Insets: Thomaz Hamilton (Mecklenburg County Jail) and Isabella Mary Alexandria Stroupe (GoFundMe). Background: The apartment complex in Charlotte, N.C., where Hamilton allegedly tortured Stroupe to death (Google Maps).
A North Carolina man allegedly tortured his girlfriend for months after he tied her down to a bed with tow straps and repeatedly stabbed her until she died.
Thomaz Hamilton, 24, stands accused of first-degree murder and first-degree forcible rape in the death of 19-year-old Isabella Mary Alexandria Stroupe in Charlotte.
The investigation began around 3:30 a.m. May 1 when officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded to a QuikTrip gas station in the Hickory Grove neighborhood, an arrest affidavit said. Hamilton told cops his girlfriend at his nearby apartment had stopped breathing.
Cops rushed to the apartment, where they found Stroupe unconscious on a bed. She had minimal clothing on and was tied down with tow straps. She was suffering from multiple injuries. Paramedics pronounced her dead.
A search of the apartment yielded a bloodied knife wrapped in cellophane, a baseball bat and a sword, the affidavit stated. There was also a mattress and several clothing items with blood on them, cops said.
In an interview with detectives, Hamilton claimed Stroupe suffered a heart attack while they were having sex.
But an autopsy revealed that the victim died after suffering multiple fractured bones along with stab wounds. Her death was deemed a homicide, according to cops.
Investigators also determined Stroupe was being "tortured over a period of several months" and would have been "physically unable" to consent to sex.
Hamilton was arrested and taken to the Mecklenburg County Jail, where he is being held without bond. His next court date is set for May 27.
Stroupe's sister, Marleigh Bailey, started a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral expenses. She described her sister as a "total bookworm" who enjoyed reading fan fiction.
"Our family was completely unprepared for this loss. We never imagined we would be facing such a heartbreaking situation, and now we are struggling to find the resources to give her the farewell she deserves. Losing Isabella has left a huge hole in our lives, and we are reaching out for help to cover the costs of her burial and memorial service," Bailey wrote.