Missouri man charged with kidnapping, assault and torture of woman he met on Facebook

A 39-year-old Clinton County, Missouri, man was charged Monday in the kidnapping of a woman he allegedly held captive, assaulted and tortured for two days in a home at Lake Arrowhead, a private community south of Lathrop.

Clinton County Prosecuting Attorney Brandi McClain charged James M. Larson Jr. with first-degree domestic assault, kidnapping, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a concealable firearm.

The woman escaped Saturday morning to a neighbor who called 911. She was taken to a hospital were she was last reported to be in critical condition.

According to court documents:

The neighbor called 911 about 8:45 a.m. and told dispatchers that a woman with several injuries had shown up at her home on on Southeast Apache Drive in Lake Arrowhead, a private community.

A Clinton County deputy responded to the home and the victim came up to the patrol vehicle “extremely distraught.” The deputy noticed she was injured and requested an ambulance, which took her to a hospital.

The victim told the deputy that she had met Larson online in a Facebook dating app. They met in person about four days ago and she had been with him the last two days, according to court documents.

Larson allegedly became violent with her and assaulted her over a two-day period. He allegedly punched her with closed fists, kicked her with steel toe boots and hit her in the head with what she described as an ice pick.

He also allegedly threatened to slit her throat if she called the cops. During those two days, Larson allegedly wouldn’t let her use the bathroom or eat. On Saturday morning, he allegedly gave her a drink that tasted like medicine.

When deputies and the Missouri Highway Patrol troopers arrived, Larson allegedly barricaded himself inside the home and refused commands from officers. The Tri-County SWAT team responded. At one point, Larson was at the front gate of the home but ran inside when a detective told him to stop and show his hands.

Meanwhile, Larson’s father, James Larson Sr., came out of the home and was detained. He was taken in for questioning, during which he said his son and the woman had been at the home for about two days. He left the home for a while Friday and when he turned that night he heard them arguing. At one point, the woman came out of the bedroom and he attempted to get her out of the home.

His son, however, woke up and began arguing with him. Larson then allegedly grabbed a shotgun, racked a round into the chamber and pointed it at his father. He allegedly said he would shoot his father in the head. He then pointed the shotgun toward himself and threatened to kill himself.

Larson Sr. said he was able to get his son to put the weapon down and he hid it in the garage. When he returned, his son and the woman had gone back to a bedroom and he could hear them fighting and the woman screaming.

Larson Sr. said he went to another part of the house and couldn’t hear anything else. The next thing he heard was law enforcement instructing anyone inside the house to come out. He grabbed his dog and complied.

While being questioned, he said his son allegedly is a danger to himself and others and wanted law enforcement to “lock him up forever.”

After a five-hour standoff, a police dog and tactical officers entered the home and found the younger Larson hiding in a false wall and took him into custody.

While being questioned, Larson said he and a cousin went to pick the woman up from home in Kansas City and went back to his dad’s house, where he had been staying since being released from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

Larson said the woman, who had been staying with him since Thursday night, told him she had been “pistol whipped” by someone she had been staying with and that she had a lump on the back of her neck.

He said they argued when he said he wanted her to get the lump checked out at the hospital but she was unwilling to go. Other than that, he told investigators that they didn’t argue and were “just hanging out.” He said he never laid a hand on her.

He said he never touched a gun and denied knowing if his dad still had any guns inside the house. He also denied arguing with his dad.

At the hospital, a detective observed that her legs were bruised and that she had a laceration on her left leg. Her hands were cut and bruised and her forehead was swollen. She had small cuts and bruising on her face. Whenever nurses touched her or moved her, the victim would scream in pain.

She was in and out of consciousness and had a brain bleed and swelling around the head.

On Sunday, the woman requested to speak to a detective. She told the detective how they had met and that everything was going great the first couple of days. Then out of nowhere, he allegedly started to beat her by punching her in the head, kicking her with steel toed boots and “curb stomp” her head, according to court documents.

In the bathroom, he allegedly attempted to cut her throat and made her clean up her own blood.

She said she escaped while Larson was asleep. When she went next door for help, the neighbor yelled at her to get off the property, so she ran across the street where she got help. She said Larson allegedly grabbed a shotgun and threatened to shoot her and kill her kids, according to court documents.