Natalie Martin, an 18-year-old high school graduate from Ohio, took a senior trip to Myrtle Beach with her peers, but she didn’t make it back home, and this week people are talking about the murder case from 2023 on social media.
The Murder
Back in June of 2023, Fox News reported that the family of the teenager said that the suspect “should never ever be free again.” Well, the suspect was her ex-boyfriend, Blake Linkous, who was later convicted of her murder.
Police arrived at the rental property after a frantic emergency call. According to Oxygen, Linkous allegedly “burst out of a bedroom bleeding from his chest,” and repeatedly exclaimed of his ex that “Natalie’s not waking up.”
Unable To Save Natalie
Officers found Natalie Martin unresponsive on the floor, and EMTs tried chest compressions, but she was already cold. Investigators noted that she had been dead for hours.
An autopsy revealed that Natalie died from manual strangulation. Fox News reported that before the attack, Linkous and Natalie had argued over text messages and phone activity.
The Jealous Rage
The case came up again this weekend on Law&Crime Network’s Prime Crime, hosted by Jesse Weber. This time, investigators and legal experts took viewers back through what happened and the evidence gathered in the case.
Jesse Weber inturrupted the various interviews now and then to help viewers grasp the case.
He said, “Meanwhile, back in South Carolina, there is still a lot to process at the crime scene because detectives learn that Blake Linkous and Natalie weren’t just friends, they were high school sweethearts. So, what really happened between them?”
Suicide Ideation
Blake Linkous had already spoken about ending his life before the murder happened. That came on the way back to the condo after an outing. At the time, he told his friends he didn’t want to live without Natalie Martin and mentioned taking his own life.
Prosecutors established that after strangling her, he spent hours locked inside the room with her body and finally came out at about 9:00 a.m. covered in chest wounds, repeatedly saying that Natalie wouldn’t wake up.
ABC 4 reported that investigators found “hesitation marks” on Linkous, “showing that he had harmed himself after the murder.”
Killing The Love Of His Life
At sentencing, his attorney argued the killing happened after severe intoxication and involved jealousy along with confusion. He also pointed out that Blake struggled with autism.
Linkous initially denied full recollection, but he later pleaded guilty to avoid putting the victim’s family through a trial, and he received a 45-year prison sentence. Additionally, he called Natalie the love of his life.
True Crime Followers React
When the details were revisited by Weber, true crime followers went to have their say. One of them wrote, “killing yourself is a sin” so is killing somebody else.. but he’s not concerned about anyone else.”
Here are a few more comments from the discussion:
- “He “choked her a little bit,” she fell onto the floor, and he decided to go to sleep? That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Only a sociopath would think that would make sense to anyone else. He “knew the trip was going to be ruined” after he’d already murdered her? What a freak.”
- “Forty-two years in prison is nowhere near enough punishment for what he did to Natalie.”
- “She was let down by everyone here especially her friends who thought it was appropriate to invite him on that trip. She even refused to be in the same room with him and slept in her car, sad to see none of her friends saw how serious this situation was. RIP Natalie.”
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