Woman kidnapped, tortured, burned with kitchen utensils, police say

A San Luis Obispo man was arrested Tuesday after he kidnapped and tortured a woman he had only recently started dating, police said.

Timothy John Hayes, 33, was taken into custody after the 27-year-old woman escaped from his home late Monday and hid inside a nearby gas station, according to the San Luis Obispo Police Department.

Police say her hair was tangled in tape and her body was covered with burn marks, cuts, scratches, bruises and “extreme swelling.” Police say he used scorching kitchen utensils and a pool cue in the attack.

The woman had been dating Hayes for a couple of days, Lt. John Bledsoe said.

The two were at Hayes’ home in the 500 block of Jeffrey Drive, where he bound her with tape and began his assault, police said.

For two hours, Hayes used a knife, pool cue and scissors to injure the woman, and used the kitchen utensils to burn her, police said.

Police believe that Hayes was under the influence of a controlled substance at the time of his arrest due to his “symptoms and behavior.”

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