BATTLE CREEK (WKZO-AM) — It was a domestic violence case in Battle Creek that shocked the community and invigorated local efforts to help women in abusive situations to get help.
Now, the suspect in the beating death of Joy Carpenter, 31, has been bound over to stand trial.
Chris Carpenter, 31, is charged with open murder, which means the jury could find him guilty of either first- or second-degree murder, or not guilty based on the testimony and evidence they see at trial.
Carpenter is charged with beating his wife beyond recognition last December, then agreeing to take her to the emergency room, but only if she promised to blame her injuries on a group of other women.
It was a promise she broke, identifying him as her attacker before she died two days later.
A series of preliminary hearings concluded Thursday with testimony from another jail inmate who claimed that Carpenter confessed to the crime while they were sharing a cell.
Carpenter is being held without bond.
