A court has heard allegations that roller-skating influencer Beauty Couch was stabbed 81 times before her car was set on fire.
The 22-year-old social media star, known online as Beauty Katera, was found dead in 2023 after emergency crews responded to reports of a vehicle fire.
Her boyfriend, Eugene Louis-Jacques, is now standing trial over her death.
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Louis-Jacques has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder, aggravated assault, arson, concealing a death and tampering with evidence, as reported by Need To Know.
Jurors in Georgia heard opening statements this week as prosecutors and defence attorneys outlined competing accounts of what allegedly happened to Couch.
Prosecutors allege Couch’s body was discovered in a wooded area near her burning vehicle after firefighters were called to the scene in Austell on August 23, 2023.
During proceedings, jurors heard allegations that Couch suffered 81 stab wounds.
The prosecution also alleged cell phone location data and other electronic records place Louis-Jacques near the area around the time Couch disappeared.
Defence lawyers argued there is no forensic evidence directly linking him to the killing and no video footage showing the alleged attack.
They also argued investigators focused heavily on Louis-Jacques because he had been in a relationship with Couch.
The court heard Louis-Jacques later travelled to Louisiana, where he was arrested before being extradited back to Georgia.
At the time of her death, Couch had built a substantial online following under the name Beauty Katera, sharing roller-skating and dance videos with more than 140,000 Instagram followers.
In one of her final Instagram posts, shared days before her death, Couch posed beside a swimming pool.
Following the discovery of Couch’s body, Cobb County Police said “foul play is suspected” after officers found a body matching her description near the burned vehicle.
Authorities later announced Louis-Jacques had been arrested in Louisiana after investigators tracked him to an area he was known to frequent.
At the time, St Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith said officers were “happy to help” Georgia authorities locate the suspect so Couch’s family could “begin to receive closure during this difficult time”.
The trial is ongoing.
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