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'An amazing girl': Friends mourn UWM student murdered in Milwaukee

Posted at 10:15 PM, Apr 16, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-17 10:45:50-04

WAUKESHA -- A missing Waukesha woman and UWM student was found dead in Milwaukee Sunday.

Alyssa Guehlstorf said she was Shannon Mani’s first friend at UWM.

“She made a post saying, 'Hi. My name is Shannon. I’m moving here from Washington state. I’m really looking for some friends',” said Alyssa Guehlstorf. 

Guehlstorf responded and the two started hanging out, going to the zoo and college concerts. 

“We talked about what we wanted to be when we grew up and how much we loved our families and how excited we were to meet boys and have the normal college experience,” said Guehlstorf. 

Police said Mani was shot and stabbed Friday in the 3400 block of North 77th Street in Milwaukee. She was reported missing by Waukesha Police initially. 

Milwaukee Police said officers arrested a known suspect in connection with this homicide. Police haven’t named the suspect.

“It’s insane to hear something like that would happen to one of your friends,” said Guehlstorf. 

Friends from Mani’s high school in Washington reacted to the news of the 21-year-old’s death. 

“Shannon was literally one of the kindest and humble people I ever met,” said her former high school classmate Kylee Bott. 

“We went to a small high school and our community will be hurting as we try to process this,” Bott also said. 

Another friend, who wished to remain anonymous, told TODAY'S TMJ4, Mani broke up with her boyfriend about a month and a half ago. 

Mani’s former neighbor in Birch Bay, Washington, Ana Cecilia, spoke with TODAY'S TMJ4 via Facebook Messenger. She lived near the Mani family for a decade. 

“How could somebody do such awful things to a beautiful lady? She was an amazing girl,” said Cecilia.