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Houston woman allegedly locked in garage for years
Houston police conduct a welfare check at the home of a man accused of kidnapping a woman and locking her inside the garage for years. FOX 26's Matthew Seedorff has details from the home.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A woman in Harris County is pressing charges after she was kidnapped and kept in a garage for at least four years, court records say.
Lee Carter, 52, is charged with Aggravated Kidnapping after court documents stated he held a woman against her will at a home near South Union at 5251 Perry Street. He was arrested on Thursday at a motel, says HPD Commander Michael Collins.
According to court records, Carter stopped to give a dollar to a pregnant woman he saw panhandling in Almeda Genoa. Carter then returned and went to the location and offered to help the woman who agreed.
"My heart goes out to the woman involved," said HPD Commander Michael Collins. "She is a victim."
The woman then says Carter took her to his home and locked her inside his garage where she had been held for nearly five years. According to the victim, Carter repeatedly forced himself onto her, made her take narcotics, and stopped her from leaving.
Neighbors on Friday told FOX 26 Carter was usually pretty quiet.
"Everything always happened at 3 a.m.," said Jed Beights. "Moving around, back up to the house. Moving people around to the front, to the garage, was very crazy."
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Presser: Woman allegedly kidnapped for years
Houston Police Department Commander Michael Collins gives details on a woman allegedly kidnapped and locked for years inside a home in south Houston.
Commander Collins says a warrant was filed against Carter in April.
In one instance, court documents state the woman texted police through the Text Now app, who took her to a hospital and then released her back to Carter.
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There would be other times the victim would escape, but Carter managed to grab her and return her to the garage. When she asked to leave, Carter would force her to take drugs and other illegal narcotics, causing her to physically be unable to escape.
Court documents say police and fire units were at the home another time and the woman managed to escape by breaking a window in the garage and crawling out. She was taken to a hospital where Carter picked her up to take her back home and lock her back in the garage. Records state he boarded the windows to stop her from leaving again.
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According to officials, the victim was extremely malnourished, weighing around 70 pounds. She had been unable to shower for the past two months and rarely got a full meal, documents state.
There is not enough information for HPD to suspect the woman was a victim of trafficking.
Police were called back to Carter's home on Friday for a welfare check after someone saw a TV on inside the home and heard a dog barking. Authorities entered the home but didn't find anyone inside. However, a dog was rescued and handed over to BARC.
Sources confirm with FOX 26 that Carter is a Houston rap artist known as "Viper". The artist has several music videos on YouTube.
Police say they're unsure where the woman victim is now, or what happened to the possible baby involved in the case.