A Columbus man will face murder charges in the death of his girlfriend, who died over a month after she was injured at their apartment on the Northeast Side, police said.
Nathaniel Wilkins, 51, brought his girlfriend, Sara Estep, 53, to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center on Sept. 5 for "injuries she sustained while at their residence," Columbus police said in a news release. Court records list their address on the 1600 block of Arlington Avenue, in North Linden.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in the Franklin County Municipal Court, officers went to the hospital on a suspected domestic violence report. Estep was taken to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center from Grant with severe burns, according to court records.
Medical staff
at Grant told them Estep had burns on her chest and neck along with bruising on her legs and stomach, and Wilkins seemed to be trying to answer questions for her.
Estep told detectives at the OSU hospital Wilkins pushed her after she refused to get into a bathtub with water that was too hot, according to the affidavit. She said he became angry and put his hands around her neck, forcing her into the water.
Police observed severe burns to her face, chest and throat, as well as bruising on her throat, stomach and legs, according to the affidavit. She told detectives she lost consciousness during the assault.
The Columbus police Domestic Violence Unit investigated, and Wilkins was charged with felonious assault, strangulation and domestic violence.
On Oct. 16, Estep died from her injuries, according to the news release. The Franklin County Coroner's Office notified police Oct. 21 that Estep died by homicide, and Wilkins will be charged with murder for her death, according to the news release.
As of Oct. 26, Wilkins was not yet officially charged with murder but remained at the Franklin County Jail in lieu of a bond for his previous charges. Police arrested him on the felonious assault charge Sept. 10, and on Sept. 17, a Franklin County grand jury indicted him on strangulation and domestic violence charges in addition to felonious assault.
Public safety and breaking news reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus man to face murder charge after girlfriend dies from injuries
