CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The man charged with killing a Charlotte college counselor and setting the bride-to-be's apartment on fire was taken to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office on Monday afternoon and remains in custody, officials said.
Mathew Benner, 27, will face charges that he killed Amanda Strous, 27, and set her apartment on fire.
Deputies in Nye County, Nevada, arrested Benner on June 20 after detectives from Charlotte tracked his cellphone to the small city west of Las Vegas and notified the sheriff’s office there.
Benner lived in an apartment directly above Strous and police sources said they believe he may have been stalking her. They said police found some of her personal belongings in Benner’s apartment, along with a diary he had kept, which contains some troubling entries.
Strous moved to Charlotte last summer. She grew up in York, Pennsylvania.
She spent years as an assistant field hockey coach at her alma mater Shippensburg University. She was set to get married this month.
A Charlotte defense attorney said even though Benner was said to have confessed to deputies in Nevada, it may not be enough. However, investigators said the diary could help them build their case.