US woman sentenced to jail for killing boyfriend in failed YouTube stunt

The American woman who unintentionally killed her boyfriend in a YouTube video stunt gone wrong has been sentenced to 180 days in jail. Monalisa Perez, who fatally shot Pedro Ruiz III for a stunt they hoped would attract views on YouTube, previously pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter.

Perez, 20, had agreed to a plea bargain with the prosecutors, which explains why the sentence was below the state guidelines in Minnesota. Judge Jeffrey Remick accepted the plea deal, allowing her to serve her sentence in 10-day increments over the next three years in South Dakota, where she currently lives.

She originally faced two years in prison, although all but 180 days will be suspended for 10 years, which will also be her probation period. She will have to serve 30 days in jail each year by June 26, 2020. She may then serve the balance of her sentence via electronic home monitoring, Twin Cities Pioneer Press reports.

Perez is banned from having any firearms for the rest of her life. She is also forbidden from benefitting financially from the incident and must pay for Ruiz’s funeral.

The judge acknowledged that Perez played a passive role in the crime as it was Ruiz’s idea that led to his death. He said that his search for fame had only given him “infamy,” which would be immortalised by recordings.

YouTube stunt gone wrong

In June 2017, Perez killed Ruiz, 22, in their home in Minnesota by firing a .50-calibre Desert Eagle pistol at him. He held an encyclopaedia to his chest while Perez stood about 30 centimetres away from him. Two cameras were set up to film the stunt, which they would have uploaded on their YouTube channel, La MonaLisa, had they done it successfully. They were banking on the myth that a thick book like an encyclopaedia could stop a bullet.

Unfortunately, Ruiz died from the stunt. Perez called the emergency number 911 after shooting her boyfriend, telling the operator that they were doing a YouTube video but it went wrong. She gave authorities the footage of the incident.

A few hours before the incident, Perez also tweeted that they were about to do their most dangerous stunt ever, adding that it was Ruiz’s idea. “Me and Pedro are probably going to shoot one of the most dangerous videos ever,” she tweeted. “HIS idea not MINE.”

Ruiz was the father of Perez’s two children. She was pregnant with their second child when the incident happened. Their YouTube channel, which is still live, consists of videos showing the couple doing various pranks and stunts.