Sheriff: Kidnapping Suspect May Have Committed Other Crimes
MONTEREY PARK (AP) — A Chinese national charged with kidnapping a woman for ransom slashed her throat and left her for dead in the Southern California desert before calling her father and demanding $100,000 for her safe return, officials said Friday.
DeQiang Song, 24, who moved to the U.S. from China in 2008 on a student visa, has been charged with kidnapping and attempted murder in the Sept. 8 attack on the 21-year-old woman, also a Chinese immigrant.
The public defender's office did not immediately know if Song had been assigned an attorney. His arraignment was set for Sept. 29.
Authorities in search of other possible victims released new details of the kidnapping, saying the woman was the target of a brutal attack by someone who choked her with a cord until he thought she was dead.
When he realized she was still breathing, her throat was slashed from ear to ear with a knife, but the deep cut somehow missed major blood vessels.
It was "senseless, brutal, and horrifying," Sheriff Lee Baca said.
Believing the woman was dead, the attacker left her in the desert about 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles, drove back to the San Gabriel Valley and called her father to demand the ransom money.
Meanwhile, the woman managed to stumble and crawl through a half-mile of desert scrub until she came to a house where residents called for help. She was flown by air ambulance to a hospital for lifesaving surgery.
Working through the father, investigators persuaded the kidnapper to agree to a smaller ransom of $10,000 and designate a drop site for the money.
Song was later arrested at the site in a strip mall parking lot.
Detectives praised the father for calling authorities. Historically, members of the large Chinese community east of Los Angeles have been reluctant to call police, but that pattern is shifting.
Before moving to the Los Angeles area in July, Song lived in Chicago's Chinatown. It was not clear, however, if he ever enrolled at any school.
His only other known arrest was for a white-collar crime shortly after moving to Southern California, but authorities believe the level of planning in the kidnap suggests Song might have been involved in other unspecified offenses.
Investigators have been in contact with Chinese authorities and appealed to other agencies in the U.S. to see if Song was wanted for any crimes in their jurisdictions.
Despite her ordeal, the victim was in upbeat spirits and showed strength that enabled her to survive when others might have given up, investigators said.
"She's obviously in pain and emotional trauma but she has a very positive attitude and outlook on life," lead investigator Detective Michael Soop said.
Authorities said Song and the woman first met at a San Gabriel Valley karaoke bar a week before the attack. They struck up a friendship and, on the day of the attack, she accepted an invitation to go to a mall.
Detectives said Song had different plans and arrived at the meeting with a knife, gloves and items that could be used to restrain someone.
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