By Shavonne Walker
shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

KANNAPOLIS — A local woman was left with black eyes and other injuries after she was beatened up by three women following an exchange on Facebook.

Rowan County Sheriff’s officials say they arrived on July 21 at the CMC-Kannapolis emergency room to speak with the victim, Carley Elizabeth Cox, 35. Both of her eyes were swollen and black. The woman also had cuts and red marks to her eyebrow, as well as her arms and legs.

She told deputies three women — Kirsten Layne Martin, 21, Casey Alexander Sechler, 22, and Christina Rumple Bolton, 36 — arrived at her home to fight her.

Cox said she’d recently unblocked Martin, who started sending her Facebook messages. The woman said Martin was upset because she thought Cox was sleeping with Martin’s ex-boyfriend. The victim told deputies she used to be neighbors with the ex-boyfriend and that they’d been friends for nearly two years.

The woman said Martin threatened her. The victim told Martin that she knew where she lived and to “come on over.”

Cox said that, around 9:30 p.m. on July 20, a dark-colored Honda Accord arrived at her residence. The three women got out of the vehicle. She said Bolton was the driver, Sechler was in the front passenger seat and Martin was in the back seat.

Cox had a hammer in her hand when Martin got out of the vehicle, she said. When Martin made a comment about the hammer, the victim said she tossed it back toward the residence. Martin punched the victim on the right side of the face causing her to fall to the ground. The altercation occurred in the yard.

The victim told authorities Sechler and Bolton held her hands and feet while Martin continued to punch her in the face. The woman said she tried to pull her hands and legs free, but Sechler and Bolton held her down. The victim told authorities she believed Martin hit her 12 or 13 times.

Cox said her brother, his roommate and her son arrived and began shouting for the women to let her go. The women ran back to the car and sped off. A friend took the woman to the emergency room. The victim had a CT scan that determined there were no broken bones, just swelling in the soft tissues around her eyes.

The three women were charged on Wednesday with misdemeanor simple assault.