Woman escapes Salt Lake City motel kidnapping

Crime • She came to drink, but when two men forced her to stay, she had to trick her way out.

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Two men have been charged after allegedly assaulting a woman in a Salt Lake City motel room, burning her with a cigarette and preventing her from calling for help when the police came.

A 43-year-old man and a 40-year-old man were both charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony. If convicted, they could serve up to life in prison.

Prosecutors also filed warrants for the men's arrest. The younger man's address in the charges is The Road Home homeless shelter, but the older man's current address is unknown.

On Sept. 16, a woman went to hang out and drink with the men in the younger man's room at the Motel 6, at 176 W. 600 South in Salt Lake City. As the two men drank, she became uncomfortable and decided to leave about 10 p.m., according to the charges.

She walked toward the door, but the younger man blocked her path, slapped her face and shoved her onto the bed, according to the charges. She tried to leave again about midnight, but the younger man blocked and slapped her again, giving her a bloody nose, and punched her in the chest, the charges add.

The charges go on to describe how she tried to leave a third time about 6 a.m., when the older man stopped her, pinned her to the bed and the younger man burned her face with a cigarette.

Police came to the room about a half hour later and knocked on the door, but the younger man covered her mouth with his hand so she could not make any noise, according to the charges.

"Sometime later, [she] pretended to fall asleep, after which [the men] fell asleep and she snuck out of the room and ran to the office to call police," the charges read.

A Salt Lake City police officer knocked on the motel room door and spoke with the men, both of whom smelled like alcohol and had slurred speech. The officer reportedly saw blood on the bed pillows, an empty bottle of vodka and another partially full bottle.

Both men admitted after hearing their Miranda rights that the woman had been drinking with them, according to the charges. The officer searched the older man and found a pair of brass knuckles and a folding knife in his pocket, the charges add.

mmcfall@sltrib.com

Twitter: @mikeypanda