Authorities say a Texas man who met a woman on the dating app Bumble kidnapped, beat, and tortured her for five days after she refused his sexual advances.
According to court records filed in district court in Harris County, Zachary Kent Mills, 21, of Spring, was arrested and charged with felony aggravated kidnapping after his Bumble date escaped his apartment on Thursday after enduring days of Mills punching her, hitting her with a screwdriver, and starving her.
According to court records, he was released on $50,000 bond on Monday after being booked days earlier. According to court records, prosecutors requested a $100,000 bond, while his defense requested a $20,000 bond.
Mills abducted the woman, who has only been identified as J.W., on December 24 after picking her up and taking her to his apartment. According to the probable cause statement, the two had started a romantic relationship after meeting on the dating app. According to court records, Mills immediately attempted to have sex with the woman who refused his advances at his apartment.
“He immediately began to physically assault her and would not let her leave the residence,” according to the probable cause statement. When Mills got tired of hitting her with a “closed fist,” she said, he would “grab a screwdriver and strike her with the handle.”
Mills did not provide her with food or water during her five-day confinement, according to the probable cause statement.
She was able to flee the apartment when Mills went to see his father. According to the probable cause statement, when the woman was interviewed by authorities, she had “severe bruising to both eyes, bite marks and cuts to both her throat and nose, and severe bruising” to the majority of her body.
Mills was apprehended on Friday and booked into jail on Saturday, according to other court records related to the case.
Mills’ attorney, Chris Denuna, stated on Wednesday that his client has no criminal record and is not a flight risk.
Denuna stated that the allegations against his client are “egregious,” but that the legal system must take its course. Denuna stated that he is awaiting potential evidence from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Mills was sentenced to a GPS monitor, 24-hour house arrest, and a stay-away order from the alleged victim, according to court records and Denuna.
“We are pleading not guilty,” said Denuna. “It’s important the process … gets carried out before we find these allegations credible or not. That’s the whole point of due process and presumption of innocence.”
A district attorney’s office spokesperson declined to comment Wednesday, but confirmed the office had requested a $100,000 bond.
