French authorities have arrested a couple after a woman escaped what she claims to be a torturous captivity over a period of 5 years. The 40-year-old woman escaped to a neighbor’s home in the commune of Saint-Molf in Western France before finally being rescued. The incident occurred on the evening of October 14, as reported by France Bleu, BFM TV, and Ouest-France.
Police later arrested a woman in her 60s and her boyfriend, 82, on charges of kidnapping. They were also accused of torture and beating, as per the Nantes public prosecutor’s office, France Bleu, and BFM TV reported.
However, authorities have not yet released the names of the suspects or the alleged victim. Sources have revealed that the victim was a roommate of the female suspect, who is a nursing assistant. France Bleu reported that the torture had begun before the female suspect’s boyfriend moved in (via People Magazine).
Over a duration of five years, the couple allegedly tortured her and extorted her money, as per prosecutors. “She initially shared the accommodation with the woman, then was put in a tent in the garden, before being locked in the garage from the moment the man came to live in the home,” Nantes public prosecutor Antoine Leroy said, per France Bleu.
⚠️WARNING: This post describes extreme long-term abuse and torture.
A French couple has been arrested for allegedly holding a woman captive in their garage for five years, draining her bank account while feeding her porridge laced with dish soap.
The 45-year-old victim escaped… pic.twitter.com/P0ptvU6Ceq
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) October 22, 2025
Reports have revealed that the victim was allegedly made to sleep on a deckchair in the garage. She was forced to use a pot and plastic bags as a toilet, said Leroy. The couple has also been accused of making her eat porridge with dish soap. At the same time, the couple was constantly emptying her bank account.
The woman escaped on October 14, when the man was watching television, said Leroy. The woman who is suffering from hypothermia knocked on one of the neighbors’ doors. It was the neighbor who took her in and then called the police, as per Ouest-France.
During the investigation, the police found a garage door in the property, “blocked from the outside by concrete blocks.” This further substantiated the woman’s claims about the conditions of her alleged captivity and torture.
Man, 82, and woman, 60 ‘kidnapped and tortured a woman for five years’https://t.co/JSot9SSBnJ pic.twitter.com/0zYxB2lLCi
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) October 22, 2025
The couple is also accused of fraudulent abuse of the weakness of a vulnerable person, per BFM TV. Leroy claimed that although they accepted the conditions, the woman was held in, but they are downplaying the seriousness of the problem.
The investigation is still in progress. Stay tuned for further updates.
