Calif. Man Claimed Girlfriend Died After Falling from Bike — But Now He's Charged with Murder

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A California man who told police his girlfriend had died from a head injury after falling off her bike days earlier has been charged with her murder.

Jacob Krzemski has been charged with murder in connection with the April 9 death of Corina Lee, according to Alameda County jail records obtained by PEOPLE. He remains behind bars without bail.

On April 8, Krzemski brought Lee to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley claiming she had fallen while in the shower and hit her head on the toilet. He said she had been recovering from a head injury she sustained days earlier after falling off her bike, a Livermore police spokesperson tells PEOPLE.

Lee died the following day. Hospital staff called police, who learned Krzemski had an outstanding warrant and restraining order from a previous alleged domestic violence incident with Lee. He was taken into custody for allegedly violating the order and booked into jail.

While the 38-year-old remained behind bars, police investigated Lee's death and Krzemski's story, which Lee's family told the Mercury News seemed suspicious from the start.

"It was so fake, it was like [Krzemski] was forcing it," Lee's mother, Patricia Lee, said in April. "I never acknowledged him, even though his presence was there, to me, he was invisible."

Patricia Lee said she believed her daughter had been physically abused by Krzemski in the past, but said she was unaware he was back in her life. She learned of his presence the day he called her saying Lee was unresponsive after the accident.

"She always brought laughter and joy, everybody was so happy to be around her," Patricia Lee said, according to the News.

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Through their investigation, authorities learned Krzemski had been living with Lee in her Livermore apartment. One neighbor told authorities that one night days before Lee's death, he heard Lee crying for help and Krzemski yelling at her. However he never called 911 to report the incident, according to a probable cause statement recently obtained by the News.

In another incident, Lee's neighbors called police to report hearing a woman screaming "Help me" from her apartment. When responding officers arrived at the scene, they found the apartment to be quiet with its lights off and decided to leave, authorities wrote in the probable cause statement.

An autopsy found Lee's injuries were inconsistent with a bicycle accident. She had suffered from a brain hemorrhage about three days before her death.

In addition to murder, Krzemski has been charged with false imprisonment and criminal threats, according to jail records. He has not entered a plea. His next hearing is scheduled Dec. 9. Attorney information was not available Wednesday.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.