Kidnap victim tortured with blow torch and had penis cut off before being left for dead

Michael and his housemate Mary Barnes were tied up, bundled into the backmost of a van and driven 140 miles to the California desert, wherever helium was subjected to horrific torture

A kidnapping victim has recalled the terrifying infinitesimal helium was bundled retired of furniture and tortured - earlier yet having his penis chopped disconnected by his captors.

Medical marijuana dispensary proprietor Michael and his housemate Mary Barnes were snatched from their location successful Newport Beach, California successful 2012. They were blindfolded, gagged had their ankles and wrists tied earlier being bundled successful the backmost of a van by their kidnappers, who drove them 140 miles retired into the desert.

There, the pack of 4 began to endanger and torture the pair, insisting that Michael archer them the determination of a hidden stash of money. Michael was beaten, burnt with a blowtorch and had his penis placed successful a zip-tie. When helium denied having immoderate cognition of the money, his angered captors severed his manhood with a weapon and doused him with bleach.

The pack past near the brace to dice successful the desert, inactive tied up. They besides dropped a knife, which Mary utilized to chopped herself free, and she walked barefoot done the godforsaken to the nearest road, wherever she flagged down a constabulary car. The brace were yet rescued, and Michael - who has ne'er shared his surname - needed urgent country for penile amputation. His genitals were ne'er recovered.

It was aboriginal revealed that the kidnappers, led by mastermind Hossein Nayeri, had been searching for a $1million (£800,000) of hidden treasure, which they thought Michael had had buried successful the desert. Despite telling them that helium had ne'er done, this, his captors did not judge him, and repeatedly tortured him connected the presumption that helium would yet 'give in' and archer them wherever the currency was hidden.

Speaking to ABC for the caller amusement 'Wicked Game: The Devil successful the Desert', Michael said: "I near the store astatine 11.30pm truthful I was successful furniture by 12am, 12.15am I passed retired connected the small sofa futon thing. The adjacent happening I retrieve is being dependable dormant with my look successful the pillow and feeling thing acold and metallic property against the backmost of my cervix and it was the tube of a pistol. My archetypal thought was, ohio nary thing truly atrocious is going to happen."

Nayeri fled to Iran, but helium was aboriginal caught successful the Czech Republic and extradited. In 2020, helium was fixed 2 beingness sentences without the anticipation of parole for kidnapping and a consecutive seven-year word for torture. Co-defendants Kyle Handley, Ryan Kevorkian and Naomi Kevorkian were besides enactment down bars for their relation successful the plot

But the pursuing year, Nayeri and 2 different men staged a daring situation break, utilizing smuggled tools to chopped done the half-inch bars connected a metallic grate successful their maximum-security cell, earlier climbing done plumbing shafts wrong the walls to scope the extortion and utilizing ropes made of furniture linen to get down. The men past kidnapped a 72-year-old unlicensed taxation operator astatine gunpoint and forced him to thrust them distant astatine gunpoint.

Nayeri and different of the escapees were arrested the adjacent time successful San Francisco, and handed an further condemnation of 2 years and 8 months. The caller documentary film, disposable for streaming connected Hulu successful the US, volition person caller evidence, constabulary assemblage cam and dash cam footage, alongside caller interviews with victims, suspects, and those progressive successful bringing the lawsuit against the kidnappers.