A half-naked woman chained up, allegedly by her 'friends', claims she was tortured in the backyard of a home in Texas for months.
The Austin Police Department responded to a call regarding a woman who was restrained and screaming for help on 30 October at around 9am local time.
When officers arrived at the scene, the unnamed woman was naked from the waist down and was chained to a punching bag stand.
“The woman showed signs of physical distress and had visible injuries consistent with prolonged restraint,” police said.
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'Due to the conditions of the restraints', the force had to bring in the Austin Fire Department and Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services to help cut through the heavy metal links.
Emergency services then took the woman to the local hospital 'for evaluation and treatment'.
"While officers were assisting the woman, multiple adults began exiting the residence," the force added.
"Those individuals were detained while officers secured the scene to ensure there were no additional victims or potential threats inside."
They noted that the three young children located at the property 'were safely removed and placed in the care of Child Protective Services for safety and support'.
"Preliminary information gathered at the scene, including interviews and evidence, indicates that multiple adults living at the residence were involved in restraining and assaulting the victim over a period of time," police said.
The five adults in the property - Michelle Garcia, 51, Crystal Garcia, 21, Mache Carney, 32, Juan Pablo Castro, 30, and Maynard Lefevers, 21 - were arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, injury to elderly or disabled, and unlawful restraint.
According to the affidavit reported by the Statesman, the victim said the night before she was found that she was shot with a BB gun because she had 'got in trouble'.
As a 'punishment', she was left half-naked outside overnight.
"[O]ne day they decided they didn't like her anymore and no longer allowed her to leave," the affidavit of the victim reads.
Meanwhile, suspect Michelle Garcia told police that she limited her to one meal a day because she had gotten too 'chunky'.
Castro, who is Carney's husband, said to law enforcement: "I [expletive] hate her," according to the affidavit, adding that he shot her because he 'didn’t want to touch her'.
Castro’s four-year-old son claimed to police that his father would shoot the woman whenever she was 'bad', while his mum watched.
Each suspect is detained in the Travis County Jail on $305,000 bail.
Anish Vij