West Virginia man accused of kidnapping and ‘burning’ woman with torch – Law Officer

PHILIPPI, W.Va. – A West Virginia man was taken into custody and charged after he reportedly held a woman against her will and severely injured her by “striking her and burning her with a torch” multiple times, according to reports.

Officers with the Philippi Police Department were dispatched to a residence regarding a domestic disturbance on Tuesday, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WBOY.

Upon arrival, officers located a woman hiding beneath the porch of a West Virginia home. She told police that Sammy Martz, 47, “had hit her in the face.” Officers noted “her eye was swollen shut,” according to the report.

Furthermore, the female victim told police that she “escaped the residence via the rear window and ran from the residence to hide” after Martz “threatened to kill her and had burnt her with a torch on her stomach and her leg,” the complaint read, according to the news outlet.

As the woman was being treated by EMS, she told officers that Martz remained inside the residence and was in possession of a gun. As a result, Philippi officers along with deputies from the Barbour County Sheriff’s Department and troopers with the West Virginia State Police “converged on the residence.”

When law enforcement personnel entered the home, they announced their presence and Martz peacefully surrendered, WBOY reported. 

During an interview, Martz admitted he “did harm the victim…by striking her and burning her with a torch on at least three occasions,” according to police.

The woman was transported to Broaddus Hospital where investigators interviewed her further. “She was trying to leave early in the morning,” but said Martz wouldn’t let her go for a “4-5 hour period,” according to police, Yahoo News reported.

As Martz held the victim against her will for several hours, he reportedly tortured “her by striking her all over her body, sitting on her and burning her with a butane torch,” police said, according to the complaint.

Martz is being held without bond at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a charge of kidnapping.