Woman kidnapped from North Carolina, tortured on cross-country trip, CA cops say
A woman was kidnapped from North Carolina, then tortured as she was forced to partake in a cross-country crime spree, California deputies say.
A 28-year-old New York man was arrested on counts of torture, kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in an Oct. 13 news release.
McClatchy News is not naming the man as he has not been formally charged.
Deputies said they responded to a Chino Hills shopping mall shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, after getting a report of people “loitering in front of Sephora.”
After speaking with the pair, deputies said they detained them.
While deputies investigated, they found “several fraudulent identification cards, social security cards, and debit cards,” according to the sheriff’s department.
Deputies said they spoke with the 51-year-old woman from Greensboro, North Carolina, and learned she had been “kidnapped and forced to travel across the country” with the man and another woman.
The woman was forced to commit fraud “to repay debts she owed,” deputies said.
As the trio traveled across the country, the woman said she was tortured and abused by the man and woman, who are accused of “burning her with cigarettes and a curling iron,” deputies said.
The man was booked into jail, and investigators are trying to identify the woman, according to deputies.
The man, who is being held on $1 million bail, was scheduled to appear in court Oct. 14, jail records show.
McClatchy News reached out to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office and is awaiting a response on formal charges.
Chino Hills is about a 35-mile drive east from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published October 14, 2025 at 11:25 AM with the headline "Woman kidnapped from North Carolina, tortured on cross-country trip, CA cops say."
