Bennington woman, 2 others charged in Albany kidnapping
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By PATRICK MCARDLE STAFF WRITER - Published: June 17, 2009
A Bennington teenager was among three people arraigned last week for the abduction, torture and attempted ransom of a woman, according to the office of Albany, N.Y., District Attorney P. David Soares.
Daniella V. Gay, 18, of Bennington, was arraigned along with Thomas "P" White, 23, of Troy, N.Y., and Alyssa M. Spiak, 18, of Averill Park, N.Y., on nine counts including one charge of first-degree kidnapping, which is listed in New York as a Class A-1 violent felony.
Other charges included four counts of first-degree assault and four counts of second-degree assault. All of the charges were felonies.
Soares' office said they believed White tortured the woman by repeatedly punching and kicking her, hitting her in the head with an iron, cutting and stabbing her with a knife and pouring salt, bleach and hot sauce into her open wounds.
In a statement, Soares called the crime the "most violent kidnapping and torture case I have ever witnessed in Albany County."
"This lawlessness will not be tolerated and these individuals will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law for their horrific actions," Soares said in a statement.
According to the district attorney's office, Gay, White and Spiak abducted a woman in Albany on May 28, just after midnight, with the intent of forcing her brother to deliver a safe and its contents as ransom.
Between the time she was abducted and 8 a.m., the woman was tortured by White, who cut her head, legs, feet, neck, back, buttocks, both of her hands and her left earlobe, according to the district attorney's office.
The woman also suffered contusions and abrasions on her arms, legs, buttocks and torso, a broken nose, blackened and swollen eyes and a fracture.
Gay and Spiak, who were arraigned on Thursday, and White, who was arraigned on Tuesday, all pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
The three face sentences of 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the charges.
Gay does not have a criminal history in Bennington County.
patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com
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