Walter Medina, 48, allegedly abused the woman since abducting her Tampa, Florida, in January, beating her with a baseball bat and stabbing her with a flathead screwdriver.
Channel 9 is learning more about the man accused of beating and kidnapping a panhandler before leading law enforcement in a multi-county pursuit Tuesday.
A woman claimed to have been tortured and kidnapped for over a month after she escaped captivity by running into a gas station store in Florida. A worker at the Mobil gas station in Seffner told WFLA-TV that the woman staggered into the store on Monday and locked herself into the bathroom whil.
The woman then told officers she had been in captivity since January 2024, which is when she allegedly first met 48-year-old Walter Medina while panhandling.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported that deputies came across the victim following a call regarding an injured woman who had 'recently fled from a van and required assistance' at a Mobil gas station in Seffner.