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FIRST ON FOX: The Ohio teen accused of strangling his ex-girlfriend during a senior trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, allegedly locked himself in a room with her corpse for hours, then emerged after putting himself in the stabbed in the chest, according to the victim’s best friend.
Police say Blake Linkous fatally strangled Natalie Martin, both 18, on June 6 at a vacation rental on Maison Drive where at least five other friends were staying for the post-graduation party that turned into a nightmare.
“At about 9 a.m., Blake came out, he’d stabbed himself in the chest, and everyone was standing up and freaking out and asking, ‘Where’s Natalie? Where’s Natalie?'” Brooklyn Ferrell told Fox News Digital.
Two of Martin’s friends entered the bedroom and found her on the floor and began CPR. “It was way too late for that. She was cold and stiff,” added Ferrell.
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Blake Linkous is charged with murder for allegedly strangling his high school sweetheart Natalie Martin. The Ohio teens graduated from Philo High School on May 26. (Horry County Police | Facebook)
Ferrell, who was not traveling, has been in regular contact with the victim’s mother and the traumatized teens who were present.
She and Martin had been best friends since they were 11 and had just graduated from Philo High School in rural Duncan Falls, Ohio on May 26.
“I’m mad at him for being a better person than this. He really is.”
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The day before the gruesome discovery, the high school ex-friends had a fight over Martin texting another man, but the dispute was quickly resolved.
The group went to a club, but Martin was not feeling well and went home early with Linkous. Two of their friends returned around 10:45 p.m. but had to enter through the back of the house because no one answered the front door, Ferrell said.
Brooklyn Ferrell, left, and her best friend Natalie Martin, who was strangled to death on June 6 during a senior trip to Myrtle Beach. Police have charged Martin’s ex-boyfriend Blake Linkous with murder. (Facebook)
One of the friends heard three loud bangs, checked the living room but noticed nothing wrong. He tried the door to the bedroom where Linkous and Martin slept, but it was locked.
As the night progressed the other revelers returned and were all home by 7am and asleep
Two hours later, Linkous burst out of the room, bleeding and talking fast, saying repeatedly, “Natalie won’t wake up!”
Ferrell said he was alone in the room with her corpse for hours.
Blake Linkous is accused of fatally strangling Natalie Martin while traveling to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. (Facebook/obituary)
Linkous, a high school football player and wrestler, and Martin, who loved softball and soccer, dated for about three years before breaking up in February after he allegedly assaulted her at his home in front of a group of their friends.
“He grabbed her and threw her across the room,” said Ferrell.
“He tried to make amends and apologized to her all the time. He was constantly texting me asking what I should do to get her back,” she recalled.
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Linkous was known for his temper, but Ferrell never suspected he was capable of this level of violence.
“I’m mad at him for being a better person than this. He really is,” she said.
Ohio teens Natalie Martin and Blake Linkous at their prom. Linkous is accused of strangling her while traveling to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. (Facebook)
The murder has deeply shocked the small Ohio town. “It’s been devastating to our community,” said Ferrell, speaking at Martin’s funeral at Cornerstone Church last week. “I looked up at the people while I was talking, and they were all roaring. They just weren’t ready to let her go.”
The best friends worked together at a local daycare center and Martin wanted to get a child education degree. “She was really goofy,” Ferrell told Fox News Digital. “You couldn’t find anyone else like Natalie.”
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The slain teen enjoyed hunting, fishing and “snake fighting” and could “evis and skin a deer better than most grown men,” according to her obituary.
Martin was also a caretaker, who loved gardening, taking care of children, and hanging out with her three dogs and brothers.
Blake Linkous is being held without bail for the alleged June 6 murder of high school sweetheart Natalie Martin while on a senior trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. (Facebook)
Ferrell launched a GoFundMe for Martin’s family, which raised more than $32,000 on Thursday.
Linkous was arrested June 8 on suspicion of murder and is being held without bail at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, records show.
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“We’re in pain. It’s a tragedy,” Philo High School principal Troy Dawson, who oversees the 500-student school, previously told Fox News Digital. “She was loved by her classmates and teachers and was very sweet and very funny.”
Linkous’ attorney, Francis Humphries, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Martin’s mother, Megan Dingey, declined to comment.
Rebecca Rosenberg is an accomplished journalist and author of books with a focus on crime and criminal justice. Email tips to [email protected] and @ReRosenberg.
Ohio teen’s best friend murdered on Myrtle Beach
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