"Like the devil walked in": woman escapes assault, kidnapping when suspect falls asleep

DETROIT (WJBK) - A Detroit woman and her baby were kidnapped at gunpoint after her ex-boyfriend dragged her down a flight of stairs and assaulted her multiple times.

Nyree Henderson thought her life was over. She was sleeping in her upstairs room with her one-year-old in the same room when her ex-boyfriend broke into the home through her kitchen window. 

When she first saw him, she thought she wouldn't leave the room alive.

"He just walks into this house with latex gloves on. and my thought was 'I'm not about about to make it out of this room, this was it'," Henderson said.

Her ex-boyfriend, who has not been named by police, was standing there, looking at her. They talked for a few minutes and he pulled a weapon and she thought she knew what would happen next.

"There was nothing anybody could do. It was like the devil walked into the house," she said.

She was assaulted multiple times, with visible wounds to her eye, forehead, and her teeth. 

"My adrenaline was rushing so fast, so I didn't even feel him hit me in my mouth, kick me in (the eye)," she said.

She was assaulted multiple times, dragged down the flight flight of stairs, and all with her one-year-old in her arms.

"Dragged me out of the house with the gun to my head, pulled me down the stairs, pulled me out the house. my friend's brother actually ran up to him like 'what are you doing' but he didn't see the gun in his hand. he showed it to him like 'back up'," Henderson said.

He dragged her all the way down to a house about a mile-and-a-half away and kept her in a home there for about 45 minutes or an hour. She finally was able to escape when he made a mistake.

"He went to sleep," she said.

The Detroit Police Department says a warrant has been submitted for aggravated felonious assault and kidnapping. They are not releasing his name but ask anyone who knows what may have happened to call 1-800-SPEAK-UP.