Police in Austin, Texas have arrested five people accused of holding a half-naked woman captive in a backyard for months. They also starved her and repeatedly shot her with BB guns. The disturbing incident came to light on October 30, when officers responded to desperate screams coming from a home on the city’s south side.
According to a statement from the Austin Police Department, a 911 caller had reported a woman yelling for help while apparently restrained. When officers arrived around 9 a.m., they found the victim half-naked, in distress, and handcuffed to a metal punching bag stand. She was shackled so tightly that police had to call the Austin Fire Department to bring specialized tools to cut through the shackles.
“The woman showed signs of physical distress and had visible injuries consistent with prolonged restraint,” investigators said.
As emergency responders worked to free her, five adults inside the home attempted to flee. Police quickly detained all of them. Two small children were also found living in the house and were placed in the care of Child Protective Services for their safety.
Authorities identified the suspects as Michelle Garcia, 51, Crystal Garcia, 21, Mache Carney, 32, Juan Pablo Castro, 30, and Maynard Lefevers, 21. All five face serious charges including aggravated assault and unlawful restraint.
According to an affidavit obtained by the Austin American-Statesman, the victim told detectives she had once been friends with Michelle Garcia. At some point, however, the group allegedly “decided they no longer liked her” and made the inhumane decision to keep her captive.
For weeks, she said, she was forced to live outdoors and beaten whenever she tried to escape. She described being fed just one plate of food a day, sometimes while chained to the metal exercise stand with both wrists locked behind her back. Michelle Garcia allegedly admitted limiting her to one meal daily because she thought the woman had become “chunky.” However, police noted that the victim appeared severely malnourished.
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The woman also recounted that the night before officers found her, her pants had slipped down, an act she said that got her “in trouble.” As punishment, she was shot with a BB gun, cuffed to the backyard stand, and left half-naked overnight as temperatures dropped into the 40s.
By the time rescuers freed her, she was suffering from extreme injuries. Doctors later determined the wounds and scarring were consistent with long-term torture. She had open wounds, severe wrist swelling, and tissue loss on her hands and feet, along with facial injuries and numerous pellet scars. Scans even revealed a BB lodged in her right eye.
Police said one suspect, Juan Pablo Castro, admitted during questioning that he had “shot the woman with an electric rifle-style BB gun because he didn’t want to touch her.” He also allegedly told officers that when he got home from work, he would grab the BB gun from his closet and “chase her around the yard,” adding that he “f[-]hates her.”
Authorities believe the abuse had gone on for months but have yet to determine exactly how long the victim was held captive. All five of the captors have been arrested and “charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, injury to the elderly or disabled, and unlawful restraint. They are all currently locked up at the Travis County Jail on $305,000 bail”, as reported by the New York Post
The investigation is ongoing with Carney and Michelle Garcia set to return to court on November 18 and 21, and Crystal Garcia, Castro, and Lefevers scheduled to appear on December 15.
