A 19-year-old woman was found dead, tied to a bloodstained mattress, after allegedly enduring months of torture and rape at the hands of her boyfriend, according to court documents in North Carolina, United States.
Police officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded to a call on May 1 regarding an unresponsive woman at a home on Yateswood Drive in east Charlotte. There they discovered Isabella Alexandria Stroupe deceased at the scene. The Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner has ruled her death a homicide.
First responders found the teen in a bedroom with minimal clothing, bound with a tow strap on a blood-soaked mattress. Her boyfriend, 24-year-old Thomaz Kenon Hamilton, initially claimed she suffered a heart attack during intercourse. However, an autopsy revealed broken and fractured bones throughout her body, as well as stab wounds.
Prosecutors allege that Ms Stroupe was tortured over several months and was physically unable to consent to sexual activity, leading to additional rape charges for Hamilton. He was arrested on May 5 and charged with murder and rape.
A candlelight vigil was organised by Mothers of Murdered Offspring, a support group for families affected by violent crime. Friends and family gathered at Camp Greene Park in west Charlotte to remember Ms Stroupe as a creative individual who loved reading, art, and anime, with aspirations of attending art school. Her mother, Emily Stroupe, expressed her devastation, stating, 'She was innocent. She was still a kid. She didn't deserve what happened to her.'
