GUILTY OH - Woman held captive in pit, neighbor arrested, Blanchester, 26 April 2017

[policyoftruth501]

It makes me wonder if the previous voices he heard were other victims he had done the same thing to and were screaming to get out.

"police say he repeatedly called them to his home because he heard voices"

I hope LE investigates under his house and for any recent digging in his yard. And check to see if anyone else went missing that lived nearby.

This guy needs put away

http://www.fox19.com/story/35251406/heavy-police-presence-at-blanchester-home

If he truly has schizophrenia (and from the articles and complaints it sounds like he does), hearing voices is a very common condition of this mental disorder. The voices don't represent any particular person, place, or thing, but they are quite often irrational and instruct the person who hears the voices to behave irrationally.

Again, if he truly has schizophrenia this woman is quite possibly very lucky to have escaped without any serious injuries or even death. I would also expect to hear that the defense intends to enter a plea based on mental defect. Schizophrenia is one a very small number of mental disorders that can actually qualify a defendant for a mental defect plea because people who suffer from schizophrenia endure psychotic breaks, delusions, and voices making their reality anything but actual reality.


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[rsd1200]

The police say he needs mental health help but they (the mental health eval place) had kept releasing him b/c the state of OH has nearly done away w/all of their facilities. That's sad. This man needed help. It is reported, in the 2nd link, that she had "she reported the harassment by Dennis Dunn in October. But they say she declined to participate in any prosecution of him at that time." It seems like LE, and the mental health staff, and possibly even the victim, knew he needed mental health care but the state of OH (like many other states) doesn't think mental health care is a priority. Now he'll go to prison for awhile, where he'll likely receive no mental health care, and eventually be released back into the population, and quite possibly be worse off than what he already is. If they'd been able to admit him to a mental health care facility, this all might possibly have been prevented.

http://www.fox19.com/story/35253702/police-kidnapping-suspect-has-history-of-mental-health-issues

http://www.wvalways.com/story/35257609/the-latest-police-say-woman-in-pit-had-reported-harassment

 

[Betty P]

The police say he needs mental health help but they (the mental health eval place) had kept releasing him b/c the state of OH has nearly done away w/all of their facilities. That's sad. This man needed help. It is reported, in the 2nd link, that she had "she reported the harassment by Dennis Dunn in October. But they say she declined to participate in any prosecution of him at that time." It seems like LE, and the mental health staff, and possibly even the victim, knew he needed mental health care but the state of OH (like many other states) doesn't think mental health care is a priority. Now he'll go to prison for awhile, where he'll likely receive no mental health care, and eventually be released back into the population, and quite possibly be worse off than what he already is. If they'd been able to admit him to a mental health care facility, this all might possibly have been prevented.

http://www.fox19.com/story/35253702/police-kidnapping-suspect-has-history-of-mental-health-issues

http://www.wvalways.com/story/35257609/the-latest-police-say-woman-in-pit-had-reported-harassment

Very sad, but an ongoing problem in Ohio. Mental health activists work very hard to get funding to keep patients in treatment and out of the criminal justice system, but lately it's a losing battle. Funding has been cut drastically in the last several years. Rural areas like this probably suffer the most in trying to help people with mental illness. At least in larger urban areas, the county can raise and gather enough funds elsewhere to have some safety net in place. Rural counties don't have the ability to levy taxes or get federal money to help. Our governor and legislators should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[Tssiemer]

As a mental health professional in Ohio, I can attest to the dwindling resources.


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[policyoftruth501]

Mental health care is in trouble all over the country. And the really sad part is the people who desperately need treatment the most and absolutely must be on medications every day for their own safety and for the safety of others are usually the first ones put out on the street because their care is so expensive.


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[Betty P]

As a mental health professional in Ohio, I can attest to the dwindling resources.


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I'm sure you can. I used to rent office space in the same building as a big mental health agency. Things were bad 10 yrs ago, I'm sure they're much worse now. As they always pointed out in their meetings, it costs the state much more money to deal with mentally ill people by pushing them into the law enforcement and criminal justice systems. Besides being inhumane, it's ridiculously expensive and, as we see in this case, a horrible burden on the community.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

man kidnapped, held captive in pit recalls ordeal: 'When he closed the shed door, he said I love you'

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ohio-woman-held-captive-pit-recalls-ordeal-article-1.3137448

 

[everybodhi]

Oh my lord, his lawyer now says she set him up somehow but doesn't explain.

"Hartke pointed out that he is not saying Elliott didn’t go through trauma while being locked away in a dirt pit in the shed. He said he wasn’t putting the blame on her, but there were a lot of odd statements made that didn’t make sense to him."
"I’m not saying my client is totally innocent by any means. [But] I don’t think he’s guilty of kidnapping. He may be guilty of unlawful restraint.”
http://www.crimeonline.com/2017/05/...w-neighbor-in-dirt-pit-says-hes-being-set-up/

 

[Betty P]

Oh my lord, his lawyer now says she set him up somehow but doesn't explain.

"Hartke pointed out that he is not saying Elliott didn’t go through trauma while being locked away in a dirt pit in the shed. He said he wasn’t putting the blame on her, but there were a lot of odd statements made that didn’t make sense to him."
"I’m not saying my client is totally innocent by any means. [But] I don’t think he’s guilty of kidnapping. He may be guilty of unlawful restraint.”
http://www.crimeonline.com/2017/05/...w-neighbor-in-dirt-pit-says-hes-being-set-up/

Is the attorney really believing the statements of a man with mental illness so serious he has auditory hallucinations? Will have to follow this case as rural Ohio can be extremely conservative. In most judicial systems, courts would be careful about taking a mentally ill criminal's statements at face value. In rural Ohio, not so much.

