Millcreek woman held hostage for 3 weeks, police say

MILLCREEK — A woman who police believe was held hostage and beaten inside her condo for three weeks — most of the time locked inside a small room with no food or restroom facilities — was able to escape her captor late Sunday.

The woman, who suffered a collapsed lung, black eye and bruises around her wrists and arms, was kept inside a small room with little else in it, said Unified Police Lt. Don Hutson. Her 6-foot-8, 240-pound live-in boyfriend would allegedly feed her only occasionally during that time. During one stretch, she went several days without food.

Anthony Whyms, 31, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping.

The only time Whyms let the 47-year-old woman out was when he wanted to buy drugs or wanted her to cook for him or do various chores, Hutson said.

"(Whyms) made her cook for him and then did not allow her to eat. (The woman) went without food for the last three days," according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.

The woman and Whyms had lived together at the condo, near 800 East and 4000 South, since June. The kidnapping situation reportedly arose after she told him she didn't want to move out of state.

"(The man) told her they were going to Nevada, at which time she told him she was not leaving," jail records state.

The confrontation resulted in Whyms punching the woman in the chest, according to jail records. Over the next three weeks, Whyms punched the woman in the ribs and arms several times, according to jail documents.

During the time she was held captive, she was not allowed to leave to go to the bathroom, Hutson said. When Whyms left the condo, he would bind the woman's ankles and wrists with tape so she couldn't leave, according to jail records. He also threatened to kill her and her family if she reported the incidents.

About 11:15 p.m. Sunday, the woman convinced the man to let her out so she could drive to a clergyman and talk. Instead of a religious leader, however, the woman called 911. The woman was taken to Intermountain Medical Center, where she was interviewed by police.

Because of the situation and the criminal history of the boyfriend, the Unified Police Department called its SWAT team to the condo. As officers were evacuating surrounding units, the man stepped onto an upper balcony. He was ordered to the ground and arrested, Hutson said.