By Kara Berg
kberg@detroitnews.com
A River Rouge man’s third murder trial is set to begin this week, five years after he allegedly killed his girlfriend, whose family says they are desperate for closure and justice.
Efrain Medina, 46, was charged in November 2020 with first-degree murder and felony firearm in connection with the slaying of Natalie Ramstrom, 36, of Lowell, Indiana. Ramstrom’s body was found in Medina’s River Rouge apartment in October 2020.
A welfare check led police to discover Ramstrom’s body. Investigators said she’d been shot and killed, and that Medina fled, according to WXYZ-TV (Channel 7).
Medina was arrested in September 2021, when he was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Texas-Mexico border. Since then, he has had two murder trials that ended in mistrial, one in December 2022 that ended due to evidence issues and one in April 2025 that resulted in a hung jury.
Medina’s third trial is set to begin Tuesday.
His attorney, Todd Perkins, has tried to get the case dismissed, alleging prosecutors failed to provide and deliberately withheld evidence. Perkins did not respond for comment.
Ramstrom’s aunt, Tracy Curtis, said she is frustrated that the focus in the trials has not been about the domestic violence Medina was allegedly perpetrating on Ramstrom.
Curtis, who is a domestic violence community educator, said she saw risks in Ramstrom and Medina’s relationship, such as Medina allegedly pointing a gun at Ramstrom, telling her he was going to kill her and strangling her.
“From what my sister-in-law told me, she was trying to leave the relationship,” Curtis said, noting this is one of the most dangerous periods for a woman in a relationship with domestic violence. “It’s clear as day to me, as a professional. I know the series of event that happen and the escalation to get to domestic homicide.”
Curtis is frustrated at the lack of justice for her niece. Her sister-in-law, Ramstrom’s mother, is retraumatized with each trial, Curtis said.
“I’ve never heard this happening before. It’s like a comedy of errors, truly,” Curtis said. “I’m just not sure what the jurors are missing. … Natalie’s voice needs to be heard. That girl needs to be able to officially put to rest in piece. Her family needs to have this closure.
“If he gets out, he’s dangerous. He’s going to kill somebody else.”
