Man Arrested For Kidnapping, Torturing Woman

Photo: Philippi Police Department

A West Virginia man arrested for kidnapping a woman admitted to “striking her and burning her with a torch,” according to local police.

Sammy Martz, 47, of Philippi, was charged with kidnapping and is being held in Tygart Valley Regional Jail without bond, according to a Philippi Police Department criminal complaint obtained by via WBOY.

Philippi Police officers found the victim hiding under the porch of a neighboring home after receiving a call regarding a domestic disturbance. The victim said Martz "had hit her in the face" and responding officers said the woman's "eye was swollen shut," according to the complaint.

The woman told responding officers that she “had escaped the residence via the rear window and ran from the residence to hide" after Martz “threatened to kill her and had burnt her with a torch on her stomach and her leg,” the complaint states.

The victim told officers that Martz was still inside the residence and had a firearm in his possession while she received treatment in EMS care. Philippi Police officers, along with Barbour County Sheriff's Department deputies and West Virginia State Police troopers, "converged on the residence," announced themselves upon entry before Martz came out of a back bedroom and was placed into custody.

Martz admitted "that he did harm the victim" which included "striking her and burning her with a torch on at least three occasions" during a police interview. The victim was interviewed by police while being treated at Broaddus Hospital and said she "was trying to leave early in the morning" when Martz prohibited her from doing so for "a 4-5 hour period," at which point he “tortured her by striking her all over her body, sitting on her and burning her with a butane torch,” the complaint stated.


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