Police: Man charged with murder days after woman found dead inside Hickory home

HICKORY, N.C. — A man is now charged with murder, days after a woman was found dead inside a Hickory home, police said.

Channel 9′s Dave Faherty learned the two were in a relationship and that police investigated an assault involving them just three days before the murder.

According to police reports, officers were called after someone said Eddie Propst was assaulting his girlfriend, Laura Matthews, in front of the recovery center for women just a few blocks from police headquarters. When they got there, he was gone and officers said she would not cooperate.

Days later, Propst’s cousin found Matthews dead in a bedroom inside a southeast Hickory home. He said he went there early Sunday morning and that Propst was clearly distraught.

“I came … he stood at the door and he was yelling and screaming. And my first instinct was, ‘Eddie where’s Laura?’” John Greenard said.

Greenard said his cousin grabbed his hair and began shaking his head. He told Faherty about what he calls the couple’s volatile relationship, which he said involved domestic abuse.

“I said, ‘If you don’t stop, you’re gonna mess around and end up killing that girl.’ And I think that’s basically what happened,” Greenard said.

He believed Matthews had been dead inside the home for some time. He wishes he had done more and he encourages others to act if they see abuse.

“I know I didn’t have anything to do with it but just knowing that if I could have gotten there sooner, maybe it could have been prevented, and I have to deal with that the rest of my life,” he said.

Faherty learned Propst stayed at the home until police arrived. Officers were able to arrest him immediately on that initial assault charge before charging him Wednesday with first-degree murder.

If you or someone you know is in a domestic violence situation, there is help available. The 24-hour domestic violence crisis hotline is 980-771-HOPE.

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