She told police that Maxwell had "forced his way into her residence, assaulted her, tied her up and got her into his vehicle," according to the affidavit. Two days later, Maxwell allegedly returned to the woman's home and burned it down, she told police....
Maxwell admitted that he had hit the woman several times with his fist and a rolling pin, according to court records. He told police that he bound the woman with handcuffs and "strung her up in a homemade device used for skinning deer," according to court documents.
Police swept the home, finding handcuffs, ankle restraints, sex toys and a leather gag.
"I hope I never see it again," Parker County Sheriff Randy Fowler told ABC Affiliate WFAA. "To me, it was a house of horrors."...
Watauga police arrested Maxwell for aggravated assault in 1987 after Martha Maxwell was found bound with duct tape, drugged and with her throat slashed.
A former detective who investigated the case told the Dallas Morning News that Martha Maxwell dropped the charges against her husband.
Five years later, she disappeared.