A West Virginia man has been arrested after he allegedly tortured a woman with a butane torch.
Sammy Joe Martz, 47, was arrested on Wednesday for kidnapping, according to Philippi Police Department.
A woman called 911 in the Anglin Run Subdivision on Tuesday and said she was hiding under her porch next door. She said Martz had struck her in the face, and her eye was swollen shut. Eventually, authorities reached her under the back porch of a neighboring house.
“[She] stated that during this time, Sammy ‘Tortured’ her by striking her all over her body, sitting on her and burning her with a butane torch,” authorities wrote in a criminal complaint. “Sgt. Miller did observe her right eye to be swollen with slight bruising at the time of contact and did take photos,” the report stated.
According to documents, she fled the home through a rear window.
“She further advised that [Martz] had threatened to kill her and had burnt her with a torch on her stomach and her leg,” the authorities reported.
Authorities were told Martz was still inside the house and there was a gun there, according to documents.
“The units entered the residence and announced Police as entering, to which the Defendant came out from a back bedroom,” according to the complaint.
Police claimed to find money and drugs – described in the complaint only as a “clear crystal substance.”
“There was also a substantial amount of Methamphetamine discovered in the residence,” said the police on their Facebook page. “More charges are pending as [the] investigation continues.”
As for the gun, they said they found an unloaded rifle hanging on the wall in the living room. The authorities said they didn’t find ammunition under the love seat when they lifted it and checked under the cushions after Martz claimed ammunition was underneath.
“Sammy stated that he did harm [the woman] by striking her and burning her with a torch on at least 3 occasions,” according to the documents.
During an interview with an investigator at Broaddus Hospital, the woman claimed Martz refused to let her leave early in the morning. She is alleged to have been held against her will for four to five hours by him.
According to jail records, Martz is being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail and Correctional Facility without bond.