A Texas woman was chained in a backyard for months by individuals described as “friends,” after they decided they “didn’t like her anymore,” authorities said.
Police responded to a distress call around 9 a.m. on October 30 at a residence in Austin, where they discovered a woman handcuffed to exercise equipment outside the home.
Image credits: Wesley Tingey/Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Trigger warning: this article contains descriptions of physical violence and starvation
Officers were forced to cut through heavy metal links to release her safely, according to a police press release.
The victim exhibited signs of physical distress and injuries consistent with prolonged restraint.
“The woman told officers she had been held at the residence for several months and was not allowed to leave,” authorities stated.
Image credits: Fred Moon/Unsplash (not the actual photo)
After being rescued, she was transported to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment.
At the scene, police detained multiple adults who were exiting the residence. Preliminary investigations suggest they were involved in restraining and injuring the victim.
According to an affidavit, the suspects starved, restrained, and fired at the woman with a BB weapon while she was held captive.
The victim told police she had been held at the residence for months
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The victim was reportedly found screaming for help while handcuffed to a punching bag stand that had been wedged into a fence gate. She was described as being undressed from the waist down and unable to free herself from the handcuffs.
She was discovered with severe injuries, including a battered face, open wounds, lacerations, swollen wrists, and scarring across her body.
The restrained woman told investigators that she had been kept outside of the residence and was punished if she attempted to escape, as per the Austin American-Statesman.
Five suspects were arrested while trying to exit the residence
Image credits: Austin Government
She reportedly explained that she had been longtime friends with Michelle Garcia and visited her often, but added that one day the family “decided they didn’t like” her anymore and no longer “allowed” her to leave, according to the publication.
The suspects confirmed that they had known the woman for years.
The individuals taken into custody were identified as Michelle Garcia, 51; her two daughters, Crystal Garcia, 21, and Mache Carney, 32; Carney’s husband Juan Pablo Castro, 30; and Maynard Lefevers, 21, a family friend.
Image credits: Austin Government
Authorities said each of the five suspects has been charged with aggravated k*dnapping, aggravated ass*ult, injury to an elderly or disabled person, and unlawful restraint.
Carney told investigators that the woman had lived with the family for nearly a decade.
Some of the suspects admitted to restraining the woman and offered different explanations for their mistreatment
Image credits: Austin Government
Michelle Garcia stated that she began handcuffing the victim months earlier because she would relieve herself in the yard and Garcia did not want neighbors to see her.
Meanwhile, Mache Carney told authorities that they began restraining the woman to prevent her from stealing, claiming neighbors had complained about missing items. She also alleged that the woman had agreed to being confined in the backyard.
Image credits: Austin Government
Crystal Garcia told investigators that the victim was only “50/50” capable of consent. According to the affidavit reviewed by the Statesman, multiple suspects claimed the woman had mental health issues.
The family reportedly fed the victim a single dinner plate each day and forced her to sleep outside. Michelle Garcia explained to authorities that she fed the woman once a day because she had “gotten chunky.” However, police described the woman as appearing malnourished.
Three children found at the property were removed and placed in the care of Child Protective Services
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Juan Pablo Castro admitted that he had specifically purchased an electric air weapon “to sh**t her” because he “didn’t want to touch her.”
Authorities found a BB pellet in the victim’s clothing and another lodged in her right eye during a hospital scan.
Castro stated that he would often “chase her around the yard” while firing the weapon after coming home from work. He also expressed that he “f**king hates her,” according to the affidavit.
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A four-year-old who lived in the home and identified himself as Castro’s child was also interviewed.
The child told investigators that his father would fire the weapon at the woman when she was “bad” and that his mother, Carney, would often watch and force the victim to sleep outside. He also said he frequently heard the woman screaming from inside the residence.
The suspects include a mother and her two daughters, one of the daughters’ husbands, and a family friend
Image credits: Austin Government
According to the press release from the Austin Police Department, three young children found at the property have been placed in the care of Child Protective Services.
The five suspects are reportedly being kept at Travis County Jail on $305,000 bail. Carney and Michelle Garcia will return to court on November 18 and 21, while Crystal Garcia, Castro, and Lefevers are set to appear on December 15.
The case remains under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the APD at 512-974-4786. Anonymous tips can be submitted by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or calling 512-472-8477.
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