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An Ohio teenager was reportedly strangled to death by her boyfriend near Myrtle Beach just a month after graduation.
Natalie Martin, 18, of Roseville, was enjoying a trip to South Carolina to celebrate her recent high school graduation when her ex-boyfriend Blake William Linkous, also 18, of Blue Rock, allegedly strangled her to death inside a hotel room on Maison Drive on June 7.
Linkous was arrested Thursday, according to Horry County Police Department, and charged with murder for the suspected manually strangling the teenager to death before abandoning her body. She was pronounced dead at the scene after being found unresponsive.
‘Blake William Linkous did with malice aforethought cause the death of Natalie Martin. The defendant did so by manually strangling the victim,’ the incident, viewed by Fox News, said.
Police have not released a motive for the crime.
Natalie Martin, 18, of Roseville, was enjoying a trip to South Carolina to celebrate her recent high school graduation when her ex-boyfriend Blake William Linkous, also 18, of Blue Rock, allegedly strangled her to death inside a hotel room on Maison Drive on June 7
Linkous was arrested Thursday, according to Horry County Police Department, and charged with murder for the suspected manually strangling the teenager to death before abandoning her body
However, the former couple had broken up at the beginning of the year, a friend told the Sun News. Their Facebook pages show the pair had attended prom as a couple. The couple had been together for years prior to their breakup, the friend said.
Linkous is currently being held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center without bond.
The pair had graduated from Philo High School in Ohio on May 26 and Martin was working as a childcare provider at Sundale Kids at the time of her death.
The teens were staying near Myrtle Beach on a senior trip, which was not funded by the school, Superintendent Kacey Cottrill of the Franklin Local School District told the Sun News.
Police have not released a motive for the crime. However, the former couple had broken up at the beginning of the year,
Their Facebook pages show the pair had attended prom as a couple. The couple had been together for years prior to their breakup
Linkous is currently being held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center without bond
The school received confirmation of their former student’s death on Thursday.
‘It’s hard for us to wrap our head around,’ Dawson told the Sun News. ‘It’s pretty much devastating for all of us.’
Visitation for the teen’s funeral will be on Tuesday at Cornerstone Full Gospel Church and her funeral be held at 11am on Wednesday.
She was described in her obituary as being a ‘free, pure and wild spirit with a contagious laugh,’ who had a ‘personality out of this world that could bring anyone out of their darkest of days.’
‘Natalie enjoyed all of nature’s beauty. She loved to hunt, shoot guns, fish, wrangle snakes, plant and nurture flowers, and could gut and skin a deer better than most grown men,’ it read. ‘Natalie’s beauty shined like a ray of sunlight and her smile could brighten a whole room. Her glowing blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes represented that she was truly an angel here on Earth.’
The pair had graduated from Philo High School in Ohio on May 26 and Martin was working as a childcare provider at Sundale Kids at the time of her death
She was described in her obituary as being a ‘free, pure and wild spirit with a contagious laugh,’ who had a ‘personality out of this world that could bring anyone out of their darkest of days’
A GoFundMe has been started to raise funeral expenses for the teen’s funeral, so far raising more than $31,000 out of its $15,000 goal.
Linkous will be held in the county jail until he can appear before a circuit court judge, who will consider bond. His lawyer, Fran Humphries, did not respond in time for this report.
He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the murder charge.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
