Woman tortured for at least a week, officials say

[aggieman007]

Watch Now: Live on CNN.com »updated 10:10 p.m. EDT, Mon September 10, 2007 Woman tortured for at least a week, officials sayStory Highlights
Six West Virginians charged with kidnapping, torture and sexual assault

Logan County Sheriff's Department answered anonymous tip Saturday

Tip directed authorities to house where they found woman with stab wounds

She limped toward the door with her arms held out, saying, "Help me."
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(CNN) -- Six West Virginia residents have been charged with kidnapping, torturing and sexually assaulting a Charleston woman for at least a week, the Logan County Sheriff's Department said Monday.


Danny Combs and Alisha Burton were charged in the West Virginia case.

1 of 3 Sheriff's deputies went Saturday to a Big Creek, West Virginia, residence in response to an anonymous tip that a woman was being held against her will, the department said in a news release.

As they spoke with a woman on the front porch, "a female inside the residence limped toward the door with her arms held out, saying, "Help me."

The 23-year-old woman had stab wounds on her left leg and bruises around her eyes, authorities said. The wounds were about a week old, the release said.

"Deputies found her with two black eyes, part of her hair had been pulled out, she had lacerations on her neck, and she had been physically, mentally and sexually abused," Logan County Sheriff W.E. Hunter said.

The victim was forced to eat rat and dog feces and drink from the toilet, according to the criminal complaint filed in magistrate court, The Associated Press reported.

Deputies arrested Frankie Brewster, 49; her son Bobby, 24; Danny J. Combs, 20, of Harts, West Virginia; and George A. Messer, 27, Karen Burton, 46, and Alisha Burton, 23, all of Chapmanville, West Virginia. All six were held Monday in lieu of $100,000 bond each, and all have asked for court-appointed public defenders, according to AP.

Charges range from kidnapping and torturing to malicious wounding and battery.

Those arrested are white and the victim is black, and the FBI plans to investigate it as a possible hate crime, according to AP. The sheriff's department requested the FBI's participation, an agency spokesman told AP. E-mail to a friend

















This is a real sick story a true hate crime

[Aggie One]

Let's see if they play this as much as they did the Vick story which I seriously doubt.

[Bigboy]

Unless they are reading it on BDV a lot of people probably have not even heard about it. It sure was not on the front page of the N&R. At least I did not see it.

[Aggie One]

A black woman being victimized won't be on the front page of any paper pretty much anywhere. The press will claim Duke Lacrosse Syndrome (can't believe a word they say because you know how they lie).

[Bigboy]

They would probably say that her boy friend beat her up and that they just rescured her from him. End of story!!!! Now if they had a dog that had been tortured it would be the lead story on all the news channels.

[aggielove]

and what about the story of the high schoolers in Jena, LA? That's not getting the major media airplay that it should, I've only heard about it on a few radio programs!