Six Arrested in Springfield, Vt., Kidnapping and Torture; Claremont Woman Among Victims

Six people were arrested in Windsor County on Feb. 16 after what police say was the kidnapping, torture and ransom of a 35-year-old woman from Claremont, New Hampshire; authorities say Springfield Police rescued the woman on Jan. 25 after the Greenfield Police Department tracked a phone used by her alleged captors to a house on Randall Hill Road in Springfield, Vt.

An affidavit signed by Springfield Police Sgt. Philip Perkins describes the woman’s injuries: “There were fresh wounds corroborating the alleged assault present on (the victim’s) face, along with ligature marks, duct tape marks on her wrists and ankles.” Police allege the victim had been burned with a hot knife and waterboarded with hydrogen peroxide, and investigators say she was held for ransom.

Court records outline a January sequence that began in Claremont. The victim told police she joined a second woman the night of Jan. 22 and the morning of Jan. 23 and they left on foot “hoping to score some drugs,” the records show. The victim said that while she was near a truck the back door opened and “she recognized Bonner and Harris, who grabbed her and pulled her into the truck,” court filings note.

The case moved quickly after the alleged abduction. The victim’s ex-boyfriend, a 40-year-old Greenfield resident, contacted Greenfield police on Jan. 24 after receiving Facebook messages alleging the woman had been kidnapped and was being held for ransom. Greenfield officers tracked the phone to the Randall Hill Road address, and Springfield Police executed the rescue the next day, officials said. Police also say captors used the phone to contact the victim’s son.

Investigators arrested multiple people at the Springfield house. Police arrested Jones at the home and “also arrested three other people at the home at the same time, but they had less involvement in the case,” court records state; authorities say those arrests, combined with other arrests in the investigation, total six suspects in Windsor County. A police affidavit filed in state court alleges Jones “reportedly suggested that the victim be sold to a pimp in New York City in an effort to recoup the drug losses.”

Local agencies provided support for the investigation: the Vermont State Police, Windsor County Sheriff’s Office, Bellows Falls Police and the Springfield Fire Department all assisted Springfield Police and Greenfield officers, authorities said. Public statements and court filings indicate the arrests involve multiple kidnapping counts and aggravated assault, though prosecutors have not released a complete, itemized charging list for each defendant.

Significant details remain outstanding. Police records do not yet provide full names, ages or booking information for all six arrested; court filings and public notices have not clarified whether any ransom was paid, whether narcotics or other evidence were seized at the Randall Hill Road residence, or the precise duration of the victim’s captivity. One police summary describes the victim as having been “bound, tortured and held for ransom for weeks,” while the Jan. 22–25 timeline in court records does not explicitly establish a multiweek detention. Arraignment dates and formal charging documents have not been made public as of the Feb. 16 announcement.