Hickory Man Sentenced For Fatally Beating Girlfriend In 2022

HICKORY, N.C. – A Hickory man will spend the next 26-32 years in prison for fatally beating his girlfriend in May 2022, according to the Catawba County Justice Center.

Eddie Dante Propst, 37, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday for his conviction of second-degree murder.

The crime happened on May 8, 2022 at the residence shared by Propst and his girlfriend, Laura Matthews. When police arrived, they found Propst and he told them that she was not breathing and prone to seizures. Matthews was found dead and battered on the bedroom floor.

Propst told police that he left to go to a gas station and that Matthews was assaulted while he was gone and that he found her unresponsive.

Throughout the investigation, police said Propst made multiple incriminating statements that demonstrated a history of him being the aggressor in domestic violence situations.

Propst told investigators that he and Matthews had an argument. He, then, slapped her made a motion with his hands as though he was choking someone and, at some point, bit her, police said.

Matthews’ death was later determined to be blunt force trauma.

Additionally, several days before the fatal beating, video surveillance showed Propst assaulting Matthews. Police said people who knew them told investigators that there was a violent history between them.

Propst will serve his sentence in the custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.