Woman accused of keeping sister-in-law prisoner — and using this cruel torture method

A Michigan woman is accused of keeping her disabled relative locked in a basement – where she tortured him by blasting the radio non-stop and almost starved him to death, according to authorities.

Tasha Beamon, 48, was hit with vulnerable adult abuse and unlawful imprisonment charges after police said her sister-in-law escaped the prison-like confinement and broke a neighbor’s window in a brave bid for freedom on March 15. 

After the neighbor called 911, the 58-year-old victim told cops that Beamon, her late brother’s wife, had been holding her captive in the Saginaw home’s basement for two years, local news outlet MLive reported. 

Tasha Beamon, 48, was hit with vulnerable adult abuse and unlawful imprisonment charges for allegedly keeping her sister-in-law prisoner — so she could collect the victim’s disability checks, according to police. Saginaw County Sheriff's Office

“She told officers she was not fed very often and that she didn’t have any access to water,” Saginaw Police Detective Sgt. Jeff Doud told the outlet. 

Besides a dingy mattress, the only item in the basement was a radio that incessantly played at full volume, the victim reportedly told cops. 

Regarding her getaway, Doud said: “She didn’t believe anyone was home at the time, so she was able to force a door open and escape.

“Usually, somebody was there” at the house, he explained. 

The neighbor later told ABC 12 that he was stunned to find the victim suddenly in his living room with a metal pipe “almost as big as she is.”

“I don’t even know how she had the power to even break the window,” the man said, explaining that he initially believed the “skin and bones” woman to be in her late 70s.

The victim was taken to a local hospital, where staffers told cops she would likely die from severe malnutrition if she was released, MLive reported. 

Meanwhile, police went to Beamon’s house – which she reportedly purchased months after the victim’s brother died in January 2021 – and found its doors open.

There, they witnessed a lock on the basement door, a mattress on the ground and a radio playing loudly, according to the outlet. 

The 58-year-old victim escaped the alleged house of horrors and made a bid for freedom on March 15. Google Maps

They also found a five-gallon bucket of urine in the sick cellar. 

Over the next several days, Beamon allegedly called the hospital about her relative over 40 times – and admitted to cops that she kept her in the house without letting her leave. 

Investigators believe she held the older woman captive in order to cash in her disability checks, according to Doud, who didn’t identify the woman’s condition.

Beamon was arrested on April 2 and ordered held in Saginaw County Jail on $100,000 bond, after prosecutors reportedly described her as a danger to the public. She will appear for a preliminary examination on April 20. 

It wasn’t immediately clear if Beamon had retained an attorney.