A suspect accused of torturing a woman who was being held captive less than two years after his conviction for kidnapping and torturing another woman is said to have used dating apps while escaping, authorities said on Friday (May 27). January) known via NBC News.
This was announced by the Grants Pass Police Benjamin Obadiah Foster36, “actively uses online dating applications to contact unsuspecting individuals who may be tricked into helping suspect escape or possibly become additional victims” amid an ongoing manhunt during an update related to the case.
Foster was recently charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and assault, and accused of attempting to kill the victim while “deliberately torturing her” and holding her “in a place where she was unlikely to be found,” according to a Court document written by the Josephine County District Attorney Joshua Eastman received from The Associated Press.
Last Thursday (January 26), Grants Pass police, Josephine County Sheriff’s deputies, an Oregon State Police SWAT team and federal agents were arrested Tina Marie Jones, 68, on charges of obstructing law enforcement after authorities raided a property in Wolf Creek, an unincorporated community about 20 miles from Grants Pass, and impounded Foster’s car. According to Foster, he managed to escape during the raid NBC News.
Jones reportedly followed Foster to the remote location in a vehicle and drove the suspect to the property before the police raid that led to their arrest.
Foster previously held his then-girlfriend captive in her Las Vegas apartment for two weeks in 2019 before she managed to escape. The suspect was initially charged with five felonies, including assault and assault, but reached a settlement with Clark County prosecutors to plead guilty to one count of assault and one assault, which constitutes domestic violence.
Foster, who later moved to Oregon, was sentenced to up to 2 1/2 years in Nevada prison, but after already serving 729 days in prison while awaiting trial, he was instead served only an additional 200 days in state custody sentenced. Grant’s Passport Chief of Police Warren Hensman described the situation of Foster now being charged with attempted murder instead of being in prison for previous crimes during a phone interview with as “extremely disturbing”. the AP.
“We are totally focused on catching this man and bringing him to justice,” Hensman said at a news conference on Thursday (January 26). “This is an all-hands-on-deck operation.”
Police responded to a Grants Pass neighborhood to investigate an attack on Tuesday (January 24), but Hensman declined to speak about how the department was alerted. Intervention officers found a woman, who had been tied up and beaten unconscious at the scene, who was taken to a hospital and was reportedly in critical condition.
“This is a very serious event, a brutal attack on one of our residents, which we take very seriously,” Hensman added. “And we will not rest until we capture this individual.”
A $2,500 reward is being offered for information that could lead to Foster’s arrest and prosecution, authorities said Friday.