Chaining of woman triggers felony counts

What was supposed to be "just a game" according to the man who police say chained his girlfriend to a heavy engine inside his apartment led to felony kidnapping and felony aggravated assault charges in 3rd District Court.

Bail for Fernando Orozco-Trevizo, 32, was set at $100,000 for what court documents Thursday described as a man who repeatedly beat and choked his girlfriend. He is also accused of using a 20-foot chain padlocked to an engine block to keep the woman from leaving their apartment.

Court records say the victim told authorities that Orozco-Trevizo chained her by the ankle to the engine block "whenever he leaves for work."

Orozco-Trevizo is also accused of obstructing windows inside the apartment and installing a two-way deadbolt on the front door that could be locked from the outside but not unlocked from the inside, all apparently to keep the victim from escaping.

But on Dec. 7 the woman was able to barricade a door while inside a bedroom, giving her enough time to communicate what was happening to a neighbor on the other side of a window while Orozco-Trevizo was still in the apartment. She was apparently not chained to the engine at the time.

"The defendant attempted to enter the bedroom and repeatedly kicked the door, causing damage," a court document reads. The neighbor was drawn to the window after reading on it the message "call 911," which the woman was able to write into condensation that had collected on the glass.

When police in West Valley City reached the woman at the apartment near 2900 West and 3500 South, they saw red marks on her neck, bruises on her chest and arms and scratches on her legs. She was able to show a police officer the Nov. 6 receipt for the purchase of the chain.

Orozco-Trevizo, who was not home Dec. 7 when police arrived at the apartment, was arrested this past Tuesday at a construction site in South Jordan where he was working. He told investigators at the time that chaining his girlfriend was part of a game and that he also believed she was cheating on him. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail and had an immigration detainer placed on him for aggravated re-entry into the United States.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com