Christopher Hillhouse (Photo courtesy of Boone County Sheriff’s Office)
Kidnapping is among the felonies a Harrison man is facing after being accused of tying up and beating a woman. Thirty-nine-year-old Christopher Hillhouse is being held in the Boone County Jail and Detention Center on a bond of $50,000.
According to the probable cause affidavit, a Harrison officer was dispatched Nov. 2 to a residence on West Holt Avenue. He discovered the doors locked, but a female was down the street at a neighbor’s residence. Another officer spoke with the female and called for an ambulance. After several failed knocks, a man, identified as Hillhouse, came to the door and was detained. He was later transported to the Harrison Police Department.
The first officer went to the ambulance, and the female told him she had been tied up and beaten before she was able to escape and contact authorities. She said she and Hillhouse had been in an argument earlier that morning, and he allegedly bound her hands behind her back with a tie from a robe.
The victim claims Hillhouse repeatedly slapped and headbutted her, and he also forced a garment into her mouth and choked her. He allegedly used both the garment and his hand attempting to suffocate her.
Hillhouse reportedly held the victim for six hours before putting her in the shower to clean her up after an accident. She later convinced him to let her get a cigarette, and she used the opportunity to escape through the front door, where she fell before running to the neighbor’s residence.
The victim reportedly had bruises on her wrists consistent with being bound, and she state she lost hearing in her left ear from the slaps. She also appeared to have bruising on her face and knees and scratches on her neck. Hillhouse also had scratches on his neck. Authorities were unable to locate the robe tie when they searched the residence.
The kidnapping charge is a Class Y felony, the most serious classification of crime in Arkansas not punishable by the death penalty. Hillhouse also faces a charge of second-degree battery.
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