A North Carolina man faces assault and kidnap charges after allegedly having imprisoned and abused his ex-girlfriend by burning her and shaving her head.
Earl Travis Deans Sr., 34, of Pikeville, N.C is in jail, charged with second-degree kidnapping and assault with deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.
According to the Wayne County, N.C. sheriff’s office, on the morning of July 14, deputies responded to a call of an injured female. When they arrived, they found the woman, who had escaped from the location where she’d been held by Deans against her will for several days. She had visible bruises and burns on her face and the rest of her body, along with a shaved head.
“She had been beat. She had been burned with a curling iron, and also, the suspect had cut all her hair off,” Capt. Tom Effler told WRAL 5 News. “So, she went through a tough time for about three days.”
Deans allegedly held the woman, who once lived with him, at his residence against her will. The victim told deputies that each time Deans left the house during that three-day period; he locked her in the closet with her hands and feet tied with telephone wire. The victim escaped in the early morning hours while Deans was not home.
According to North Carolina Department of Corrections records, Deans has a criminal record dating back 13 years and served more than three months in prison from November 2007 through February 2008 on charges including assault, larceny and resisting arrest.
Deans is being held in the Wayne County Jail on $90,000 bond.