Man’s obsession with famous pop star leads him to spiral into an unhinged would-be killer, the footage he left shows every part of his madness

In 1996 the body of a man was discovered in one of the units at the Van Buren Plaza apartment building in Hollywood Fla. When detectives investigated the bloody scene they found video footage that would reveal how the man died as well as his obsession with the famous Icelandic pop singer Björk.

The body belonged to a 21-year-old man by the name of Ricardo López. Police immediately got to work on figuring out what had happened, starting with the last tape. It confirmed what authorities had already suspected, López had killed himself with a shotgun. However, the rest of the footage revealed a dark obsession with Björk along with a plot to kill her.

The Björk obsession

Through the hours of footage and hundreds of diary pages, authorities slowly learned who López was. He was a stalker and the object of his desire was Björk. His obsession began back in 1996 after he first heard her music. He quickly became fixated on the singer and he was convinced that they were destined to be in a relationship together.

As time went by his obsession only grew more intense. López documented his thoughts in his diary and on tape where he would confess his feelings for her. He would also express his growing frustrations with Björk’s relationships with other men. Eventually it all bubbled over with a plot to kill Björk and himself.

The assassination attempt

López put in motion a plan to take Björk’s life with a letter bomb containing sulfuric acid sent to her address. Thankfully the letter was intercepted by authorities before it could reach Björk and she remained unaware of the assassination attempt until López took his own life and his obsession became public knowledge.

Authorities began keeping an eye on López although they wouldn’t have to for long. On September 12, 1996, López recorded his final video, his appearance was frightening as he had covered his face in red, black and green greasepaint as per ABC news. In the video he confessed to everything before declaring his intentions to commit suicide. He then took his own life on camera.

As you’d expect, this was a harrowing experience for Björk. In the aftermath of it all she left her home in London and retreated to a secluded spot in Spain where she continued to work on her album. The case of Ricardo López is a frightening study on just how far obsession and stalking can really go and the dangers such behavior poses for the individual being stalked.