ACTON, MA – Tragedy struck a Massachusetts community when a man, accused of raping his teenage stepdaughter three years ago, abducted and fatally shot the girl, later killing himself, officials said.

The alarming incident unfolded on Thursday afternoon, as 49-year-old Juliano Santana kidnapped the 16-year-old victim near her home following her school day. Santana was previously charged with multiple counts of aggravated rape against the teen, officials confirmed. He had been released on a $30,000 bond and was monitored with a GPS ankle device when he committed the abduction.

Authorities located Santana and the victim in his car, stationed in the parking lot of his condominium, both deceased from gunshot wounds. An investigation led by Acton police and the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office concluded that Santana, after committing murder, died by suicide.

The narrative surrounding the harrowing crimes began on September 7, 2021, when the victim, identified simply as Christina in a GoFundMe campaign, disclosed to authorities that Santana had raped her repeatedly. According to records obtained in the initial case, the assaults occurred as recently as a month prior to reporting them, and Christina had confided the ordeals to her sister in diary entries.

During the investigation, Santana requested an attorney, citing a medical condition related to his charges. Meanwhile, a judge had ordered Santana to stay away from the victim and not to make contact with her or any minors unsupervised, and Christina had been granted a restraining order against Santana.

The stepfather’s trial for his previous charges was set for July, a court date he did not live to face. Heartbroken, Christina’s mother voiced her fears in the restraining order documentation, expressing an unknown danger Santana posed to their safety.

The local community has been left shattered by the devastating loss of Christina, described as a vivacious, academically gifted teenager with aspirations of attending college. Her death is mourned as an incomprehensible act of violence from someone who should have protected her.

According to the fundraiser, Christina’s untimely demise has inflicted an irreparable wound on her loved ones, leaving behind a legacy of a young life full of promise tragically cut short.