WARREN, Michigan (WXYZ) - A pregnant woman -- due to deliver her baby in three weeks -- survived a brutal attack in Michigan after police said she was abducted, set on fire, shot and then left for dead.
Warren police said the woman, who is nine months pregnant, had just pulled into the garage with her ex-boyfriend. It all started when the pair got out of the SUV and and the garage door suddenly closed, reported WXYZ-TV's Michael Rosenfield.
"The next thing she knew she was grabbed by the throat and a gun was put to her head," said Warren Police Commissioner Jere Green. "She was ordered to the ground. Duct-taped her feet, and her hands, her mouth, ordered into the back seat of the car."
During the ordeal, the woman said boyfriend saw it and did nothing to help. The suspect then drove her around in her SUV for about 10 minutes before stopping in an alley in Detroit.
The suspect then made two mysterious statements.
"He said 'you know why this is happening' and then he asked her about how far along she was," said Green.
The woman was able to get out of the car and start rolling on the ground, trying to put the fire out -- and when that happened, two shots were fired and she was struck once in the back.
The woman told police she played dead until the man took off. She was then able to free herself from the duct tape, then drove away, calling her mother from a gas station, and then driving to her mother's home. Her mom drove her to the hospital.
Warren police dusted the woman's car for fingerprints. Investigators could also be seen taking fingerprints and photos of charcoal and lighter fluid in the garage at the crime scene.
Police said a possible motive for the attack could be that her ex-boyfriend may not have wanted to have the child. The ex has been taken into custody for questioning.
The woman is listed in serious condition, with burns to her back and head.
Police said the bullet to her back did not do any serious damage -- and an ultrasound shows the unborn child is healthy.
