HORRY COUNTY, S.C. – An Ohio man who admitted to strangling his ex-girlfriend to death in South Carolina is now challenging his conviction.
Blake Linkous, 20, filed for post-conviction relief on Tuesday, months after pleading guilty to murder in the death of 18-year-old Natalie Martin.
Linkous, of Blue Rock, Ohio, argued that he was not guilty of murder because the killing was not intentional or premeditated. He added that he would fight to get his charge downgraded and explained why he pleaded guilty to murder.
“I was going to trial, backed out on the day of and plead guilty,” Linkous wrote. “I felt too bad going about this case any longer, putting the victim’s family through that. I’m guilty of the situation, not the charge.”…