CATAWBA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: Michael Stephen Ricker, a North Carolina man allegedly murdered his ex-girlfriend's mother while he was out on a bond for attempting to murder her father.
According to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, the 36-year-old man allegedly killed 63-year-old Lesa Armstrong Rose on October 21, reports People.
What are the charges against Michael Ricker?
Targeting his ex-girlfriend's parents for the second time, Ricker currently faces charges of one count of first-degree murder in connection to the death of Rose.
He was previously arrested in June and was charged with one count each of possession of a firearm by a felon, shooting into an occupied dwelling, and attempted murder for allegedly shooting his ex-girlfriend's father twice at a home located nearby Catawba County.
Michael Ricker was initially denied bond
According to ABC/Telemundo affiliate WSOC, Ricker was released on a $25,000 bond in July in connection to the earlier shooting.
Authorities described the shooting as "domestic in nature." The defendant was initially denied bond for the charge of attempted murder.
His bond was set for the other two charges at $55,000.
Later, matters of the case turned lenient for the defendant during a subsequent court hearing.
Ex-GF says Michael Ricker refused to 'let her go' after alleged abusive relationship
The first shooting took place in the unincorporated Sherrills Ford area of Catawba County at a residence on Tallent Court.
Ricker was arrested two days after the incident. He was taken into custody at his own residence situated on Ginger Lane in Maiden.
Family members stated that Rose's body was discovered on the bathroom floor of the Ginger Lane residence on Saturday, October 21.
According to Lincoln County emergency services, Rose had "wounds not consistent with a natural death."
He was arrested on Sunday, October 22, in a shed in the backyard of the same Ginger Lane residence.
"I was trying to get away from him because of abuse and things that I had suffered in the past. And he just refused to let me go," said Amber Rose who dated Ricker for seven years.
"He kept saying I ruined his life because I didn’t want to be with him anymore," she added.
Speaking to WSOC-TV about the incident, the victim's neighbor Steven Spencer, who knew both Rose and Ricker family described the alleged killer as a "lowlife".
He also claimed that a few hours before Rose's death, he had accompanied her to the store.
"If I had known it was going to happen or had an idea he was even down there, I would have kept her up here with me," said Stephen.
