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Background: News footage of the area in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., where Obaidulla Shareef was found dead on Feb. 4 (WITI). Inset: Akrystal Woods (Milwaukee County Sheriff”s Office).
A tragic incident unfolded in Illinois when a man was discovered dead under circumstances that have raised concerns about online dating safety. The victim, 28-year-old Obaidulla Shareef, had reportedly expressed apprehension about meeting a woman he encountered on the popular dating app, Tinder.
Shareef’s lifeless body was found on February 4th in Oakbrook Terrace, a suburb of Chicago. According to court documents accessed by Fox affiliate WITI based in Milwaukee, the young man was located in the driver’s seat of a parked car near an office complex, having suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Investigators discovered a hotel receipt inside the vehicle, which bore the name of a Milwaukee woman, providing a crucial lead.
Witnesses at the hotel recounted to police that they saw Shareef the day before his body was discovered. He reportedly confided in one of them about his plans to meet up with two women he had connected with on Tinder, mentioning his nervousness about the encounter.
Authorities later identified one of the women as Akrystal Woods, a 19-year-old from Milwaukee. Details emerged that an argument had ensued between Woods and Shareef, with Woods accusing him of taking $200. The confrontation, which also involved a second unnamed woman, escalated, prompting hotel staff to ask all parties to vacate the premises.
Using surveillance footage and license plate tracking, police managed to piece together the movements of the two vehicles involved. Shareef’s car, along with another vehicle occupied by Woods and the unidentified woman, were observed heading into a parking garage located about a mile and a half from the hotel, offering potential clues to the events leading to Shareef’s untimely death.
Court documents said that shortly before Shareef was found dead, the car he was in was seen speeding out of the garage and jumping a curb before it hit several parked cars and came to a stop.
Police tracked the second car to Woods and the other woman, who are both from Milwaukee. Woods was arrested during a traffic stop in Milwaukee on Feb. 5. An unidentified man who was with her was also taken into custody.
Woods was charged in Illinois’ DuPage County with first-degree murder. She is still in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail, where she is awaiting extradition. She was scheduled to appear in court on Friday.