She Was Allegedly Buried Alive for 2 Days, Sexually Assaulted and Beaten While Locked in a Shed for Weeks. Then She Escaped
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NEED TO KNOW
- Timothy James Wood, 36, is accused by prosecutors of holding his girlfriend captive in a shed behind his father’s home in Phoenix for two weeks
- The woman alleged that Wood beat and sexually assaulted her, threatened to kill her and at one point buried her in a hole underneath the shed for two days, according to multiple outlets
- Police arrested Wood on July 2 after the woman allegedly escaped out a back door of the shed and contacted police
A woman in Arizona is accusing her boyfriend of holding her captive in a shed for two weeks where she was allegedly tortured and sexually assaulted.
Timothy James Wood, 36, was arrested on July 2 and is facing multiple assault charges, according jail records from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office obtained by PEOPLE.
Prosecutors outlined his alleged offenses during his initial court appearance last week, according to KSAZ.
“He forced sex on her under threats of death. He held down her neck to stop her breathing,” a prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office reportedly said in court.
That prosecutor then revealed that Wood also allegedly buried the woman alive, reportedly telling the court: “He dug a hole underneath the shed, and he buried her for two days. This victim, very well for 14 days, may have been worried that she may not survive this incident.”
In addition to that, the prosecutor reportedly said that the woman accused Wood of tying her down with chains and threatening to cut off her foot with a saw.
After saying that, the woman alleged that Wood took out a saw and began to cut her foot, the prosecutor reportedly said in court.
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The woman also told police that, on the few occasions she was allowed to go into the main home with Wood, he allegedly forced her to wear makeup to cover her cuts and bruises, reported KNXV, citing the police report.
She explained that she endured it at first because she was homeless at the time and had nowhere else to go, police reportedly said.
Wood responded to these allegations during his initial court appearance, according to Arizona Family, which reported that he told the judge his girlfriend “just got out of the loony bin,” adding: “She has these episodes, and I don’t know I’m supposed to call her mom, and when I got home, the police were there. This all kinda broke out.”
Wood is now due back in court on July 11 and currently remains in custody at the Lower Buckeye Jail in Maricopa County.
He has yet to enter a plea and has not yet been assigned a public defender.