A man was kidnapped and brutally attacked during a 19-hour ordeal, with his captors telling his mother he would be 'chopped up' unless she paid a £2,000 ransom.
Attackers Burst Into Flat
Millie McGreavy, 28, Joshua Hastie, 33, and Reece Jackson, 35, forced their way into the victim's flat in Winsford, Cheshire, at around 3am on January 27. They put a hood over his head, forced him into a black vehicle, and drove him to another flat in the town.
There, they tied his legs to a chair and his arms in front of him before 'systematically attacking' him. The assault included hitting him with a metal bar, forcing his head into a bath of water, and pouring ammonia into his mouth, according to Cheshire Police.
Ransom Demand
The victim's mother alerted police at around 2.30pm that day, reporting her son missing and saying she had received calls and messages threatening to harm him. The kidnappers told her to meet them at Knights Grange sports and nature complex in Winsford with £2,000, or he would be killed and 'chopped up.'
Officers began searching for the victim, but he managed to escape after approximately 19 hours. At around 10pm that night, a resident on Hemswell Close in Winsford contacted police, saying a man had come to her home claiming he had been kidnapped and was too scared to leave. Officers confirmed it was the same victim.
Arrests and Court Appearance
Hastie, of Weaver Grove, was arrested near the scene. McGreavy, of Launceston Close, and Jackson, of Austin Close, were arrested in Grimsby six days later. All three pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and assault at Cheshire Crown Court on July 22.
Detective Sergeant Neil Mooney, from Cheshire Police's Northwich CID, praised the officers' work and the victim's bravery. 'To be forcibly held against your will, tied to a chair and repeatedly attacked must have been terrifying and something that nobody should ever have to experience,' he said. 'While he will never be able to forget what happened to him that day, I do hope the fact that McGreavy, Hastie and Jackson have all been held accountable for their actions will provide him with some closure.'
The trio will be sentenced in October.
