A 14-year-Old Teen Frantically Texted A Friend To Get Help As ‘Demonic’ Captor Killed Her Mom

A 14-year-old girl texted a friend for help while a “demonic” intruder kept her and her mother captive for two days over Christmas inside their home in North Carolina. The girl’s friend was sleeping and didn’t get the message to call 911 in time to save Robin Denman, the teen’s mother.

Gary Love, 47, of Wadsworth, Ohio, has been arrested for the murder of Robin Denman and for tying up the women, assaulting them both, and holding them against their will. Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell told local reporters the unidentified 14-year-old teenager and her mother were violently assaulted during the crime he deemed “demonic.”

Robin Denman and her 14-year-old daughter https://t.co/DrX8OT1TBb

— Melvin J Hirtzel Sr (@mhirtzsr) December 28, 2016

North Carolina sheriff’s deputies found Robin Denman’s body on Monday morning after being alerted by her daughter’s friend, the Daily Mail reports. Savannah Evans, 13, shared the string of text messages she received from her friend on December 26 with local journalists from Channel 9.

“Call 911 me and my mom need help FAST!!” one of the text messages from the 14-year-old victim read.

The message was sent around 5:30 a.m., but Evans did not see it until she woke up two hours later. She quickly apologized to her friend for the delay and noted she had been sleeping and did not hear the message come in.

The 13-year-old friend of the victim showed her grandmother the text message, and they immediately called the police for help. Savannah Evans and her grandmother asked the local law enforcement officers to do a welfare check at Robin Denman’s home in the 700 block of Cool Springs Road.

When the law enforcement officers arrived at the Denman residence, they were met at the door by Gary Love. The suspected killer reportedly told the sheriff’s deputies the teenager and her mother were not at home because they had left to attend a funeral. Love then quickly took off running and fled out the back door of the home. The deputies arrested him not long after his attempted escape failed.

The 14-year-old teenager told the sheriff’s deputies her captor tied her up on Christmas Eve. She added that she had no idea where her mother was being kept by Gary Love. Robin Denman’s body was ultimately discovered in a back room inside the home. An autopsy is scheduled to take place to determine the 43-year-old North Carolina woman’s cause of death.

The teen was treated and released from the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. After being rescued and taken to the hospital, the young victim sent a text message to Savannah Evans.

The message read simply, “You’re a lifesaver.”

Exactly how the teenager managed to get her hands on a cell phone during her second day of captivity has not yet been shared with the public. The victim is now reportedly staying with relatives.

According to law enforcement reports, Gary Love has been living in North Carolina for approximately three months. He and Robin Denman reportedly met many years ago when they both lived in New York. The mother-of-three allowed Love to crash on her couch, the Statesville Record and Landmark reports.

“She [was] funny and very loving and cared for everyone she worked with. We all are having a hard time with this,” Tracy Daniels, a co-worker of Denman’s at Mueller Systems in Cleveland, North Carolina, said. “She was a very dear friend.”

Robin Denman has been described as a kind and compassionate woman who was always willing to go the extra mile to help others in need. Denman was also deemed an extremely hard worker by her friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

Gary Love was reportedly wanted in Ohio on an outstanding warrant related to a domestic violence charge that was filed earlier this year. A protection order had been filed against him in Ohio. Love is scheduled to appear in court on January 3, 2017.

[Featured Image by Rainer Fuhrmann/Shutterstock]