A Nashville man convicted three times on domestic violence charges has now been charged with killing his girlfriend.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said that Steven Cosby, 53, surrendered Wednesday to face charged in the death of 41-year-old Brooke Howard, who was found beaten to death in her apartment on Tuesday.

Maintenance staff at the apartment complex found the body while conducting a welfare check.

Police said security footage from the complex showed Cosby was the only person to enter the apartment other than Howard. The video showed him leaving the apartment as well, carrying a large plastic bag.

Investigators found that bag in a dumpster at the complex. They found bloody clothing inside the back and sdaid it appeared that the apartment had been cleaned after Howard’s death.

Detectives said Cosby’s arrests in 2017, 2018, and 2019 all related to violence against Howard. The 2017 arrest for domestic assault sent him to jail for a year, and the arrest the following year led to a three year sentence. In 2019, he was arrested for aggravated assault and violating an order of protection and sentence to six years two years later. Court records do not indicate why he was released early.

Court records say Cosby has been charged criminal homicide and tampering with evidence in Howard’s death. He is due back in court on Friday.

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[Featured image: Steven Cosby/Metropolitan Nashville Police Department]