Blake Linkous, an Ohio man sentenced to 45 years for murdering his ex-girlfriend Natalie Martin in Myrtle Beach, recently filed a post-conviction release petition in Horry County, South Carolina. He claims guilt only for “the situation, not the charge,” stating he pleaded guilty to spare Martin’s family further pain despite planning to argue for manslaughter. The petition, filed on December 23, 2025, seeks his release while asserting he aims to prove he is “a better man.”
Case Background
Linkous, then 18, strangled 18-year-old Martin on June 6, 2023, during a high school graduation trip at a Maison Drive home in Myrtle Beach. Prosecutors described him as controlling, insecure, and jealous after their breakup, triggered by her texting another boy……