Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Arizona Man Accused of Holding GF Hostage, Torturing Her for Two Weeks | Crime Alert 6AM 07.11.25

Episode Date: July 11, 2025

An Arizona man faces multiple charges after his girlfriend told police she had escaped from a shed where he’d held her while assaulting her for several days.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. I'm Sydney Sumner. An Arizona man faces multiple charges after his girlfriend told police she had escaped from a shed where he'd held her while assaulting her for several days. Police received a 911 call late in the afternoon on July 2nd from a home in the neighborhood where 36-year-old Timothy James Wood lived. The woman who called said that Wood, her boyfriend, had locked her into the shed behind his father's home, keeping her there by tying a toe strap to her ankle, chaining the shed's double doors,

and stacking bricks outside. She told police that Wood beat her when she refused his sexual advances and forced her to wear makeup to cover the injuries on her face. He also used an electrical cord to hit her and cut her foot with a wood saw. She further said that he knelt on her neck while threatening to kill her and at one point buried her in a crawl space beneath the shed for two days. Court documents say she was finally able to escape the shed through a rear access door that he left unlocked. She fled to a neighbor's home and

called 911. Police who responded to the call noted several visible injuries to her face and other parts of her body, including bite marks. Hospital staff confirmed other injuries, including a broken rib. Wood was arrested and charged with kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, sexual assault, criminal threats, assault, and aggravated assault. In court, Wood denied the allegations, claiming the woman just got out of the loony bin. Investigators, however, said they found evidence corroborating the victim's story, including toe straps and a mattress in the shed.

A forensic nurse said the woman's injuries were consistent with her story. Wood was ordered held on a $150,000 cash-only bail. A Nebraska man was denied bond on Monday, days after he allegedly killed his elderly father with a sword. William Pei, 53, reportedly admitted to investigators to stabbing his father, son Pei, 85, at the family's home in Omaha on July 3. Responding officers found William Pay sitting in a chair in the living room before locating his father with stab wounds at the bottom of the stairs in the basement. Sung Pay was transported to the hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries. Pay allegedly confessed to attacking his father with a sword during an argument.

Authorities reportedly discovered the weapon in the home. Pay's public defender claimed their client is reported to have mental health issues. However, specifics regarding his mental health were not disclosed at Monday's court hearing. Pei, who has a clean criminal record, is charged with first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon. He's due back in court on August 12th. More Crime and Justice news after this. He's due back in court on August 12th. More crime and justice news after this. New court documents provided additional details in connection with the death of a one-year-old California child who was left inside a hot car last month with temperatures that reached

102 degrees that day. According to ABC30, 20-year-old Maya Hernandez is accused of leaving her two children ages 1 and 2 strapped inside car seats inside her vehicle as she visited the Always Beautiful Med Spa in Bakersfield on June 29th for a lip injection procedure. At around 4.30pm, Hernandez allegedly returned to her car, a 2022 Toyota Corolla Hybrid, and discovered one-year-old Emilio Gutierrez in distress and foaming at the mouth. A customer took his two-year-old brother into a restroom and poured water on his face while

first responders arrived. Although the two-year-old survived the incident, Emilio was pronounced dead after failed resuscitation attempts. Their grandmother, Katie Martinez, is devastated by the loss and Hernandez's actions. I couldn't stop screaming. I just kept picturing them alone. They were strapped in their car seats. They couldn't even get up to save themselves.

She literally locked them in their car seats and shut the doors. I can't even imagine what they went through. Hernandez told police that she left the children inside the vehicle with the air conditioner on while an employee reportedly said the children could have stayed in the waiting room during the procedure. The employee said when booking the appointment, Hernandez asked if she could bring her children with her, to which she replied that wouldn't be a problem and they could stay in the waiting room during her procedure.

A nurse at the spa said that Hernandez made no mention of the children being with her when she arrived. A bystander who grabbed the two-year-old from the car said that the AC was not turned on. The vehicle's manufacturer indicated that the air conditioner automatically turns off after an hour of inactivity, according to what an expert told Bakersfield police. The lit procedure typically takes around 15 to 20 minutes, but police said Hernandez left the children in the car for over two hours since the day in question at the spa had been unusually busy.

She just stood there with her lips done. That's what she gave his life for, was to have that look on her. Police said Hernandez failed to check on the children the entire time. I don't know what she was doing. She wasn't like that. She was a really loving mom. She, those boys loved her. They really loved her and they relied on her. On July 7th, Hernandez pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and not guilty to two counts of willful cruelty to a child. She remains behind bars at the Kern County Jail

on a $1 million bond. She's due back in court Friday. Grandmother Martinez has a warning for other parents. I mean, if you just take 20 minutes out of your day and go in your car and sit in your car and feel how it feels, I think that's the only thing that will teach you how to know what a kid feels because I've done it like four or five times already and it's crazy."

Now in San Antonio, another manslaughter investigation is underway after a five-year-old boy was reportedly forgotten in a hot car and died. Aidan Martinez was found deceased in a vehicle outside Pinnacle Kids Academy in San Antonio, Texas. Police Chief William McManus said the boy's 22-year-old mother thought she dropped him off at school, but she had left him in the backseat while working. Martinez's mother worked near the boy's preschool. She is believed to have driven to the preschool to pick up her son, unaware that he had been

in her car the whole day. That afternoon, Martinez's mother learned from preschool staff that she had not in her car the whole day. That afternoon, Martinez's mother learned from preschool staff that she had not dropped him off that morning. The boy was discovered in the vehicle shortly after. Police are investigating whether Martinez was accidentally or intentionally left in the car. He is the 15th child to die in a hot car this year. According to No Heat Stroke, 39 children died in hot cars in 2024. For the latest crime and justice breaking news, be sure to follow the Crime Alert

hourly update on your favorite podcast app. With this Crime Alert, I'm Sydney Sumner.