In a tragic turn of events, a North Carolina nurse’s search for a lasting relationship ended in her untimely death. Auriel Lowe, who aspired to settle down and start a family, was allegedly murdered by a man she met through a dating app. This horrific incident comes to light through chilling 911 calls, revealing that the suspect, Christopher Whitley, used FaceTime to confess the crime to a friend, even showing the victim’s lifeless body, according to statements from her family and law enforcement.

According to The News & Observer, a woman called the police after receiving a distressing FaceTime call from Whitley, 31. “My friend just called me,” she reported to authorities, describing how Whitley had allegedly strangled Lowe, 34, in her Durham apartment on September 10. “He murdered his girlfriend and then switched to FaceTime … and she’s laying on the floor,” the friend recounted, adding, “I’m the only one that f—ing knows.”

Auriel Lowe had recently embarked on what she described as her “dream job” in nurse anesthesiology at Duke University Hospital, a career path she had pursued with determination and dedication. Her family, devastated by her sudden loss, described her murder as both “tragic” and “unfathomable” in a heartfelt GoFundMe post set up in her memory. Her stepmother, Teresa Lowe, echoed these sentiments, expressing the family’s profound grief and disbelief.

Lowe, 34, had just begun “her dream job” in nurse anesthesiology at Duke University Hospital — a “path she worked tirelessly to achieve” before she was “tragically murdered” by Whitley inside her own home, her loved ones say in a GoFundMe description.

“The circumstances of her death are devastating and unfathomable to the Lowe family,” the GoFundMe says, citing statements from Lowe’s stepmother Teresa Lowe.

“She was in ICU during her residency for two and [a] half years, and she had just literally gotten promoted into her career path in the operating room to move towards her nurse anesthesiology,” Teresa Lowe explained.

The stepmom told the Observer that Lowe met Whitley on a dating app and began quietly dating him for a few months. “She was being private about it,” said Teresa Lowe. “I think he may have been overpowering her, based on what I’ve seen … So she may have been afraid to speak up if he was there.”

According to the Observer, multiple women have posted on social media in the wake of Lowe’s death to accuse Whitley of abusing them after meeting him on dating apps. Whitley was reportedly convicted in Texas of assault causing bodily injury to a family member in 2019; a suspended sentence of a year in jail and 15 months of probation was handed down to him.

“She just picked the wrong guy, unfortunately, and she didn’t know how to vet him,” Teresa Lowe told the Observer. “What I’m upset about is those dating apps; they need to do more background checks.”

After killing Lowe, Whitley locked himself inside her apartment and began calling and texting people, according to police. One acquaintance who allegedly received messages from him called authorities and said Whitley told him he “committed a crime against his girlfriend,” per the Observer.

“[The friend] advised he thought suspect was joking until he sent pictures of victim,” the 911 call log reads, according to the local newspaper.

A total of five hours elapsed between the time Lowe was killed and when Whitley began contacting his friends, police say. Lowe’s autopsy revealed that she was strangled around 5:30 a.m. and was later declared dead by paramedics around 2:30 p.m. after police were called. Whitley’s family reportedly convinced him to turn himself in after he barricaded himself inside Lowe’s residence.

Whitley was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He remains in the Durham County Detention Facility without bail.