Massachusetts woman, 24, is killed in murder-suicide by 'obsessive' boyfriend she'd been dating for TWO MONTHS after he seized her phone and shoved her into dresser

A young mental health worker endured two months of violence at the hands of her obsessive new boyfriend before he shot her dead and turned the gun on himself, police believe.

Loren Marino, 24, was found dead at her home in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on Sunday night alongside the body of Austin Amaral, also 24.

Loren's best friend Katie Iandolo said the couple had known each other for some time but their relationship immediately turned violent after they started dating at the start of the year.

'There was a lot of obsession with him. He kind of came and never left,' she told Boston25. 'He didn't want anybody but him to have a relationship with her.'

Amaral, from North Providence, Rhode Island, began controlling Marino's social life and was viciously possessive, she said.

Loren Marino, 24, was just two months into her relationship with Austin Amaral when he shot her dead and turned the gun on himself at her home in Haverhill, Massachusetts   

Katie Iandolo, front, said her best friend endured violence and controlling behavior at the hands of her new boyfriend and urged women in the same situation to leave their partners

'He shoved her into a dresser hard. I kind of freaked out on him,' she said.

'He was so psychotic in his eyes when he was yelling at me.'

Amaral, believed to have a young son from a previous relationship, made sure that Iandolo saw the two guns he had brought to Marino's apartment and began trying to separate Marino from her friends.

'We had an instant connection. The day we met, we used to call each other soul sisters,' she said.

'While she was sleeping, he took her phone and blocked me from it.

'He removed me from her Facebook, her Snapchat and her Instagram.'

Marino, originally from Rhode Island herself, worked as a mental healthcare professional at Anodyne Medical Services and had aspirations to become a registered nurse.

'I was flying back from Las Vegas, and I got these words: Loren got murdered,' Iandolo said.

'I was hysterical. People were bringing me water and praying over me.'

Her professional experience could not protect her from the violence of her boyfriend, and Iandolo urged others experiencing violence in their relationships to get out at the first opportunity.

Cops outside Marino's home in Haverhill, MA, on Sunday night where they found the couple's dead bodies

'First red flag, please just go,' she said. 

'It's only going to get worse. There's no fixing somebody. There's no light at the end of that kind of tunnel.'

Now the friends that Amaral tried to exclude are preparing to attend Marino's funeral on Sunday, and trying to find foster homes for her two beloved dogs that were found unharmed beside her dead body.

'Loren was a beautiful strong young lady, her amazing beautiful spirit always lit up the room,' a tribute to her reads.

'She was the life of the party, and loved to dance, sing and cook. But most of all, she loved her family, her Little Raskals, Darla and Spanky and her many friends.'