Police: Hickory man facing charges after woman found dead following assault

HICKORY, N.C. (WBTV) – Police have a man in custody in connection with a woman’s murder last weekend in Hickory.

According to the Hickory Police Department, Laura Matthews was found dead at a home on 8th Avenue Southeast early in the morning on May 8. Investigators said she died as the result of an assault.

Police said they have charged 35-year-old Eddie Dante Propst, of Hickory, with first-degree murder. He remains jailed in the Catawba County Detention Center under no bond.

Online jail records state he has also been charged with assault on a female and assault by strangulation.

Hickory Police ask that anyone with information regarding the case call the department at (828) 328-5551.