A Kansas man kept his ex-girlfriend hostage in her apartment for months, raping her at least twice before he was discovered, authorities said.
The terrified woman finally managed to mail a message to the manager at the Lenexa apartment complex, hiding it in an envelope with the rent check, police Cpt. Diana Mendoza told the Daily News.
The 46-year-old woman laid out a simple but daring plan in the note — if police could send a maintenance worker to open the door, she’d run to them.
“That’s precisely what we did,” Mendoza said.
The maintenance man at Lenexa Pointe Apartments in the suburbs of Kansas City knocked about 8:45 p.m., asking if the woman could step out for a moment to talk to her about a water leak.
“I was nervous,” the worker, Mychael Reyes, told KSHB. “I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know if the guy had a gun or a knife.”
As soon as the woman was outside, Reyes pointed her toward the stairs where police were waiting.
She mouthed a quiet “thank you” as she bolted to freedom, Reyes said.
Officers approached the apartment, but the suspect, Anthony Allen, shut himself inside and refused to come out, authorities said.
An hours-long standoff ensued as neighbors evacuated the building and police set up a perimeter.
Allen finally surrendered peacefully at 12:41 a.m. on Monday. He told police he tried to commit suicide by swallowing bug spray and laundry detergent, according to a police report. He was evaluated a hospital, and then booked on charges of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of rape.
Anthony Allen, 34, raped a woman and held her captive for months inside her apartment in Lenexa, Kan., authorities say.
Investigators are still working out the timeline, but they allege Allen took over the woman’s apartment sometime after April 1, according to court documents.
He used intimidation and threatened her with a knife, physically abusing his ex-girlfriend as he held her prisoner in her own home, according to the police report. Allen was arraigned on Tuesday and held on $500,000 bail.
Lenexa Pointe property manager Beth Galley is the one who first found the woman's written plea. Galley was getting ready to head out of town but decided to finish up some last-minute paper work on Sunday.
"Something made me open that envelope, and I'm sure glad I did," Galley told The News.
She instantly knew the woman was telling the truth, because they'd talked about Allen when she leased the apartment. Allen had been jailed after a domestic violence arrest in Minnesota, and the woman had moved to Kansas to escape him, Galley said.
No one realized he'd found her and was holding her hostage, Galley said. Neighbors told her they'd seen the two leave the apartment on rare occasions, and Allen was always glued to her side. She learned later that he carried a knife in his pocket whenever they were forced to go out in public.
The woman seemed rattled but relieved when she finally escaped on Sunday night, Galley said. The two hugged in the parking lot.
"It was almost like she couldn't believe he was going to be gone," Galley said.
ON A MOBILE DEVICE? SEE THE VIDEO HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment