McAlester News-Capital, McAlester, OK

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May 20, 2009

Collar used to keep woman hostage

By James Beaty

A man charged with kidnapping his girlfriend’s sister is accused of using a homemade choke-collar to keep her from escaping when driving with her on Friday night as part of a scheme to ditch her van.

When the woman tried to escape anyway at a traffic light near the Cinema 69 theater, Shawn McAbee allegedly grabbed her by the collar and dragged her back into the pickup.

As McAbee dragged her inside, he hit her in the back of the head, according to allegations in a proabable cause affidavit filed along with charges against McAbee, 34, and his girlfriend, Natasha Irene Sexton, 23, both of McAlester.

They are charged with kidnapping Sexton’s sister, Mari Danley, 21, and holding her captive in a travel-trailer at the Super 8 Motel and RV Park until police rescued her in the early-morning darkness on Monday.

McAbee and Sexton were being held in the Pittsburg County Jail early today in lieu of $500,000 bond.

In addition to kidnapping, they are also charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

McAbee is also charged with assault and battery for allegedly hitting Danley in the head and forcing her into his vehicle.

Sexton faces an additional count of assault and battery for allegedly holding her sister down and taping her hands.

Sexton is also charged with threatening to commit an act of violence for allegedly threatening to kill her sister.

During an initial appearance on Tuesday in Pittsburg County District Court, Special Judge Donnita Wynn entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of Sexton and McAbee, neither of whom had lawyers at the time.

Wynn set bond at $500,000 each, ordered them to have no contact with the alleged victim and scheduled a preliminary hearing conference for Friday.

Police rescued Danley from McAbee’s trailer at the Super 8 Motel and RV Park around 1:30 Monday morning after Danley got to a cell phone in the trailer and called her grandmother.

After rescuing Danley, police arrested McAbee and Sexton.

Danley had last been reported seen at Denny’s Restuarant on Friday.

Her Ford van had later been found abandoned over the weekend along Blanco Road. Investigators now say Sexton and McAbee staged it to look like the van had been left in a ditch.

The probable cause affidavit by Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Agent John Jones says that Sexton and McAbee had left Denny’s on Friday night and had gone to McAbee’s trailer.

At the trailer, Sexton and McAbee held Danely down and bound her, according to the affidavit.

After they had Danely bound, McAbee transported Danley in his pickup while Sexton drove Danley’s van toward Blanco Road, Jones alleged in the affidavit.

When Danely tried to escape at the traffic signal and McAbee allegedly pulled her back inside and hit her, a passer-by stopped to see what was going on, Jones said.

Sexton got out of Danley’s van and told the passer-by “It was just a minor domestic dispute and everything was all right,” according to the affidavit.

The passer-by left, and Sexton drove Danley’s van into a ditch at Blanco Road to make it look like she had driven off the roadway, Jones’ affidavit alleges.

After staging the crash scene, McAbee and Sexton took Danley back to the trailer where they kept her bound, according to allegations in the affidavit.

“Sexton said, at least a couple of times, Sexton talked about killing Mari (Danley), but Sexton sort of grinned when she said it,” the affidavit alleges.

McAbee said he knew what he and Sexton did was wrong and was relieved when police arrived to rescue her because he knew it was finally over, Jones said in the affidavit.

McAbee told him he had left a cell phone out hoping Danely would use it, Jones said.

“McAbee had numerous chances to end this situation himself, but he didn’t do it,” Jones said in the affidavit.

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.

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