The crime was shocking in its depravity: a woman held prisoner, raped and tortured for two days—over a $180 debt.
Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, arrested two men for carrying out the attack, which involved a power drill and acid, but the alleged mastermind, a convicted felon who goes by the nickname “Seven” and sports a spider tattoo on her neck, was on the lam for nearly two months.
“As we’re learning, she has quite the loyal following,” Sgt. Jill Phippen of the Tulsa Police Department told The Daily Beast. “For some reason in their circle she’s respected, so there’s not really anyone who’s wanting to provide information.”
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Cops launched a desperate hunt for the suspect—real name Laura Palmer—who evaded “numerous attempts to locate her,” according to a police department Facebook post.
She was finally apprehended—in Tulsa—over the weekend.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the victim—referred to only as “M.B.”—was visiting Palmer’s apartment on Sept. 7, when Palmer accused her of stealing $180 and told her she was not allowed to leave until she gave it back.
Palmer and her two male accomplices then allegedly held the woman in the apartment for two days, repeatedly raping and torturing her in an attempt to extract the funds. (The victim maintains she did not take the money.)
Police say the kidnapping started when one male accomplice, referred to as “Derek,” pointed a gun at the victim and threatened to kill her if she did not produce the cash. Palmer then allegedly instructed Derek to take the victim into the bathroom and search for the funds. In the bathroom, police say, he penetrated the woman with his fingers and then raped her—and another alleged accomplice, referred to as “Boston,” did the same.
Palmer then allegedly entered the bathroom herself, inserted a gun into the victims’ vagina, and again threatened to kill her if she did not come up with the money. She also allegedly bit the victims’ breast.
Over the next two days, Palmer allegedly tried a variety of different torture tactics on the victim—beating her with closed fists, pressing a moving drill bit into her arm, and pouring acid into an exacto knife wound.
When the victim eventually escaped and called police for help, officers reported she had two black eyes, a split upper lip, and several large bruises and a bite mark on her upper body. A police search of Palmer’s apartment turned up a black .22 caliber revolver and a power drill.
“When we read these reports, we really couldn’t imagine what she had to suffer,” Phippen said on a recent episode of Live PD. She told The Daily Beast she had never investigated a woman for such a brutal crime before.
“We have investigated women but it is more in the realm of the teacher as a perpetrator of a student,” she said. “I haven’t ever seen a female perpetrator this violent and directing others to be just as violent—or more—to the victim.”
Palmer’s suspected male accomplices—identified by police as Terran “Boston” Morrow and Drake “Derek” O’Neal—were arrested late last month. Local authorities discovered Morrow, 44, at a Gateway Inn in Maine during a routine drug investigation and realized he was wanted in Oklahoma, according to an East Millinocket Police Department Facebook post.
Police arrested O’Neal, 30, in Tulsa last Friday. Phippen said officers have already interviewed O’Neal and plan to speak with Morrow when he is extradited to Oklahoma. Both men have been charged with kidnapping and rape.
Palmer, however, was still at large until a tip came in over the weekend. The 35-year-old is charged with rape, kidnapping, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and three other crimes.
Police arrested Palmer Saturday after receiving a tip that she was in the area in a dark-colored car, according to Fox23. She was arrested without incident, police said, and two other people were taken in for questioning. Her dog was picked up by animal control.
At the time of the alleged kidnapping, Palmer appeared to be crashing in the apartment where her 22-year-old husband resides for his drug addiction recovery program. As of June 2018, a judge said her husband was showing “strong participation” in the program and was also participating in employment training. He has not been charged in connection with the alleged kidnapping.
Palmer’s rap sheet, meanwhile, spans seven years and multiple aliases. In 2012, police say Palmer drove a black pickup into a friend’s red Lincoln Navigator, claiming she had already bought the car and he had purchased it out from under her. According to a police report, Palmer told officers she “became angry because she wanted the Lincoln, so she decided to give it a dent.” She later pleaded guilty to malicious injury to property.
That same year, an officer witnessed Palmer behaving “irrational” while fleeing the scene of a fight. According to a police report, she told the officer she was on probation and no longer used drugs, but was later discovered to be carrying a glass pipe inside of her vagina. When a judge ordered her to immediately report to a detox facility, she never showed up.
Palmer was arrested again in 2015, after police pulled her over for driving without headlights. According to a police report, she told the arresting officer she had a valid license but had lost her purse. She also reportedly claimed not to have insurance because she had just purchased the car from someone named “Brian” 10 days earlier. A records search revealed the car was reported stolen and Palmer’s license had expired earlier that year.
Palmer’s alleged male accomplices also have lengthy criminal records. O’Neal has been arrested multiple times on drug charges, and once for allegedly kicking his mother during a fight over a shared cellphone. (The charges were later dismissed.) Morrow, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to a string of burglaries in 2018 after being caught with several stolen hotel room key cards. He was also arrested in 2017 after pulling into a Whataburger in a stolen car.
Morrow and O’Neal could not be reached for comment and it was not clear if they have attorneys.
