A young man was sentenced to 45 years in prison for strangling his ex-girlfriend during a senior trip in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He had reached a plea agreement with Horry County prosecutors to plead guilty to one count of murder.

Blake William Linkous was 18 when he ended the life of Natalie Jane Martin, also 18, in June 2023. As Judge Deadra L. Jefferson put it, he, in essence, ended his own life as well. Natalie Martin’s father, Jesse Martin, minced no words in a victim impact statement on Monday. Linkous, he said, “wrapped his greasy cowardly hands around her neck and he strangled the life out of her.”

Citing her experience, Jefferson emphasized the inherently brutal nature of this cause of death: “Manual strangulation takes an inordinate amount of force.” She acknowledged mitigating factors, including Linkous being on the autism spectrum, which affects one’s ability to comport their behavior in regard to explosive anger. The judge acknowledged the presence of alcohol, the defendant’s relatively young age, and his experience. She nonetheless said that a minimum sentence of 30 years would not be appropriate.