Soldier wanted in kidnappings, rape still on the run
PARKLAND, Wash. -- When Marie Losee looked out the window of her home and saw a woman slamming her head against the house desperately trying to get someone's attention, Losee knew the woman was in trouble.
"She was trying to scream at us," and get away from a man who was grabbing her, Losee said. "And I looked at the guy in the eyes and he saw us and he pushed her down and ran away.
"I was the one that said 'dad, something's not right, get that girl.' And he went out and grabbed her and pulled her in and she had a ball gag around her (head) and some zip-ties around (her hands)," she said.
They got the woman inside and, after getting the gag out of her mouth, the first thing the woman said was, "I've been kidnapped."
Police suspect the man who attacked the woman is 29-year-old Staff Sgt. Nathaniel R. Smith, a Fort Lewis Stryker brigade soldier who's still on the run.
According to court documents, the woman told investigators the man who attacked her met her at the Tacoma Mall and she agreed to go home with him. But once there, the man choked her until she blacked out.
She told police that when she woke up, her hands were bound and the man put a gag in her mouth. She was able to fight the man off and run out of the house.
The man was still chasing her when she began hitting the side of Losee's home in an attempt to get help. But as soon as Losee came to the window, the man ran off.
Investigators said that incident on January 3 was the second attack in which Smith is suspected.
In the first alleged attack, which occurred January 1, the victim told investigators she was on her way to a store when a man yelled at her, ran up behind her and choked her until she passed out.
According to court documents, the woman woke up naked and tied up inside a house. As she struggled to free herself, she heard a man say, "If you fight, you'll die."
Investigators said the man held a butcher knife up to her face and said, "If you cooperate, you'll go home."
According to a statement of probable cause filed in Pierce County Superior Court, the man put a gag in the woman's mouth, sexually assaulted and raped her repeatedly, and shocked her by connecting electrified clamps to her body.
The woman told police that the attacker told her "If you tell anybody, police or anyone, I will kill you, and your family. I can find you. I will find you," the documents said.
As she was putting on clothes, the police report said, the man told her, "I have killed several people in Iraq; I'm crazy in the head and if I get caught by the police, I will come looking for you and kill you."
The woman said she was blindfolded and driven around for 10 or 15 minutes before being dropped off.
The woman was not able to get the vehicle's license plate number, but the victim in the second attack was able to point officers to the house where she was assaulted and from which she had just escaped.
When police went into the house, they found a smoldering fire in an upstairs bedroom. Officers saw burned sex toys and scorched rope, a car battery and jumper cables at the foot of a bed, and a cattle prod, according to the police report.
Investigators said Smith, who has extensive training in survival skills and martial arts, should be considered armed and dangerous.
Smith is an Iraq War veteran who served as a cavalry scout with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, and had been stationed at Fort Lewis since July 2006.
He is being sought for investigation of two counts of kidnapping, four counts of rape, attempted rape, arson, felony harassment, and tampering with evidence.
A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Smith's arrest. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959.
"She was trying to scream at us," and get away from a man who was grabbing her, Losee said. "And I looked at the guy in the eyes and he saw us and he pushed her down and ran away.
"I was the one that said 'dad, something's not right, get that girl.' And he went out and grabbed her and pulled her in and she had a ball gag around her (head) and some zip-ties around (her hands)," she said.
They got the woman inside and, after getting the gag out of her mouth, the first thing the woman said was, "I've been kidnapped."
Police suspect the man who attacked the woman is 29-year-old Staff Sgt. Nathaniel R. Smith, a Fort Lewis Stryker brigade soldier who's still on the run.
According to court documents, the woman told investigators the man who attacked her met her at the Tacoma Mall and she agreed to go home with him. But once there, the man choked her until she blacked out.
She told police that when she woke up, her hands were bound and the man put a gag in her mouth. She was able to fight the man off and run out of the house.
The man was still chasing her when she began hitting the side of Losee's home in an attempt to get help. But as soon as Losee came to the window, the man ran off.
Investigators said that incident on January 3 was the second attack in which Smith is suspected.
In the first alleged attack, which occurred January 1, the victim told investigators she was on her way to a store when a man yelled at her, ran up behind her and choked her until she passed out.
According to court documents, the woman woke up naked and tied up inside a house. As she struggled to free herself, she heard a man say, "If you fight, you'll die."
Investigators said the man held a butcher knife up to her face and said, "If you cooperate, you'll go home."
According to a statement of probable cause filed in Pierce County Superior Court, the man put a gag in the woman's mouth, sexually assaulted and raped her repeatedly, and shocked her by connecting electrified clamps to her body.
The woman told police that the attacker told her "If you tell anybody, police or anyone, I will kill you, and your family. I can find you. I will find you," the documents said.
As she was putting on clothes, the police report said, the man told her, "I have killed several people in Iraq; I'm crazy in the head and if I get caught by the police, I will come looking for you and kill you."
The woman said she was blindfolded and driven around for 10 or 15 minutes before being dropped off.
The woman was not able to get the vehicle's license plate number, but the victim in the second attack was able to point officers to the house where she was assaulted and from which she had just escaped.
When police went into the house, they found a smoldering fire in an upstairs bedroom. Officers saw burned sex toys and scorched rope, a car battery and jumper cables at the foot of a bed, and a cattle prod, according to the police report.
Investigators said Smith, who has extensive training in survival skills and martial arts, should be considered armed and dangerous.
Smith is an Iraq War veteran who served as a cavalry scout with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, and had been stationed at Fort Lewis since July 2006.
He is being sought for investigation of two counts of kidnapping, four counts of rape, attempted rape, arson, felony harassment, and tampering with evidence.
A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Smith's arrest. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959.