Opinion ID: 2166128
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: september 12 through 13, 2005

Text: At trial, the victim, A.W., testified that on September 12, 2005, while waiting for a friend outside a bar in Grand Island, Nebraska, she was approached by Thurman, with whom she was acquainted. A.W. and Thurman saw each other periodically throughout that evening. A.W. eventually drove Thurman to his apartment so that she, Thurman, and Thurman's girlfriend, Ethel Hanger, could discuss the possibility of A.W.'s selling her car to the couple. Upon arriving at his apartment, Thurman left A.W. in the living room while he went into the bedroom to wake Hanger. Hanger then joined A.W. and Thurman in the living room where they discussed the car. Hanger apparently decided that she wanted to purchase the car and handed a bankcard to Thurman. At that point, A.W. indicated that before she sold the car, she ought to speak with the man who had purchased it for her. According to A.W.'s testimony, at that point, Thurman returned the bankcard to Hanger and Hanger left the room. Thurman then displayed a gun and began waving it around and yelling at A.W. A.W. testified that she tried to leave the premises, but that Thurman came at her, striking the top of her head with the gun. On cross-examination, A.W. testified that Thurman hit her on the head with his hand, but his hand was holding the gun, back-handed like. A.W. was then asked to clarify: Q So perhaps the bottom part of his hand holding the gun hit the top of your head, is that right? A Well, whatever it was it cut the head open. Q Okay. You don't know if it was the hand or the gun or what it was, but your head got cut open from a blow to the head, right? A Yeah. After she was struck, A.W. again indicated that she wanted to leave and began fighting with Thurman in an attempt to get out of the apartment. During the fight, the gun went off. A.W. stated that at first, she continued to fight with Thurman, but soon decided to cooperate due to the fact that she was bleeding heavily. According to A.W., during the fight, her shirt had been ripped off her body and she had suffered various scratches and injuries in addition to the cut on her head. Thurman indicated to A.W. that she should go into the bathroom and get cleaned up, as she was covered in blood. A.W. testified that Thurman assisted her in removing her remaining clothing and in cleaning some of the blood from her body. Thurman then made A.W. go into the bedroom, where Thurman tied A.W., naked, to the bed using makeshift restraints torn from a bedsheet. According to A.W.'s testimony, she was tied to the bed for the next 7 or 8 hours. During that time, Thurman attempted to penetrate her vagina with his penis, but was unable to maintain an erection. Various other sex acts were performed on A.W., and she was forced to perform sex acts on both Thurman and Hanger. A.W. testified that she was allowed to leave after she convinced Thurman that she was pregnant (though, in fact, she was not) and had a doctor's appointment scheduled for the morning of September 13, 2005. Before she was allowed to leave, Thurman made A.W. pose for some photographs in which A.W. appears nude or seminude. According to A.W.'s testimony, the gun was present throughout these events, and on several occasions. Thurman threatened to shoot her. After Thurman released A.W., she first drove around in her car, then contacted friends. A.W. was eventually convinced to go a hospital, where officials called the police.