Local

Man accused of killing ex-girlfriend dies at hospital

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The man who was charged with killing his ex-girlfriend in west Mecklenburg County earlier this week died Thursday night from injuries sustained in a car crash, Carolinas Medical Center officials said.

Jimmy Estes was charged with killing Frances Gutnick Sunday.

ARTICLE: Man charged in Steele Creek slaying has violent past

He was in a serious wreck the following day.

The accident report said Estes texted a family member Monday, saying he was going to commit suicide.
 
The report indicated he intentionally drove into the opposite lane of traffic on Gold Hill Road and Highway 21 in York County, hitting a dump truck head-on.
 
The driver of that truck was OK, but Estes was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.
 
Last Sunday at about 11 p.m. officers responded to a call on Buckland Road near the Catawba River, where they found a woman who had been assaulted.

Police told Channel 9 that they found Gutnick, 52, inside a home down a private, wooded drive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Return to www.wsoctv.com and watch Eyewitness News for more on this story.