This case is already getting weird. The court has already made the victim testify in court at a preliminary hearing. She's been traumatized enough, but now they have to put her through the legal wringer to justify prosecuting this guy? SOP in cases of mentally ill criminals is to put them on medication for at least a month or so until they're stabilized and able to participate in the legal proceedings.

It looks like they're referring the case to a grand jury. Why? It's a clear cut case. The guy stalked the woman, harassed her, kidnapped her and buried her in a pit in the ground under his shed. Ugh, Ohio.

http://www.wcpo.com/news/crime/blan...youre-mine-now-before-stuffing-her-under-shed

 

[Tssiemer]

He knew what he was doing was wrong as well because he hid it! I also think he's done it before. I'm going to see if I have any contacts over there to see what's going on.


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[Betty P]

He knew what he was doing was wrong as well because he hid it! I also think he's done it before. I'm going to see if I have any contacts over there to see what's going on.


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I was wondering about that. When did he dig the pit he put her in? Most people don't have human-sized underground pits in their storage sheds, right? Digging the pit would show some level of pre-meditation.

How can the judge question whether she was actually kidnapped? Is he thinking the woman went to his back yard, into the shed and climbed into the underground pit of her own free will?

(A) No person, by force, threat, or deception, or, in the case of a victim under the age of thirteen or mentally incompetent, by any means, shall remove another from the place where the other person is found or restrain the liberty of the other person, for any of the following purposes:

(1) To hold for ransom, or as a shield or hostage;

(2) To facilitate the commission of any felony or flight thereafter;

(3) To terrorize, or to inflict serious physical harm on the victim or another;

(4) To engage in sexual activity, as defined in section 2907.01 of the Revised Code, with the victim against the victim's will;

...

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2905.01

 

[everybodhi]

I was wondering about that. When did he dig the pit he put her in? Most people don't have human-sized underground pits in their storage sheds, right? Digging the pit would show some level of pre-meditation.

How can the judge question whether she was actually kidnapped? Is he thinking the woman went to his back yard, into the shed and climbed into the underground pit of her own free will?



http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2905.01

It's his defense lawyer with the questions, Dunn still has a million dollar bond so I guess the judge is not buying it.

"But [Hartke] argues that several parts of her allegations seem odd, such as that she had her cell phone on her in the pit and that police found several people outside Dunn’s shed while she was allegedly abducted and calling for help, but they all waited for officers to retrieve her.
No one went inside to look for her and instead her mother called the police, Hartke says, citing court testimony on Thursday.
“It’s my opinion that she was not being as truthful as she should have been on the stand,” he says."
http://people.com/crime/ohio-man-dennis-dunn-defense-attorney-responds-kidnapping/

I thought I read there was a padlock on the shed.

This lawyer is doing what lawyers more often than not do to women victims, paint a picture of a crazy woman that set the poor guy up (to dig a hole and have a piece of wood and a lawnmower ready to put on top to trap her).
He's also suggesting they may have had a sexual relationship in the past which justifies what part of this crime?
To suggest her mom should have went on the mentally ill man's property to rescue her rather than calling the cops is a lousy attempt to create questions about the victim, IMO.
I hate it that the system that is supposed to protect, abuses the victim all through the legal process.

 

[everybodhi]

"Dunn’s mental health may be a factor in this case as well: Hartke says his client believes he may have bipolar disorder."

His defense seems to be Dunn may be mentally ill but also the victim and her family may have staged the entire thing while he was innocently sleeping, to set him up.

“I don’t know the truth of what occurred between my client and the victim,” Hartke tells PEOPLE. “There are two different stories. I wasn’t there, I don’t know.”

 

[everybodhi]

His defense lawyer is a real winner.
bbm

"Dunn's attorney asked Keller if Elliott's seizure could have been fake. Dunn's attorney asked for the kidnapping charge to be dropped. The judge denied the request."
:facepalm:

http://turnto10.com/news/nation-wor...ghbor-accused-of-holding-her-captive-in-a-pit

 

[LadyL]

omg what a horrifying experience for her

I hope she can heal at her own pace without being doubted further by his lawyer

 

[LadyL]

according to his FB, he was working in 2013

I feel bad for his parents

 

[Tssiemer]

From what I hear they are trying to say she encouraged him to do this. It sounds like a lot of nonsense and blaming the victim.


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[J4cknsal1y]

His defense lawyer is a real winner.
bbm

"Dunn's attorney asked Keller if Elliott's seizure could have been fake. Dunn's attorney asked for the kidnapping charge to be dropped. The judge denied the request."
:facepalm:

http://turnto10.com/news/nation-wor...ghbor-accused-of-holding-her-captive-in-a-pit

I don't think it could get much more ridiculous. How awful


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[everybodhi]

From what I hear they are trying to say she encouraged him to do this. It sounds like a lot of nonsense and blaming the victim.

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Poor innocent dudes have to be careful or a bad woman may come along and encourage him to dig a hole in his shed and trap her in it.
Did they ask what she was wearing?

 

[Tssiemer]

Poor innocent dudes have to be careful or a bad woman may come along and encourage him to dig a hole in his shed and trap her in it.
Did they ask what she was wearing?

That was probably a question asked, yes. They asked if her seizure was real.

Defense is trying to say her actions toward him led to this. That she was nice and understanding of him even though they had a history.


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