MAINZ, Germany -- A 40-year old woman was held prisoner, severely beaten and sexually abused in a house for more than a month before escaping when her captor got drunk, police in Austria said Tuesday.
Officials allege the suspect ensured all the doors to the house in the southern Styria region were locked and kept the key with him at all times, even when sleeping. Both the victim and the alleged perpetrator are Romanian nationals.
“The woman had met the 49-year old countrymen several months ago, they developed a friendship, but one evening he became jealous and would not let her leave his house,” Sandra Schwarz of the Austrian state police told NBC News. “In the following weeks, the man repeatedly beat and raped his victim and threatened to kill her, if she would try to escape from the house."
Schwarz said the victim eventually fled after suffering broken ribs in an assault on Sunday.
"She finally managed to escape to her ex-husband’s house after her captor got so drunk that he was delirious,” Schwarz added.
The victim was being treated at a local hospital.
