A Riverton woman whose hands were bleeding sat trapped behind the wheel of a car outside a Catholic church Saturday morning while a stranger wearing only a white bathrobe lay across her body, according to a charging affidavit filed in Fremont County Circuit Court by Riverton Police Sgt. Charles Marshall.
The bizarre scene unfolded in broad daylight outside St. Margaret's Catholic Church and the parish school where a passerby spotted what she believed was a woman in trouble and flagged down police.
By Monday afternoon, Christopher Adkins was sitting in court facing three felony charges — kidnapping, robbery and aggravated burglary.
If convicted on the most serious charge, Adkins could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Court records show Adkins made his initial appearance Monday and is being held on a $10,000 cash-only bond. He has not entered a plea. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 16.
'The Lady In The Car Needed Help'
Officers were dispatched shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday to St. Margaret's Catholic Church on East Fremont Avenue for a report of a possible domestic dispute, wrote Marshall.
When they arrived, a woman pointed toward a white passenger vehicle parked beside the church and school and immediately told the officer the woman inside needed help.
Marshall sprinted toward the vehicle.
The officer wrote that he found the driver's-side door open and observed a man later identified as Adkins "clad in a white bath robe, laying across a female that was seated in the front driver seat of the car."
The man was talking to the woman, though Marshall wrote he could not understand what was being said.
Marshall grabbed Adkins and pulled him from the vehicle.
The officer said he immediately took him to the ground and placed him in handcuffs.
'He Was Going To Kill Me'
The woman told investigators she was at the church to place flowers inside.
While she was entering the combination code to the door, she was approached by an unknown male, later identified as Adkins, telling her he needed inside.
She said Adkins was "talking non-stop," according to court records, "and she got concerned and did not feel comfortable letting him inside the church."
Then the woman went back to her car and got inside.
"As she went to put the key in the ignition and shut her door," says the affidavit, Adkins got into the car and immediately "grabbed for her keys."
She told investigators she was assaulted by Adkins for about 15 minutes before police showed up. She sustained a 1-inch gash to her index finger during the scuffle that ultimately required stitches.
At one point, according to the affidavit, she told investigators, "I thought he was going to kill me."
Charges Carry Decades Behind Bars
"Based on the investigation," wrote Marshall, "Adkins entered a vehicle without authorization and physically assaulted the vehicle owner by cutting her right index finger while attempting to get the keys away from her."
He continued, "Adkins unlawfully confined the vehicle owner from being able to leave, inflicting bodily injury and terrorizing the victim in the process."
Adkins was booked into the Fremont County Detention Center on Sunday; the affidavit made publicly available in the court system on June 8.
The felony offense of kidnapping is a serious crime with the possible sentence of 20 years to life in prison.
Both the robbery and aggravated burglary charges carry a potential sentence up to 10 years in prison for each count.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
