Woman escapes shed after being locked there for weeks by boyfriend, officials say

PHOENIX (KPHO/Gray News) — A man is in jail after allegedly physically and sexually assaulting his girlfriend repeatedly while keeping her locked in a backyard shed for two weeks.

Phoenix police responded to a home on July 2 after getting a 911 call from a woman who told dispatchers that her boyfriend had been assaulting her. The woman also stated that she was kept in a shed but managed to escape and run to a neighbor’s home for help.

When officers arrived, she told them she had recently been evicted and was living in a shed behind her boyfriend’s father’s home.

The woman said her boyfriend, 36-year-old Timothy James Wood, had kept her in the shed for at least two weeks by tying a tow strap around her ankle, chaining the double doors and stacking bricks outside to keep it from opening.

The woman told investigators that Wood would beat her if she refused his sexual advances and that he made her wear makeup to hide injuries to her face.

According to court documents, the woman said Wood used an electrical cord to hit her and cut her right foot with a wood saw.

The woman also alleged that Wood threatened to kill her while kneeling on her neck and that he buried her in a crawl space under the shed for two days.

According to documents, she was able to escape through a rear access door of the shed that wasn’t locked.

According to police, the woman had several visible injuries to her face and other parts of her body, including bite marks. Hospital staff confirmed she had other injuries, including a broken rib.

According to police, Wood adamantly claimed these were false allegations, saying, “She just got out of the loony bin. ... She has these episodes, and I don’t know I’m supposed to call her mom, and when I got home, the police were there. This all kinda broke out.”

However, officers said they found evidence that supports the victim’s claims, like chains and tow straps in the shed as well as a mattress. The forensic nurse determined her injuries were consistent with her claims as well.

Wood was arrested and charged with kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, sexual assault, criminal threat, assault and three counts of aggravated assault.

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