanies, and his arms were covered in tattoos. Mark never asked Danielle on a date. They actually met on the subway. They were each reading The Lessons of History, by Will Durant. Danielle noticed, and they started talking. In short, Danielle simultaneously fell in love with both Mark and Derek. Unfortunately, her relationship with each of them progressed at about the same speed. There was never a definitive point in time where it became clear to Danielle that she would have to choose one man over the other. That’s really all you need to know. I don’t feel comfortable spilling any more detail about my sister’s personal life. If you really want to read about the complications that come with love, I’m sure you can find something by John Green. My objective is to shine light on the unfortunate truth that our justice system is fragile; it’s easy to manipulate and it’s ineffective. I get it. It’s 2020, I’m not the first person to throw shade at the police. Most of you reading this are probably sick of hearing about it. And that’s fine. I agree with you. It is annoying to see social media infiltrated by social justice. That’s not what this is about. I have nothing to add regarding police brutality. My message involves police incompetence. And I can assure you that if you take five minutes out of your day to listen to my story, for better or worse, you’ll walk away with a new perspective. Three months ago, in the middle of February, my sister was found dead in her apartment. The autopsy revealed the cause of death was suffocation. The detectives asked my family if we knew of any enemies Danielle had. No one could think of a name. Like I said earlier, she loved people, she was friends with everyone she met. A few days after she died, there was another visit from the detectives. The news was heartbreaking. They’d read through her text messages around the time she died. Danielle knew someone was after her. (10:13pm) Derek (10:13pm) I’m Scared (10:13pm) Derek... are you there? (10:18pm) Hey I was in the shower :), what’s wrong? (10:18pm) I think someone is in my room. Will you come over? (10:18pm) Are you joking? (10:19pm) No. Please come. I can hear someone in there (10:19pm) I don’t think they know I’m here ... I’m hiding in the bathroom (10:21pm) Stay there. I’m coming now. Call 911 (10:21pm) I can’t. I have a ton of drugs here right now (10:29pm) It’s a man. I heard him yelling on the phone (10:34pm) He’s in the living room (10:34pm) Fuck it (10:34pm) I’m calling the police Danielle’s texts also pointed towards Mark as the primary suspect. A few weeks before she died, they had the following conversation. (11:00am) We’re done (11:10am) What? (11:11am) We’re done. As in, I don’t want to be with you anymore (11:11am) I know what you meant, but why are you saying this? (11:12am) I don’t know ... maybe Derek can help you figure that out... (11:15am) I’m so sorry. I know you have no reason to, but, come over? I can explain... The police interrogated Mark. Apparently he did end up going over to my sister’s apartment. He was heartbroken that there was another man, but he said he loved her. After hearing her out, he told Danielle that they could work through everything that had happened on the conditions that they moved out of the city together and she stopped talking to Derek completely. Mark also had an airtight alibi. He was at an art gallery, with 60 other people. But Mark’s interrogation was far from a dead end. He told the police that he’d messaged Derek through Facebook shortly after seeing his name pop up on Danielle’s phone. The police questioned Derek. They asked him why he never called anyone the night Danielle died. He told them that by the time he got to Danielle’s apartment, the parking lot was blocked off. He saw someone being taken away by ambulance. The place was flooded with police. He called Danielle around the time the police had showed up. She obviously didn’t answer. In that moment, Derek said he realized it was her who was taken away in an ambulance. He rushed to the hospital to check on her, but it was too late. The detective's trail was beginning to dry up. There were 16,425 homicides in 2019. 6,000 of those remain unsolved. I couldn’t accept that the person responsible for killing my sister was walking around a free man. I pleaded with the police station to keep trying. They told me daily that they were ‘working on it’, but rarely had an update. After a few weeks, Derek resurfaced as a suspect. He was caught on the apartment’s surveillance system walking through the building 45 minutes before Danielle first texted him. He told the police he lied to Danielle because he was cheating on her with another tenant in her building. Can you fucking believe that? At best, this son of a bitch was aware my sister was scared for her life and chose to keep up his charade instead of protecting her. At worst, he’s lying and he killed her. Despite what he said, the police revamped their investigation. They searched her apartment for more evidence, and found something that kept me from sleeping for many nights. A suicide note. Danielle wrote that she was torn apart by what she’d done. She loved both Derek and Mark. She didn’t want to hurt either of them. She couldn’t make a decision and she couldn’t imagine her life without one of favorite people in the world. She’d been taking Xanax for weeks. It was the only thing that could take her mind off the pressure of deciding what to do. The saddest part of the note was that she said she was off four sticks of Xanax the night she killed herself. She said she probably wouldn’t have the ‘courage’ to do it any other time. When the police informed me of what they’d found, they gave me their condolences and left promptly. For a few days, I felt numb. Then, I started blaming myself. Danielle was going through a tough time. Why wasn’t I there for her? What signs did I miss? I started playing back old conversations and that’s when it hit me. Derek wanted her to prove she was serious about the relationship. He’d been pressuring her for a key to her apartment. Some bullshit about mutual trust. She eventually caved and gave him a key. The police found the note on top of a bookshelf in the living room. HOW ON EARTH COULD THEY HAVE MISSED THE NOTE WHEN THEY FIRST FOUND HER? There’s no way it was there. Derek had to have planted the note. I voiced my concerns to the police. Once again they questioned Derek. He denied ever having a key. He doubled down on his cheating story and somehow found a girl to tell the police she was with him at the time Danielle died. He’s the director of PR at a huge firm. Covering up scandals is literally what the man does for a living. The police were buying every bit of garbage he was giving them. The bastard even flashed his stupid smile at me on his way out of the presinct. If you’re uneasy about the fact that there is a psychopath freely walking our streets. Don’t be. Derek gave Danielle a key to his apartment too. As documented by the police, I went to confront him about a week ago. Although when I got there, he didn’t answer the door. So I called the police, informing them I suspected he’d fled the country, or at least the state. The police arrived and busted into his apartment. When they opened the door, they were quite surprised... Derek was on the ground. Dead.