Houston rapper Lee Arthur Carter is accused of kidnapping a homeless woman and keeping her in squalid conditions in his garage for at least four years.
Carter was charged with aggravated kidnapping after allegedly locking the woman in his garage, officials said. report According to NBC News.
The woman was discovered in April accessing Carter's computer and using it to call rescuers. She was reportedly pregnant, and she weighed only 70 pounds when she was discovered.
It remains unclear why it took authorities nearly nine months to arrest the 52-year-old rapper.
Carter was arrested Thursday on a charge of aggravated kidnapping and taken to the Harris County Jail, where he secured his freedom by Sunday after posting $100,000 bail.
An affidavit from the Harris County District Attorney's Office states that the woman used Carter's laptop to “communicate to 9-1-1 dispatchers that she was being held against her will.” It is reported that
Prosecutors say Houston Fire Department personnel arrived at Carter's home on Perry Street on April 7, pried open the garage door and found the woman trapped inside and living in a decomposing state. It is said that he did.
The affidavit states that in the garage there was an “improvised toilet with no flushing water,” a mattress “covered in fresh vomit,” and several packages of potato chips and Twinkies. It also “appeared to be a one-car garage, but the garage door for vehicle access was missing” and both windows were boarded up.
Prosecutors said the woman was malnourished, had a “pungent odor,” had “rusty” hair and was wearing a “heavily soiled” T-shirt and shorts. The woman told police that she was begging “about four or five years ago” when Carter came to pick her up and said, “I'll help you.” .
The woman, whose age was not disclosed, was pregnant when Carter picked her up, according to the complaint. A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office declined to say whether the woman gave birth to the baby, citing privacy laws and the ongoing investigation.
Meanwhile, defense attorney George Powell said the woman was actually Carter's domestic partner.
“It's a romantic relationship,” Powell told NBC News. “The complaining witness and he have been together for years and have children together.”
Asked about the filthy conditions in the victim's living quarters, Powell said he was recently charged in the case and had not yet seen the area where prosecutors say the woman was being held.
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