Police in Indiana have arrested a man for kidnapping after they say he allegedly entered his neighbor’s apartment and tried taking her — in order to “save her life.”
That was the very explanation Travis Fate, 40, allegedly offered to investigators who arrested him on the morning of February 1 in the town of Montpelier.
According to court documents that were shared with Us Weekly, Fate was wearing a headlamp when he snuck into the 19-year-old woman’s apartment through an unlocked door.
During the reported kidnapping attempt, Fate allegedly brandished a pair of pliers that he had found soon after entering the victim’s residence.
After he was detained by police, Fate reportedly admitted to entering the woman’s apartment. He said he found the victim asleep in her bedroom and told her that “he was going to save her life.”
Police said he made sure to show the victim the pliers that were in his hand.
Fate “claimed that he had no idea why he did these things,” but allegedly told investigators that “he just had a ‘feeling’ that he needed to save her … life from something.”
Fate, it is alleged in the court filings, told police he’d had an inexplicable need to save his neighbor “for a long time,” but did not know where he planned to take her to keep her safe.
Police had been called to the scene by the victim, who told dispatchers that she was locked in her bedroom after a man she did not know had entered her apartment.
Fate had fled by the time cops arrived. According to the court filings, the woman told police that she did not get a full look at the man because he was wearing a blinding headlamp. The woman guessed that the man was in his 40s and told investigators he had a beard.
The court documents said that the woman explained that she was home alone at the time and assumed the strange man with the headlamp was a law enforcement or parole officer — given she is currently on probation.
The woman told police that is why she listened to the man’s commands at first and started to leave her apartment with him. But after getting a better look at him near the entrance, she retreated, closed the door behind her, and then locked herself in her bedroom.
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Officers scoured the area, locating Fate — still wearing his headlamp — nearby. They confirmed he lives in the same apartment complex as the victim,
Fate was arrested just before 2 a.m. on February 1. He remains in police custody without bail.
He is charged with felony kidnaping while armed with a deadly weapon, burglary of a dwelling, and residential entry. He was also charged with misdemeanor theft.
At his initial hearing, Fate was not asked for pleas. Fate’s jury trial is set to begin on May 19.
Us was unable to identify Fate’s attorney on Tuesday, February 10.
If convicted on the single kidnapping charge, Fate faces three to 16 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
