A GoFundMe has been launched for Isabella Alexandria Stroupe, a 19-year-old who was found dead inside a North Carolina home. On May 1, officers were called to a residence in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they found the teen unresponsive, according to a press release shared by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Stroupe was pronounced dead at the scene.
Stroupe’s boyfriend, Thomaz Kenon Hamilton, 24, has been arrested. He is facing charges of First Degree Murder and First Degree Rape.
An affidavit cited by WBTV, WCNC and The Charlotte Observer revealed that Stroupe was found dead on a bed, where she had allegedly been restrained. Hamilton told investigators that the two of them were having sex when he believed she suffered a heart attack.
However, the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s office determined that the manner of death was homicide.
The Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office also found that Stroupe had been stabbed and had multiple broken bones, per the affidavit. According to investigators, Stroupe had been tortured for months and could not provide consent for sex. The affidavit also said that authorities found several pieces of evidence from inside the home, including a bloodied knife, a baseball bat, a sword and more.
Isabella Stroupe GoFundMe
Stroupe’s sister, Marleigh Bailey, has launched a GoFundMe for her.
“It is with deep sadness that my sister, Isabella Stroupe, died suddenly today at just 19 years old. 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.
“I loved Isabella deeply. She was a total bookworm, always reading and sharing her favorite stories with me. She loved fan fiction and My Little Pony, and her creativity brought so much joy to our family. Remembering her passion for books and the happiness she brought to those around her makes this loss even harder,” she added, calling for funds to “give Isabella a proper goodbye.”
Family speaks out
Bailey said in a Facebook post that her mom called and told her that Isabella was dead while she was preparing to go to her uncle’s funeral.
“I havent even been able to full process this loss and we are already having to make funeral arrangements. This was so sudden and none of us were prepared for this. We asked for all the prayers you can give as me and my family navigate this terrible loss. I loved my sister and I will never get over this. I’m so glad the last thing I told her was I loved her. Thank you guys for all the kind messages. She was so loved by us,” Bailey wrote.
Bailey said in another post that the media has been referring to her sister as a “19-year-old woman” and has even been misspelling her name.
“I wanted to come on here and speak for everybody who doesn’t understand. Isabella was murdered. That is public knowledge. The rest we really cannot say. She was taken away by the hands of another. I know she is safe now and there is no more pain where she’s at. No suffering,” she wrote.
“In the news her name isn’t even spelled correctly and she’s referred to as a 19 year old woman. But that’s not who she was. She was Bella. She was a sister, a daughter, a granddaughter, a neice, a friend, and so much more. She was somebody. I long for the day I get to talk to her again but until then I’ll never stop telling people she was loved. She will be remembered,” Bailey added.
Meanwhile, Stroupe’s mother, Emilie Stroupe, told WCCB that the family is living a nightmare.
“I just don’t understand. How do you do that to a person?” asked Emilie.
“It’s just like a nightmare that keeps getting more and worse and worse and worse and every day it’s a new, fresh hell that awaits me,” she added.
Hamilton was arrested on Tuesday, May 5 on charges of first-degree murder and rape in connection with the case. He was transported to the Law Enforcement Center (LEC) to interview with homicide detectives, and was later transferred to the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.
