Amanda Strous was penning thank you notes to guests who attended her bridal shower when her killer entered her home, taped her mouth shut and violently killed her, autopsy reveals.
The 27-year-old was alone in her Charlotte, North Carolina, apartment while her partner Cory McCleaf was away on his buck’s celebrations when she was strangled and her murderer tried to cover up their tracks by starting a fire, the report detailed.
Strous was reportedly found alive, gagged and only wearing bikini bottoms, in her burning residence but later died in hospital.
The autopsy, performed by the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office, states the victim suffered significant burns and blunt force injuries in her June 18 death.
Her neighbour, Matthew Thomas Benner, 28 has been charged with first-degree arson and murder in her death. Authorities believe Benner, who lived in the same building as Strous, had been stalking her, reports Fox News.
Strous, a counsellor at Central Piedmont Community College, was due to marry her long-time partner Cory in a ceremony in September.
Benner reportedly fled North Carolina after the death. Authorities say he confessed to the killing after being arrested two days later near Las Vegas.
A rape kit was also performed and turned over to detectives.
