Randolph County Sheriff's Office
Left to right: Michael Wright freaked out; Sean Williams and Tracy Stodgell tortured; and Patrick Hallback watched, according to police.
Randolph County Sheriff Mark Nichols tells Daily RFT that the victim and 34-year-old Michael Wright were partying and doing meth in a Moberly hotel when Wright "basically wigged out," accusing the woman of stealing from him. Wright then allegedly called his friends Tracy Stodgell, 28, and Sean Williams, 35.
"You better get here. I'm going to kill this bitch," Wright told his friends, according to the probable cause statement.
The friends arrived shortly after and Williams allegedly put a knife to the woman's face and told her she was coming with them. All four then climbed into Wright's vehicle, according to the probable cause, with Williams continuing to hold the knife to the victim.
They later arrived to the remains of an abandoned home in Randolph County where Wright allegedly struck the woman causing her to fall to the ground. She was then bound and gagged and stuffed into an old freezer in the basement of the property. Cinder blocks on the lid kept her inside. Authorities say Williams later removed the cinder blocks and forced the victim to perform oral sex on him and raped her. Stodgell, meanwhile, is accused of opening the freezer on occasion to punch the victim repeatedly in the face.
The freezer had air holes drilled into it allowing the woman to breathe, and after spending the entire night in the freezer without hearing her attackers, the woman escaped the morning of February 22. Nichols says she arrived at a nearby home around 7 a.m. and got a ride to her home. She then called police. The probable cause states that the victim was also under the influence of marijuana and Vicodin -- in addition to methamphetamines -- when she was abducted.
A fourth suspect, Patrick Hallback, is accused of being present during the woman's torture but doing nothing to stop it.
