A young woman has been found alive by police in the home of her suspected kidnapper. Victor Pena, 38, was arrested after police found him at his apartment with Olivia Ambrose, 23, who was allegedly being held against her will.
Ambrose was believed to have been found crying and with a “horrified look on her face” when police found her in a Boston apartment on Jan. 22. Before being found, the last known location from her mobile phone came from an apartment complex, police said. Detectives showed CCTV images to neighbours who said the man pictured looked like Mr Pena.
CCTV footage showed Mr Pena and another man watching Ms Ambrise walk across the street before approaching her. Surveillance footage shows two men engaging with Ms Ambrose, one who was identified as Mr Pena. The other man was ruled out as a suspect.
Police say Mr Pena can then be seen putting his arms around and physically guiding Ms Ambrose. She did not go with Mr Pena willingly, court documents allege. Police were able to find Ambrose after her phone was reactivated and she started texting her mother.
Police located the apartment and knocked on the door multiple times before drilling to gain entry. Court documents read law enforcement heard locks being “opened from the inside.”
Ms Ambrose told detectives as they arrived that she was being “held against her will” and that Mr Pena had “refused to let her leave the apartment for the entire time she was held there”. She also said he had taken her phone from her.
A neighbour described hearing blaring music from Pena’s apartment the night before.
“I could hear the music from here. It was loud, but I didn’t know what was going on,” the neighbour told NBC News. Mr Pena “resisted violently” when authorities tried to handcuff him.
Ms Ambrose is now with her family, while Mr Pena has been ordered to an inpatient facility where he will undergo a mental health evaluation over the next 28 days. He is due back in court on February 11.
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