A woman who allegedly spent two years chained to a bed while being beaten and sexually assaulted was freed after a repairman heard her muffled screams in Fargo, North Dakota. Officers found the victim secured to a bed frame with a padlock around one of her ankles.
Victim's Account and Arrests
Taken to hospital, the woman reportedly said she had been sexually assaulted and beaten by her ex-husband, 40-year-old Arturo Calzada Becerril, and his girlfriend, 41-year-old Erendira Amoles. The couple allegedly tried to use her to strengthen his immigration position.
Speaking through a translation app, the victim told police that Calzada Becerril had brought her from Mexico in 2024, holding her captive in the residence for years, with a security camera aimed at her bed and the bedroom windows covered with tin foil, according to Valley News Live.
Details from Court Records
Court records show that Amoles returned to the flat with her eight-year-old daughter soon after officers released the victim; all three are reported to come from the same town in Mexico.
According to court records, Calzada Becerril allegedly held the woman prisoner so that "she did not run away" because she was addicted to drugs and he did not want her to start using again, Inforum reported. An investigative report viewed by Inforum read: "The chains on the headboard appeared secured together with large bolts, washers, and nuts. The chain was wrapped around the headboard and sheathed in a foam pool noodle. The chains at the head and the foot of the bed both had Master Lock brand padlocks on them."
Injuries and Neighbours' Reactions
The victim was found with bruising on her arms, legs and face, and told officers she had been struck, resulting in a scar on her forehead. She also told police that on one occasion Calzada Becerril and Amoles allegedly restrained her, assaulted and sexually attacked her.
Prosecutors claim that Calzada Becerril and Amoles detained the woman, who is an American citizen, against her wishes in an attempt to obtain immigration status, according to Valley News Live.
Erin Schauer, a resident in the building, told Valley News Live: "We have security coming through from like 6pm to 11pm every single night. They stop in the hallways, they walk through every single building, they drive around. That is really scary. You hear about that all the time on the news, but the fact that it was literally right over there."
Fellow neighbour Reed Bertsch remarked: "It's unbelievable. I just can't believe no one heard it, or you know, had any suspicion of something like that going on. It's usually a little quaint place to live, but Fargo is getting crazy."
