Affidavit: Kidnapping, beating of Lawrence woman with wrench and toy piano had adoption angle

Custody of the victim’s young child may have been the motive for two of four codefendants accused of the alleged kidnapping, beating and blackmailing of a Lawrence woman last month, according to a recently released affidavit justifying the codefendants’ arrests.

Chelsea R. Adams, Christopher C. Fast, Tabatha J. Mallory and Anthony W. Thomas.

On June 19, Tabatha Jalayne Mallory, 25, of Lawrence, along with Christopher Cody Fast, 26, of Topeka, and Chelsea Rayne Adams, 23, of Edwardsville, were charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated battery. Anthony Wayne Thomas, 29, of Lawrence, was charged with aggravated assault. All charges were filed in connection with the alleged kidnapping.

The affidavits justifying the arrests of the defendants claim police found the alleged victim, 22, on June 17 with a bruised body and face, both eyes swollen shut, a cut on her eyebrow requiring four stitches and a bruised eyeball.

The victim had called police from a relative’s house around 6:40 that morning, according to Lawrence police. She told police she had escaped the home she shared with the defendants in the middle of the night after allegedly suffering three days of physical and mental abuse, according to the affidavit.

The alleged abuse began on June 14, with Adams punching the victim in the face numerous times “because Adams said (the victim) was talking about Adams behind Adams’ back,” the victim claimed in the affidavit. The victim said she did not fight back, and Adams stopped. In Adams’s police interview, she admitted to this allegation, according to the affidavit.

The victim told police that later, Mallory allegedly joined Adams in punching and kicking her until about 2 a.m. June 15. They then ordered the victim to sleep on the living room floor, according to the affidavit.

At 7 a.m. June 15, Mallory woke up the victim by pouring a pitcher of water on her, the victim claimed. Later that day, Mallory cut the victim’s hair after the victim’s former friend told Mallory the victim had neglected the victim’s preschool-aged child, according to the affidavit.

During his interview with police, Thomas said he and Mallory, his fiancée, were “in the process of adopting” the victim’s child, according to the affidavit. During Mallory’s police interview, she allegedly told investigators she was changing the child’s diaper when the child allegedly indicated he had been molested.

The victim told police that Mallory, Adams, Fast and Thomas began accusing her of sexually abusing her child. When the victim denied the allegation, Adams allegedly punched her, the victim claimed. In Adams’ interview, she did not say she hit the victim again after the initial beating but that she was present during the accusation of the victim

To stop the beatings, the victim said she told the defendants she did abuse her child. She said the group then forced her to make the allegedly false confession again on an audio recording, the victim claimed in the affidavit. Mallory then told the victim that if she left the house, they would kill her or give the recording to police “and have her arrested,” the affidavit said.

In their police interviews, Adams, Thomas and Fast seconded what the victim claimed about Mallory’s threats. Adams told police that she “believes Mallory has made the entire sexual assault up so Mallory can gain custody” of the victim’s child, and Thomas claimed the recording “was to be used against” the victim if she tried to stop the child’s adoption.

The victim, Thomas and Mallory in their police interviews alleged that Thomas’ involvement was limited, but at one point he picked up a coffee table and “acted as if he was going to strike her with it,” according to the affidavit. This resulted in Thomas’ aggravated assault charge, according to court documents.

The beating allegedly continued that day when Mallory called another acquaintance of the victim, who said the victim was once “mean to a veteran,” upsetting Fast. He then allegedly began striking the victim over the head with a child’s play piano, eventually shattering it over her head, the victim and Fast claimed in the affidavit. After the piano broke, Fast and the victim said he allegedly beat her with a dog toy and his fists.

Later that evening, Adams and Fast allegedly ordered the victim to stand facing the wall for three hours, and the two accused her of more child abuse and beat her again for half an hour, according to the affidavit.

The following morning, Mallory allegedly told the victim she “would not prosecute her for” the alleged child abuse “if she would sign the paperwork allowing (Mallory) to adopt” the victim’s child, the victim claimed. The victim alleged she agreed so as to “avoid another beating.”

Later that evening, the victim claimed, she suffered another beating by Adams and Fast “for talking to Mallory about them,” according to the affidavit. Later, Mallory allegedly struck the victim in the face with a metal wrench, causing her eyebrow laceration. She allegedly suffered more punches and was sent to the garage.

Around 10 p.m. that night, Mallory and Thomas left to go shopping, according to the affidavit. While they were gone, the victim claimed Adams and Fast “encouraged her to leave before she was hurt any worse,” according to the affidavit. She followed their advice, allegedly spending the night in a park before contacting her relative and police the next morning.

Throughout Mallory’s interview, Mallory did not say she beat the victim, but that Fast and Adams did, according to the affidavit. Mallory did allegedly admit to the pouring of the pitcher of water on the victim, striking her with a pair of pliers and setting fire to the victim’s T-shirt on a charcoal grill outside.

The affidavit claims that a search of the alleged crime scene yielded several of the items mentioned in the interviews, including metal pliers, a dog toy, a broken child’s play piano and a burnt shirt on a charcoal grill.

The four defendants are expected to appear in court on July 23 for a preliminary hearing, where the court will hear evidence to determine if there is probable cause to bind them over for trial. Thomas will appear on Monday for a hearing to ask the judge for a lower bond amount.

Adams, Mallory and Fast are currently being held in the Douglas County Jail on $150,000 bonds. Thomas is being held on a $15,000 bond.