Police said Isabella Stroupe was found unresponsive on Yateswood Drive before investigators ruled the case a homicide.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A 24-year-old Charlotte man has been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape after his 19-year-old girlfriend was found dead May 1 inside an east Charlotte apartment, police said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Thomaz Kenon Hamilton was arrested May 5 after detectives identified him as a suspect in the death of Isabella Mary Alexandria Stroupe. The case began as a call about an unresponsive woman on the 6600 block of Yateswood Drive and became a homicide investigation after police consulted with the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office. The charges are allegations, and Hamilton is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Officers, Charlotte Fire and MEDIC were sent to the apartment about 3:30 a.m. May 1 after Hamilton reported that Stroupe had stopped breathing, according to police and court records described by investigators. The call first led officers to a QuikTrip gas station in the Hickory Grove area, where Hamilton told police his girlfriend was at a nearby apartment. Officers then went to the Yateswood Drive unit, where they found Stroupe unresponsive on a bed. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said members of the homicide unit and the Crime Scene Search team responded soon after to collect evidence and begin interviews. The department later said Detective Fitch was assigned as the lead homicide detective.

Investigators said the apartment showed signs that the case was more than a sudden medical emergency. Court records described by police said Stroupe was found with minimal clothing and was tied down with tow straps. Officers reported multiple injuries on her body. During a search, investigators said they found a bloodied knife wrapped in cellophane, a baseball bat, a sword, a mattress with blood on it and several bloodied clothing items. Police also recovered broken cellphones, according to accounts of the affidavit. Hamilton told detectives that Stroupe had suffered a heart attack while the two were having sex, investigators said. That account changed the focus of the inquiry only after the medical examiner reviewed the injuries and police continued processing the scene.

The medical examiner later ruled Stroupe’s death a homicide, police said. Investigators said the autopsy found multiple fractured bones and stab wounds. Court records described by police said investigators believed Stroupe had been tortured over a period of several months and would have been physically unable to consent to sex. Authorities have not released a full autopsy report, a complete injury list or a final public timeline of what they believe happened inside the apartment before the emergency call. Police also have not said whether anyone else lived at the unit or whether neighbors reported hearing anything before officers arrived. The public record so far centers on the May 1 response, the search of the apartment, the medical examiner’s ruling and the arrest that followed four days later.

Hamilton was located May 5 by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team and arrested without incident, police said. He was taken to the Law Enforcement Center for an interview with homicide detectives, then transferred to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office. Police listed two charges: first-degree murder and first-degree rape. The murder charge means prosecutors are accusing Hamilton of an unlawful killing under North Carolina’s most serious homicide statute. The rape charge is tied to the finding that Stroupe could not consent, according to records described by investigators. Police said Stroupe’s next of kin was notified of both her death and the arrest. Hamilton was booked into the Mecklenburg County Jail and held without bond. His next listed court date was May 27.

The killing brought public attention to a quiet block near Albemarle Road and the Hickory Grove Division, an area of east Charlotte where apartments, gas stations and busy roads sit close together. The official police release did not include a motive. It also did not say how long Hamilton and Stroupe had been in a relationship, when they began living together or whether police had been called to the apartment before May 1. What officials have released points to a case built first from a death scene, then from medical findings and court records. Police said the investigation remained active and ongoing, a phrase that leaves room for more interviews, lab testing, records review and possible added evidence before the case moves deeper into court.

Stroupe’s family described her publicly as a reader and a creative young woman. Her sister, Marleigh Bailey, wrote on a fundraising page that Stroupe was a “total bookworm” who loved fan fiction and My Little Pony. Bailey wrote that the family was not prepared for the loss and was trying to cover burial and memorial costs. “Losing Isabella has left a huge hole in our lives,” Bailey wrote. The family’s description offered one of the few public glimpses of Stroupe outside the police file: a 19-year-old remembered for stories, imagination and a close bond with relatives. Police have not released a public statement from Hamilton, and court records available in news reports did not show whether he had entered a plea or had an attorney speaking for him.

The case now remains with homicide detectives and prosecutors as Hamilton awaits his next court appearance. As of May 26, police had not announced additional arrests, and the next known milestone in court was set for May 27.

Author note: Last updated May 26, 2026.