Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Boyfriend arrested after woman held captive for 2 weeks, repeatedly beaten

Benjamin Foster

METRO POLICE

Benjamin Foster

Bound and beaten, the woman was held captive for two weeks in her own apartment. There were regular kicks and punches and times when her airway was restricted to the point that she saw “stars and flashes.”

Then there was the psychological terror in which her boyfriend said he would take her life, according to Metro Police. And to underline the intimidation tactics, Benjamin Obadiah Foster allegedly armed himself with knives and a handgun, which he pointed at her, she alleged.

When officers encountered the victim on Oct. 2, she was in a hospital bed with seven broken ribs, black eyes, and cuts and scratches throughout her body, police said. Foster had shaved her head against her will.

Foster, 33, was arrested the following day, jail logs show. He’s being held at the Clark County Detention Center on one count each of domestic battery by strangulation; battery domestic-violence; coercion with threat or force and kidnapping, and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

He’s being held on a separate charge of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and a 2017 charge of domestic violence battery by strangulation, Las Vegas Justice Court records show.

The victim told officers that a paranoid Foster snapped on Sept. 16, allegedly accusing her of having people follow him and installing cameras in their apartment, police said.

That’s when Foster “became very physical with her,” police said. From that day until she escaped, she said, Foster tied her up for hours at a time with zip ties and duct tape, police said. He wouldn’t let her leave the bedroom, including to go use the bathroom by herself, she told police. Several strangulations made her lose consciousness.

One time, the victim was forced to eat a sandwich containing lye, a cleaning chemical that burned her hand and throat, police said.

At night, he would untie her, but only to hold her all night as they slept, police said.

The day she escaped, she convinced Foster that they go out and buy supplies, according to the report.

When Foster exited the victim’s SUV to let her dog use the bathroom, she ran for help. She was turned away by a store, but a good Samaritan who spotted her “frantic and in a panic,” came to her aid and took her to a hospital, where officers responded.

When arrested, Foster invoked his right to remain silent and asked for an attorney. He is being represented by a public defender and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 21, logs show.