Five people have been arrested after Texas police discovered a half-naked woman covered in wounds chained in their backyard.
Michelle Garcia, 51, Crystal Garcia, 21, Mache Carney, 32, Juan Pablo Castro, 30, and Maynard Lefevers, 21, were all charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, injury to an elderly or disabled person and unlawful restraint in the disturbing case.
Police were called to do a welfare check at the home in Austin on Thursday after they received a report of ‘a woman in distress who appeared to be restrained and calling for help.’
‘When officers arrived on the scene, they found an adult woman outside the home handcuffed to a piece of exercise equipment,’ the Austin Police Department said.
The unidentified victim was naked from the waist down and handcuffed to a punching bag stand with rusted cuffs, according to an affidavit obtained by the Austin American-Statesman.
Officers had to work with members of the fire department and EMS to cut through the ‘heavy metal links’ due to ‘the condition of the restraints.’
‘The woman showed signs of physical distress and had visible injuries consistent with prolonged restraint,’ police said.
‘The woman told officers she had been held at the residence for several months and was not allowed to leave.’
Five people have been arrested after Texas police discovered a half-naked woman covered in wounds chained in their backyard
Michelle Garcia, 51, who is the mother of two other suspects allegedly admitted to restraining the woman outside and only feeding the woman one meal a day because she was ‘chunky’
The four-year-old son of Mache Carney (pictured), 32, told police that his father would shoot the victim when she was ‘bad,’ and his mother would often watch
While officers were assisting the victim, multiple adults attempted to flee the residence but were immediately detained, police said.
The suspects are a group of family and friends, and Michelle Garcia is the mother of Crystal Garcia and Carney. Castro is Carney’s husband, and Lefevers is a family friend.
The woman told police that the night before they found her, her pants slipped down, and the suspects punished her by shooting her with a BB gun, then handcuffed her to the stand in the backyard and left her there overnight without pants as temperatures dropped into the 40s.
The affidavit detailed that the group allegedly restrained, starved and repeatedly shot the woman with a BB gun before police found her.
Investigators noted the victim had severe injuries, including open wounds and lacerations, swollen wrists, missing flesh from her hands and feet, extensive scarring all over her body from BB gunshots and a battered face.
According to the affidavit, the victim said she was friends with one of the women who lived in the house, but ‘one day they decided they didn’t like her anymore and no longer allowed her to leave.’
Investigators determined the woman was fed one plate of food at dinner, slept outside and was handcuffed to a metal exercise stand, often with both wrists pinned behind her back.
Michelle Garcia is accused of justifying the one meal a day, claiming the woman had gotten ‘chunky,’ but investigators noted that the woman appeared malnourished.
Juan Pablo Castro (pictured), 30, allegedly admitted to shooting the woman with a BB gun because he ‘f******g hates her’
Michelle Garcia’s other daughter, Crystal Garcia (pictured), 21, was also arrested and charged with the shocking crime
Maynard Lefevers (pictured), 21, who is described as a family friend, was also charged in the case
Castro also allegedly admitted to shooting the woman with an electric rifle-style BB gun because he did not want to touch her.
According to the affidavit, he told detectives he would come home from work, retrieve the gun from his closet, and ‘chase her around the yard’ because he ‘f******g hates her.’
A four-year-old boy who also lived in the home also told investigators that his father, Castro, shot the victim when she was ‘bad,’ and his mother, Carney, would often watch.
Carney is being held on $305,000 bail, and her next court appearance is scheduled for November 18. Her mother, Michelle Garcia, is being held on the same amount with her next court date set for November 21.
Crystal Garcia, Castro and Lefevers also have their bail set at $305,000 with court dates scheduled for December 15.
