Gina Bryant UM-Flint nursing student shot dead in murder suicide at hands of doctor ex boyfriend, Justin Wendling two weeks after moving out of shared apartment and ending relationship.
A University of Michigan-Flint student was shot dead after being kidnapped by her doctor ex-boyfriend – who then turned the gun on himself in a suspected murder-suicide, cops said.
Gina Bryant, 25, had been studying to be a nurse before she was murdered by 26-year-old Justin Wendling, a resident at Ascension Genesys Hospital, last week.
Two weeks before her death, Bryant ended their relationship, with the woman moving out of the apartment she shared with Wendling in Grand Blanc Township.
Her mother and sister told the Detroit News that they helped her move out after Bryant told them that Wendling had been abusing her for months.
Bryant and Wendling had been dating since August 2022 – just over a year – before the doctor boyfriend took the nursing student’s life.
On October 12, Bryant, who worked as a medical assistant, went home for lunch.
Coworkers were worried when she did not return after her break and they began receiving odd text messages from her phone, the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office said.
Her employer filed a missing persons report.
It was later revealed Wendling been waiting at Bryant’s home for her to return, where he then abducted her.
The next day, Bryant’s lifeless body was discovered was next to the fuel pumps at the Flying J Travel Stop along Intestate 80 and Civic Road.
She had been left there for hours after being shot in the head, LaSalle, Illinois police said.
Surveillance video and witnesses confirmed that Wendling killed Bryant at about midnight on October 13, according to law enforcement.
Boyfriend calls parents to say he killed nursing student ex girlfriend
Police were dispatched to the area after Wendling allegedly called his parents and told them he took Bryant to Illinois and killed her.
‘They alerted law enforcement officials to the location of the suspect and victim in LaSalle,’ the sheriff’s office said.
‘The suspect also stated he had killed the victim and was going to kill himself.’
Neither Bryant nor Wendling had any prior connection to the area where the shooting occurred, police say – nearly 350 miles southwest of their apartment.
LaSalle police issued a nationwide alert bulletin after learning that Wendling had fled, but he was dead within hours.
Just before midnight on October 14, cops in Bettendorf, Iowa found the doctor alive inside his car. As they approached, a gunshot rang out.
Ascension Genesys Hospital where the boyfriend worked released a statement saying it was ‘fully cooperating with law enforcement.’
Emotional and spiritual services are being offered to staff and providers at the hospital.
Rising incidence of domestic violence
Those who knew Bryant posted tributes online in the days following her death.
‘There are truly no words to fully capture the anguish that losses like this cause our community,’ UM-Flint School of Nursing Dean Cynthia McCurren said in a statement.
She described Bryant as ‘an extraordinary young woman with much ahead of her.’
Bryant spent her senior year at Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights, where she graduated cum laude in 2016.
The 25-year-old also volunteered at the Friendship Circle, a nonprofit offering support to people with special needs.
Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said in a statement that his department has seen an uptick in domestic violence cases.
‘These incidents are tragic not only to the victims & survivors but to family members as well. Please, if you or someone you know is in an unsafe situation, do not hesitate to reach out,’ he wrote.
