(Trends Wide) — A week after authorities discovered a woman bound and beaten in a southwestern Oregon home, the kidnapping suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a Trends Wide affiliate report.
Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, died at a hospital after an hour-long standoff with police Tuesday night in Grants Pass, Oregon, Trends Wide affiliate KTVL reported, citing a police spokesman.
Police responded to a Grants Pass home where they believed Benjamin Foster was hiding Tuesday night. (KTVL)
The standoff ended after authorities surrounded the house, under which they believed Foster was hiding, and tried to convince the suspect to surrender, KTVL reported.
In a statement Tuesday night, Grants Pass police said Foster was “in custody” after the confrontation, but provided no additional details. The department said it will hold a news conference on Wednesday.
Foster was wanted on suspicion of attempted murder, kidnapping and assault after officers found a woman bound and beaten unconscious at a Grants Pass home on Jan. 24, police said.
Prosecutors have accused Foster of torturing the woman with the intent to kill her, according to charging documents.
The victim remained hospitalized in critical condition as of Sunday, according to Grants Pass Police Chief Warren Hensman.
Foster knew his victim before the attack, Hensman told Trends Wide, and that the two had a “prior relationship.” She did not elaborate but said: “This was not a random attack.”
(Grants Pass Police Department)
The suspect was already on the run when officers arrived on the scene last week, prompting an exhaustive, multi-day search that drew a flood of information from the public and included federal, state and local agencies, police said.
While searching for Foster, police warned that he was “extremely dangerous” and possibly armed. Hensman said he was “definitely a threat to others,” particularly those who might try to befriend him.
Investigators said Foster likely received help fleeing from police. They also warned that he may have been using dating apps to find potential new victims or lure people to help him escape.
A ‘disgusting scene’
When officers responded to a 911 call from a friend of the victim, they were faced with “an absolutely disgusting scene,” Hensman told Trends Wide. The victim had been suffering from the alleged abuse for a “prolonged time” before she was discovered, she said.
“This will be marked in my memory for many years,” the police chief said, describing images from the scene as “horrifying”.
At least two women who have had relationships with Foster have accused him of assaulting and abusing them, according to Clark County court records of cases in Las Vegas.
In the first case, his ex-girlfriend testified that in 2017 Foster flew into a rage and strangled her after seeing another man text her. Foster was charged with felony assault constituting domestic violence, records show.
While that case was still pending, he was charged with felony assault, battery, and kidnapping after his then-girlfriend told police that he had strangled her multiple times and kept her tied up most of the time for nearly two weeks, According to the document.
The woman was eventually able to escape by convincing Foster that they needed to go grocery shopping and fleeing through a store, according to a Las Vegas police report. When she arrived at the hospital, she had seven broken ribs, two black eyes and abrasions on her wrists and ankles from being tied up, according to the report.
Foster accepted plea deals in both cases. In the first case, he was sentenced to a maximum of 30 months in prison but was credited with 729 days served.
Trends Wide’s Lucy Kafanov, Jeremy Harlan, Andy Rose, Sonya Hamasaki, Colin Jeffery and Nouran Salahieh contributed to this report.
