Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BLUFFDALE — A Bluffdale man has been arrested and accused of preventing a woman from leaving their house alone for more than two years in addition to causing serious physical and emotional abuse during that time, police say.
"He was basically holding her and intimidating her to the point she could not do anything," said Saratoga Springs Assistant Police Chief Bill Robertson.
Troy Anthony Brinar, 45, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Thursday for investigation of kidnapping and detaining a person for a substantial amount of time, aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, and unlawful detention. Robertson said detectives working on the case have called it one of the worst incidents of domestic violence they have seen.
The woman reported to police that "she has not been permitted to leave the house without Troy for over 2½ years. Troy had confiscated her telephone and debit cards and physically prevented her from leaving the house when she attempted to escape. During that time, he would regularly punch her, head-butt her, and inflict other physical injuries," according to a police booking affidavit.
Robertson said the abuse started 2½ years ago, calling it a "very violent, ongoing situation." The assistant chief credits the work of his detectives for gathering enough evidence for a search warrant to be approved and for collecting enough probable cause for Brinar to be arrested. Robertson said his department had been working on the investigation for weeks and had gone to the house multiple times in an effort to find the woman by herself and talk with her.
The problem, according to Robertson, is that she was so scared of Brinar that she would not talk to police.
When investigators were finally able to obtain a search warrant on Thursday and enter the house, they found numerous holes in the walls caused by incidents when Brinar assaulted her, Robertson said. Police also found that every door in the house had three locks. The assistant chief said Brinar not only controlled when she was allowed to leave the house, but also controlled her phone calls and told her to lie to doctors about her medical conditions.
The woman told police that in January, Brinar "punched her so hard on her ear that she can still hear ringing and (it) continues to cause her pain," the affidavit states, adding that six months ago she tried to block one of his kicks but ended up breaking her wrist. The woman did not receive medical attention for her broken wrist until June, police say.
"Troy prevented her from receiving medical attention for the break until June 24. Following her surgery, he again kicked her in the same wrist, causing significant pain. The surgeon who treated the victim's broken wrist stated that delay in receiving medical attention exposed her to the risk of further injury," according to the affidavit.
"The circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and unlawful detention, combined with the facts that the victim was assaulted and then prevented from seeking medical care after the assaults, caused substantial bodily injury," police wrote in the arrest report.
Based on the ongoing violence, Robertson said detectives believe the situation "would have ended very badly very soon."
Detectives were able to remove the woman and two young children from the house on Thursday and are continuing to investigate the alleged abuse.
Police have requested that Brinar be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without bail pending the filing of formal criminal charges.
