ROCK HILL, S.C. — A woman was killed in front of her home in Rock Hill on Wednesday, and her friends told Channel 9’s Tina Terry that her death could have been avoided.
Elizabeth Bolin was fatally shot in front of her home on Mandarin Drive on Wednesday. Detectives arrested William Gatlin Robinson, charging him in connection with Bolin’s murder.
“This tragedy was preventable,” friend Paul Elkins said. “I really think it was preventable.”
Elkins said Bolin worked at a York County bar for two years and spread joy to everyone who visited.
“She was a unique individual,” he said. “She never met a stranger. She was full of laughs. Her laugh was infectious.”
But her life was cut short. And the man accused of her murder had once dated her, friends told Terry.
Elkins said Robinson was abusive and stalked Bolin at work and at home. He said Bolin tried to protect herself and had a restraining order and a no-contact order against him.
“This is something that should have never happened,” Elkins said.
The York County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed six call for service to Bolin’s house. In several reports, deputies noted that she had invited the suspect to her house despite a trespass order being issued against him by the sheriff’s office.
Robinson had a rap sheet of about 50 charges over the years. Many of them were traffic violations, and the seemingly most serious charge, an attempted murder charge, has been dismissed.
The solicitor told Terry that the victim in that case was found to have lied to prosecutors multiple times. For that reason, the prosecutor chose to dismiss the case.
But Elkins is now warning others who are in the same situation as his friend Bolin.
“Keep pushing,” he said. “Don’t give up.”
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