In a disturbing case, five individuals have been arrested after allegedly holding a woman captive, chaining her up, and subjecting her to months of physical abuse and neglect in a Texas home.
The victim was reportedly starved, shot at with BB guns, and left in a backyard, shackled and exposed to the elements, per the New York Post.
Authorities say the woman suffered severe injuries as a result of prolonged mistreatment.
Horrific Discovery in South Austin
The case came to light on the morning of October 30, when the Austin Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting a woman screaming for help from a backyard on the south side of the city.
Upon arrival, officers found the unnamed woman in a state of distress, shackled to a metal punching bag stand and naked from the waist down.
Suspect Mache Carney. Credit: Austin Police Department
The woman appeared to have suffered serious injuries, and the responding officers immediately began attempting to free her from the restraints.
However, due to the nature of the shackles, they called in the Austin Fire Department to provide the specialized equipment necessary to cut through the metal.
“The woman showed signs of physical distress and had visible injuries consistent with prolonged restraint,” police stated in a press release.
Suspect Michelle Garcia. Credit: Austin Police Department
A Captive for Months: The Victim’s Story
According to an affidavit obtained by the Austin American-Statesman, the victim was initially friends with Michelle Garcia, one of the suspects.
However, at some point, the group of five individuals allegedly decided they no longer wanted her around, and the victim was subsequently kept captive for an unknown period.
The woman recounted that she was forced to live outside for weeks, with the suspects beating her whenever she attempted to escape.
Police also revealed that she was given only one plate of food per day and was regularly shackled to the metal exercise equipment, often with both wrists secured behind her.
Michelle Garcia allegedly told investigators that she restricted the woman’s food intake because she believed the victim had become “chunky.”
Despite this claim, the woman appeared severely malnourished upon her rescue.
Suspect Juan Pablo Castro. Credit: Austin Police Department
Abuse, Torture, and BB Gun Attacks
The victim’s ordeal grew more violent as the days went on.
She described a particularly cruel incident the night before she was found.
After her pants slipped down, she was punished by being shot with a BB gun, handcuffed to the backyard stand, and left there half-naked overnight as temperatures dropped into the 40s.
Her injuries were extensive. Doctors confirmed that she had endured weeks of torture and restraint.
These injuries included open wounds, severe swelling of her wrists, loss of tissue from her hands and feet, widespread scarring from BB gun pellets, and significant facial trauma.
A scan at the hospital even revealed that a BB pellet had been lodged in her right eye.
Suspect Crystal Garcia. Credit: Austin Police Department
Alleged Abuser’s Confessions
One of the suspects, Juan Pablo Castro, allegedly admitted to using a BB gun to shoot the woman because he “didn’t want to touch her.”
He reportedly said that after coming home from work, he would grab the BB gun from his closet and “chase her around the yard,” even expressing his hatred toward the victim, saying, “I f**king hate her.”
In a chilling detail, Castro’s young son, a four-year-old boy, confirmed the abuse, saying that his father shot the woman whenever she was “bad,” and that his mother, Mache Carney, would typically stand by and watch.
Suspect Maynard Lefevers. Credit: Austin Police Department
Arrests and Charges
Five people were arrested in connection with the abuse. Michelle Garcia, 51, Crystal Garcia, 21, Mache Carney, 32, Juan Pablo Castro, 30, and Maynard Lefevers, 21, have all been charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, injury to the elderly or disabled, and unlawful restraint.
The suspects were held at the Travis County Jail, each with a $305,000 bond. Carney and Michelle Garcia are scheduled for court appearances on November 18 and 21, while Crystal Garcia, Castro, and Lefevers are set to appear on December 15.
During the investigation, authorities discovered two small children living at the home. The children were immediately placed in the care of Child Protective Services to ensure their safety.