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Ohio teen Natalie Martin was killed while on a post-graduation trip shortly after graduating high school. Authorities found The 18-year-old’s body in a rental room with EMS on the scene. The police arrested her ex-boyfriend for the crime. Here is what we know about this tragic murder and the fallout from it.
Ohio teen Natalie Martin killed on post-graduation trip
Ohio teen Natalie Martin was found dead while on a post-graduation trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Horry County Police Department found the young lady dead in a rental room. They later arrested her boyfriend Blake Linkous, also 18. The police charged him with murder.
#BREAKING Ohio man, Blake William Linkous, is charged for allegedly strangling a woman in Horry County. https://t.co/30viQLIGyf pic.twitter.com/oWGwbvBETt
— WPDE ABC15 (@wpdeabc15) June 9, 2023
According to police reports, Martin died via strangulation. The police are holding Linkous without bond after arresting him two days following Martin’s death. Investigators said they are unaware of what led to the killing. Brooklyn Ferrell, a close friend of Martin, told The Sun News that Martin and Linkous had dated for “several years” but had recently broken up. She said they remained friends, which explains their post-graduation trip together.
According to the local CW news channel, WMTV, police believed that “suspicious circumstances were detected.” That is when they determined she had been manually strangled. Police obtained the arrest warrant and arrested Linkous, charging him with the murder.
Duncan Falls, Ohio community in shock after murder
Natalie Martin graduated from Philo High School in Duncan Falls, Ohio last month. Her high school principal, Troy Dawson, said the community remains “hurting” following the tragedy. He said, “She was well-liked by her classmates and teachers and was very sweet and very funny” (via People).
Both Linkous and Martin were students at the same high school and they both graduated on May 26. The high school scheduled the post-graduation trip for students. Philo High School has announced counselors will be on hand for friends to visit to talk about the situation and help them come to terms with the loss. The school has only 2,000 total students and almost everyone knows each other, superintendent Kacey Cottrill told The Sun News.
The obituary for the young woman said she loved softball and soccer. She also worked for Sundale Kids as a childcare provider and had a special bond with the kids she cared for. It also said, “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.”
Natalie is survived by her parents, two brothers, her “Pawpaw,” paternal grandmother, and several aunts, uncles, and cousins.
The Philo community suffered a terrible loss. All Donations go to the Martin family to help cover Natalie’s funeral expenses https://t.co/9Z3UbyuQGL
— Caitlin Rose 2024-Commited (@CaitlinRose2024) June 8, 2023
A GoFuneMe was started for her family and has reached double the amount requested in just six days. The money will go to pay for Natalie Martin’s funeral expenses.
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