Woman held hostage before being shot and killed
In Erica Welch's last message, she begged for help.
She told her sister, Stephanie Welch, "Hurry please! Come as fast as you can, but don't bring the baby."
Help came too late.
Welch was shot and killed inside the mobile home on Chrisco Lane where she was held hostage by a man she knew, according to her sister.
The Gaston County Police Department said in a press release that they were called to the home at about 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, and when officers approached the home, someone inside fired shots, shooting both someone inside and shooting at the officers.
When officers made it inside the home, they rescued one person, and found Welch dead.
Stephanie Welch described her sister as a strong woman.
"She was a fighter. She spoke her mind, and she was honest about things," she said.
She said that her sister was trying to protect someone else inside the mobile home, a man who is paralyzed.
"She said, 'I'm not going to leave Josh.' She said, 'He'll kill me, but I'm not going to leave him,'" Welch said.
Police said Thursday that David William Pace is responsible for Erica Welch's death.
The 50-year-old Gastonia man is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, assault by pointing a gun and possession of a firearm by a felon.
He is being held without bond.
Pace appeared in court Thursday. He sat in a wheelchair, and he kept his head bowed and his eyes closed. He did not respond to many of District Court Judge Donald Rice's inquiries. His speech was slurred.
"Mr. Pace, can you hear me sir?" Rice asked repeatedly.
Pace didn't respond, keeping his head down.
"Mr. deputy, it does not appear that Mr. Pace is fully coherent. I haven't seen him open his eyes or pick his head up since he's been wheeled out. Is he having some sort of medical issue?"
The deputies said no.
"Mr. Pace, are you having a medical issue?" Rice asked. "Are you able to hear me, sir?"
Pace didn't respond.
After Pace didn't respond to continued questions, Rice rescheduled the court hearing for Friday morning.
Welch's sister said that Pace was a longtime acquaintance of her family, someone she had considered a friend.
"I think he's a monster," she said, speaking through tears. "I didn't think he would do her that way. You don't do people like that."
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Woman held hostage, shot, family says
