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Thursday's Final Word
A North Carolina man already charged with kidnapping has now been charged with additional counts — including rape — in a neighboring county.
The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office charged Winston Aaron Eccleston, 26, with kidnapping in May after a woman who had been missing since January turned up and told a harrowing tale. An arrest warrant says that Eccleston “unlawfully confined” and restrained the victim and “removed [her] from one place to another,” WLOS reported. The warrant also indicates that he sexually assaulted her, although he was not charged with that crime in Buncombe County.
According to Law&Crime, the victim said she met Eccleston while walking in Asheville, in Buncombe County, and accepted a ride from him, but things went sour quickly.
And now officials in neighboring Haywood County have filed additional charges, WHNS reported. The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office has charged Eccleston with two counts of kidnapping, 12 counts of rape, and firearms offenses, while the Maggie Valley Police Department has charged him with kidnapping and rape.
Warrants for his arrest say he raped the victim using a power tool, tubing, and a syringe,
“[The victim] described being restrained by chains while inside a camper, being placed inside a wooden box, and being placed inside a metal box by Winston Eccleston to keep her from being able to leave,” one search warrant reads, according to Law&Crime. “She described him assaulting her physically and verbally threatening her to keep her from leaving.”
The woman said she was kept in two separate campers at an RV park in Waynesville, west of Asheville, and that sometimes she was taken out to eat with Eccleston’s father, including at least one trip to Applebee’s.
“[The woman] said she had been over to his dads house and believes his name is Stephen Eccleston,” a documents said. “[The woman] said his dad lived off Pollywood Park and they had been over few times to cook food and take showers. Later in the interview [The woman] talks about them moving locations. [The woman] said she was in a trash can on the back of work buggy. [The woman] said at some point his dad was helping make the move, and his dad called him and said “hold up and wait, there’s law out here.” Lt. Greene asked [The woman] why his dad would say that about the law, and warn Winston that the law was out. [The woman] said because his dad knew about me.”
Search warrants indicate investigators found evidence corroborating the woman’s story. When investigators executed search warrants at the RV park, they found five dogs along with weapons and pieces of tactical gear.
