LUBBOCK, Texas — A man who claimed to be a missionary raising money for churches, Christopher Martin, 40, of Sandusky, Ohio, was accused of kidnapping a woman in Lubbock, Texas, according to court records obtained on Thursday.
Court records said the victim worked at a gym where Martin was a regular. The victim told police Martin claimed he was a “disciple” and traveled from state to state “obtaining funding for different churches” in a van that he renovated. The two began dating after knowing each other for a few weeks.
The victim said Martin wanted her to go with him to Ohio to visit his family, however, her loved ones were concerned for her safety due to the age difference and how fast the relationship was moving. The victim said she told Martin she did not feel comfortable going on the trip.
Court documents said in July, Martin showed up at the gym multiple times and became upset when the victim told him the relationship was over. Records state that Martin threw her phone to the passenger side of his van, and when the victim tried to get it back, Martin threw her into the door. Martin then put the van in drive, left the parking lot, and refused to stop, court documents state.
The victim was scared of getting in a wreck, so she stopped fighting against Martin and begged him to pull over. The victim said she asked for her phone back, and Martin told her she had “the spirit of Jezebel.”
The woman reported that she dove toward the driver’s seat and tried to get out, but the two began wrestling and Martin placed her in a headlock and dragged her back into the van by her ponytail.
According to court records, the victim thought Martin was going to kill her and told police that Martin had knives, a machete and a chainsaw that he kept in his van. The victim said she realized she couldn’t fight against Martin, so she decided the safest thing to do was apologize and agree to go to Ohio. She said Martin eventually calmed down and took her back to work.
Once back at the gym, the victim told her coworkers what happened, and they called 911. Police were able to obtain data from the victim’s phone that corroborated her story, according to court documents.
Martin was arrested by the U.S. Marshals in Sarasota, Florida. He was later booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center on Thursday, where he remained on a $225,000 bond for his kidnapping charge.
