Woman kidnapped, bound to tree

Press, 8 July 1983, Page 3

Woman kidnapped, bound to tree

PA Hamilton A kidnapped woman with her hands, feet, and mouth taped, and bound to a tree, managed to free herself and get help, the District Court at Hamilton heard yesterday

The man charged with kidnapping her in the Thames area on September 30, last year, had surrendered himself to the police on Wednesday morning, said Sergeant E. D. Stacey. Peter Timothy Edwards, aged 27, unemployed, of Nelson, pleaded guilty to a charge of kidnapping the woman, whose name was suppressed. Judge Green remanded Edwards on $lOOO bail with a surety of $lOOO to appear in the High Court at Hamilton on July 21 for a probation report and sentence. A condition of bail is that Edwards report to the Whangamata police three times weekly. -• As a result of a telegram on September 30 the complainant went to Edwards’ address and talked with him, Sergeant Stacey said. “He told the woman she was going with him whether she liked it or not,” Sergeant Stacey said. She was pushed into a bedroom and placed on to a

sleeping bag on a bed where Edwards tied her hands behind her back, taped her mouth shut with masking tape, then taped her feet together, he said. Wrapped in the sleeping bag she was carried by Edwards and put in the rear of her vehicle which he drove north. They drove to a vacant property north of Whangarei, Sergeant Stacey said. There the woman was carried into bush and tied to a tree. Edwards left saying he would be away for two hours. "However, she managed to free herself and went to a local farmer’s property for help,” Sergeant Stacey said. When the woman’s vehicle was found the tyres had been slashed, the panels damaged, a mixture of sawdust and soil put in the engine and radiator, the distributor smashed, and fan belt, water hoses, and wiring all cut, he said. In spite of police enquiries Edwards could not be traced.