Some relationships end with one person considering the other dead to them. For Malik Lee, the final fight he had with boyfriend Marcus Merge meant literal death.
Merge had no idea he would be found dead in his own refrigerator a year after he met Lee. Both struggling drug addicts, they dated on and off, often meeting up to use drugs, according to CWB Chicago. Lee and his family would sometimes receive money from the terminally ill Merge. Unfortunately, the last time Merge was seen alive was June 28, 2020, when surveillance cameras captured him and Lee entering his apartment building and taking the elevator, arguing the entire time. Merge allegedly struck Lee, and Lee then grabbed an extension cord and attempted to strangle his soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. Merge escaped, but did not survive being smothered with a pillow.
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As soon as Lee made sure Merge was dead, he dragged him to the bathtub and left to buy six bags of ice, which he then dumped over the body, as Law Enforcement Today states. It was later when he decided to instead take the shelves out of Merge’s refrigerator so he could use it to hide the corpse. Police who scoured the crime scene found Lee’s fingerprints on the shelves and arrested him.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
