The ex-girlfriend of a Haywood County murder suspect is speaking out about her experience with him.
Noah Bolden is being charged with first-degree murder for the killing of Julia Holland, 49, in Haywood County.
His mother, Jeanie Bolden is being charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.
Noah Bolden's ex-girlfriend, Brittney Bowers, said that knowing Noah, this tragedy was unfortunately not surprising to her.
Haywood County officials said in the "early morning hours of the new year," Julia Holland’s body was found, but details into the investigation have remained slim, as it’s still ongoing.
Brittney Bowers shares two children with Noah Bolden.
She said she first heard of him and his mother being arrested when multiple friends familiar with their past together contacted her.
“When they had seen that they got arrested, it was instant -- my phone was being blown up for hours,” Bowers said.
She said when she heard they were arrested, she assumed it wouldn’t last for long.
Later on, when she found out the reason for the arrest, she was only surprised that they had actually been arrested.
“In the past, Noah has exhibited a lot of violence towards women," she said. "Normally, he may get arrested, but an hour down at the police department and he’s back home.”
Haywood County Sheriff's Office announced on Jan. 3 that Bolden had been arrested, and shortly after, he was placed under a $1 million bond. His mother, Jeanie Bolden, was also arrested and given a $500,000 bond.
On Jan. 30, the sheriff's office said after a county Grand Jury returned indictments on both Noah and Jeanie Bolden with both facing additional charges, Noah was upgraded to no bond while Jeanie's bond more than doubled, to $1.05 million.
Bowers said she met Bolden when she was in high school. She said the abuse began just a few weeks into their relationship.
“He would use drugs and drink a lot of alcohol, and so, under the influence, the physical abuse would start, sexual abuse would start,” she said.
She said she began living with Bolden and his family when she was just 14 years old, and that there was not any help when the abuse began, as she said that’s how his family believed women were to be treated.
Over time, the abuse she experienced continued to get worse.
“Most nights, I would just pray to die, that... he would finally kill me just so I wouldn’t have to live with that anymore,” she said.
Bowers said the abuse continued for two years until her daughter ended up in the hospital with a broken leg, which then got the Department of Social Services involved. DSS was able to relocate Bowers and her two children.
While she said she is glad to see Bolden incarcerated, she said she won’t feel relief or that real justice has been served until a sentence is given to ensure he will finally be held accountable for his actions.
She said she wants to see Bolden spend the rest of his life behind bars.
“It wouldn’t be fair for him to get the death penalty and die. He deserves to sit in prison every day and think about every single thing he’s ever done to anybody and have to suffer from it,” she expressed.
Bowers said after she found out what happened to Julia Holland, she took to Facebook, where she expressed details about what she had been through for years with Bolden.
She then connected with many of Holland’s loved ones and said they’ve been a support system for one another through this.
“They reached out and asked, 'How did he get to do this?' and I’ve told them, 'I don’t know. Unfortunately, you know, it shouldn’t have ever happened, but I’m always here if you need someone to talk to,'” she said.
Bowers said she hates what happened to Holland and that since she can’t be brought back from this tragedy, the best thing to happen is for Bolden to finally be held accountable.
“Had Noah been held accountable -- and even his mom -- Julia would still be here,” she said.
Noah Bolden’s record, according to the N.C. Department of Adult Corrections, includes assault on a female and violation of protective order.
Bowers said there is a lot more that Bolden has done that has disappeared completely, and she said those things would have pointed to something like Julia Holland's murder happening.
She said she was hopeful that with a new sheriff in Haywood County and a new team that’s investigating this case, justice will be served.
“I’m hopeful," Bowers said. "I’m trying to place my trust in them and hope that, you know, they truly are doing everything that they can.”