NORTH TOLEDO -- If you watched "Oprah" on Friday, you saw the story of a couple identified only as Aaron and Naomi. Aaron was a youth minister in North Carolina who killed his wife of 24 years, Naomi. What wasn't mentioned is that the couple was from Toledo.
Reverend Aaron Estes founded Toledo's Solid Rock Ministry. His wife Naomi was a nurse at The Toledo Hospital. They left the area several years ago. Two years ago on Super Bowl Sunday, Reverend Estes murdered his wife Naomi in Concord, North Carolina.
She was beaten with a marble rolling pin, struck by a rock and strangled with car seat belt. As seen on the "Oprah" show, the medical report confirmed how vicious the attack was. There were concussions all around Naomi's face, and skull fracture and strangulation marks around her neck. Estes pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
He told Oprah he killed Naomi because he suffered from depression. Naomi's brother Jim Carpenter of Toledo says Aaron was a womanizer. Depression had nothing to do with her murder. "Truthfully, I believe Naomi was tired of his affairs and I believe she was gonna file for divorce and he was about to lose everything," Carpenter said.
Oprah says she did the interview to get inside the mind of a spouse killer. Jim Carpenter thinks his brother-in-law had his own motives for going before the cameras. "He could be looking for some type of sympathy or he could be thinking 'I want some sort of clout while I'm sitting here in prison for the rest of my life,' get guys to respect him," said Carpenter.
That respect, Carpenter says, Aaron Estes doesn't deserve.
He went on to say Naomi was also abused by Estes. He thinks the lesson learned from all this is that if a woman is involved in an abusive relationship -- don't be afraid to walk away.
Carpenter himself also appeared on today's "Oprah" show.
