In late 2024, the social media posts of 27-year-old Marvel Facturan painted a picture of a modern fairytale. There were photos of her whirlwind romance with a handsome Slovenian man, Miha; a surprise proposal and a simple, happy civil wedding in the Philippines; and finally, her dream move to the picturesque town of Bled, Slovenia, just in time to celebrate her first white Christmas. Her new husband posted that it was the “best Christmas ever.” But just one week after that joyful celebration, the fairytale imploded. On December 29, 2024, police were forced to break down the door of their barricaded apartment, where they found Marvel’s lifeless body.

The story of Marvel and Miha was one of a rapid, faith-based online romance. Marvel, a cheerful and hardworking woman from Manila, connected with Miha, a 30-year-old Slovenian, online. They bonded deeply over their shared Christian faith. After months of long-distance communication, Miha flew to the Philippines. Within weeks, he had met her family, proposed, and they were married. For Marvel, leaving her life behind to start a new one in Europe was a dream come true, the happy ending to a long-distance love story.

But the man she married had a complex and troubled past, one he had ironically built a career on. Years earlier, Miha had been a motivational speaker, using his own life story as his primary material. He spoke openly about being a severely overweight and bullied child, a painful experience that led to long-term struggles with anxiety, compulsive disorders, and neurosis. His transformation in his early twenties through intense physical fitness and discipline was inspiring, and he used this “zero to hero” narrative to motivate high school students and others. However, his career as a speaker had fizzled out by 2020, and his life in the intervening years remains largely unknown.

When he reemerged on social media in 2024, his focus had shifted from self-help to a deep religious piety—the very trait that attracted Marvel. What she may not have known was that the demons he once claimed to have conquered were allegedly resurfacing with a terrifying intensity.

The events that led to her death began with neighbors hearing loud screams from their apartment. When police arrived, the door was blocked from the inside. They had to force their way in, where they discovered Miha beside the body of his wife. Initial reports indicate she was beaten and stabbed to death.

In the aftermath, as news of the tragedy spread, online forums in Slovenia became a hotbed of speculation. Some engaged in cruel victim-blaming, baselessly accusing Marvel of being a “gold digger” who was financially abusing her new husband. But a more chilling and plausible narrative soon emerged, focusing on Miha’s mental state. One unverified but widely circulated claim from a local forum user alleged that just one day before the murder, Miha had gone to a mental hospital in a state of crisis. He allegedly told the staff he was having thoughts of killing his wife and was afraid of what he might do, but instead of being admitted, he was simply given medication and sent home.

If true, this detail paints a horrifying picture of a man spiraling out of control and a system that may have failed to intervene. The case is still under investigation, and if Miha’s mental state is proven to be a significant factor, his defense may argue for diminished responsibility, potentially leading to a lighter sentence or confinement in a psychiatric facility.

The story of Marvel Facturan is a devastating tragedy on multiple levels. It is a cautionary tale about the potential dangers of a whirlwind romance where the curated online persona may hide a deeply troubled reality. More profoundly, it is a story about the catastrophic consequences of severe, untreated mental illness. The man who once traveled his country inspiring others to overcome their inner demons was, in the end, tragically consumed by his own.