Daughter of slain woman in disbelief over suspect's past

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kelsey Gutnick didn't know about Jimmy Estes' past conviction for stabbing his former girlfriend until Eyewitness News ran the story Tuesday at 11 p.m.
 
Now Kelsey Gutnick said she is questioning everything he ever told her and the relationship he had with her mother, Fran Gutnick.

Man charged in Steele Creek slaying has violent past
 
Police said Fran Gutnick died of assault wounds and Estes is the suspect in a homicide.
 
Kelsey Gutnick said her mom was selfless, fun-loving and never without a smile.
 
"Anytime I was having a bad day, she would always just drop whatever it is, come straight home and put a smile on my face automatically," Gutnick said of her late mother.
 
Her mom started dating Estes around Thanksgiving.
 
The couple lived together for a short time at the home where Kelsey Gutnick found her mom late Sunday night.
 
"I just saw a big yellow blanket with my mom's hair sticking out one side and her feet sticking out the other side," she said. "I didn't even have to check her pulse. I knew she was dead."
 
Kelsey Gutnick wanted to talk to Eyewitness News after seeing the interview last night with Jill Hunter, whose mother Robin Williams dated Estes in 1999.
 
He was charged with assault and battery with intent to kill after Williams was found stabbed multiple times and nearly died.
 
A jury convicted him of a lesser charge of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
 
Estes served five years of a 10-year sentence because the South Carolina Department of Corrections said he earned work and education credits to reduce his time.
 
When Hunter also told us her mom is still legally married to Estes, Kelsey Gutnick's was in disbelief.  She said the man who once made her mom so happy was a liar.
 
"He would always say he's never been married. He's never been in anything serious," Kelsey Gutnick said. "It just seemed like he was so honest. I can't even believe it."
 
From this, Kelsey Gutnick said she's learned that trust should be earned.

"I'm just really relieved (her mom) is in heaven and she doesn't have to worry about any of this because this stuff would break her heart," Gutnick said.
 
She said she has her mother's strength and with the support of family and friends, she'll make it through and hopes justice will be served.

WSOC