St. Paul man brutally attacked, burned, held young woman against her will: charges
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A St. Paul man is facing charges in a brutal attack, where he is accused of holding his teen girlfriend against her will and repeatedly dumping boiling hot water on her over the course of three days.
Man charged in St. Paul attack, kidnapping
What we know:
On Friday, prosecutors brought charges against Jabari Junior, 22, of St. Paul. He faces two counts of felony kidnapping along with first- and second-degree assault.
Junior had been held in Ramsey County Jail since last Wednesday – the same day the victim was rushed to the hospital by authorities.
He made his first court appearance on Friday and a no-contact order has been issued for the victim.
Kidnapping victim hospitalized
The backstory:
The investigation into the kidnapping began on Jan. 29, when the victim was brought to the hospital after being found by Metro Transit officers at a bus shelter in the area of Wabasha Street South and Fillmore Avenue East. That bus stop is steps away from Junior's apartment, which is located along Wabasha Street just south of the Mississippi River.
At the hospital, police say the 19-year-old woman was being treated at the burn unit, with "severe, oozing burns to her face, arms, and torso."
Police also say she suffered:
- A stab wound to her left shin.
- She had a swollen face and was unable to open her right eye.
- She was unable to wear a hospital gown because "it stuck to her open wounds, causing her pain when she moved."
In later interviews, the victim claimed Junior and another man had kidnapped her from Chicago back in November 2024 and forced her to have sex for money with countless men over that time.
Timeline:
Police said the victim had a difficult time remembering everything that had happened to her but told investigators Junior was her boyfriend, and he had repeatedly beat and burned her over the course of three days from Jan. 27 to Jan. 29.
The charges describe the horrific attacks the victim endured over that time period. In the criminal complaint, police say the victim planned to stay overnight at his apartment on the 27th, but things turned violent when Junior became jealous.
Jan. 27
The violence began on Monday, when the couple began arguing about the victim allegedly talking to other men.
According to the criminal complaint:
- Junior grabbed a hair clipper, held the victim against the bed, and forcibly shaved her head while threatening that if she continued talking to other men, he would "make her look like one."
- He poured boiling water from a two-handed black pot onto the victim.
- Junior is accused of choking the victim while wielding a butcher's knife.
- The victim fought back as she struggled to breathe, and attempted to grab the knife. Junior, in turn, stabbed her leg.
Adding to the physical abuse, the charges state, at one point, the victim tried to escape the apartment, but Junior was able to thwart the attempt. Later in the night, Junior walked the victim to the Wabasha Bridge over the Mississippi River and encouraged her to jump. Ultimately, the couple returned to the apartment and went to sleep.
Jan. 28
The next day, the victim planned to leave for Chicago, but Junior tore up her bus ticket and refused to let her leave.
The victim says Junior went through cycles of "hot and cold" behavior – brutally attacking her at one moment then treating her nicely and caring for her wounds in the next moment.
When the victim again tried to leave, Junior threw another pot of boiling water at her. The victim says Junior threw boiling water on her three to four times over the weekend.
Jan. 29
The next day, the victim said she woke up to Junior throwing boiling water on her from a sauce pan. At that point, the victim's injuries were so bad, she couldn't see from her right eye.
She said Junior walked her to the bus stop near Wabasha and Fillmore and called 911, allowing her to talk to the dispatcher. Junior told the victim to lie about what happened and ran back to his apartment when he heard sirens, the complaint states.
The victim also said Junior cleaned his apartment to get rid of evidence, and she feared he would kill her if not arrested.
Suspect questioned by police.
Dig deeper:
After speaking with the victim, police were able to get a search warrant to search Junior's apartment.
Inside, as the victim had said, the apartment appeared clean. But officers were able to find fresh hair clippings, pots matching what the victim had described, and gray sweatpants with dark red spots on the upper right thigh area.
Speaking with police, Junior claimed the young woman was a victim of sex trafficking and had been attacked by another man she had slept with. He did admit that he had dumped water on the victim but claimed it was an accident while he was cooking. After initially denying any knowledge of the stabbing, police say Junior also admitted to accidentally stabbing the victim.
The charges state Junior also denied cutting the victim's hair but, when pressed about the clippings found in his apartment, he admitted to cutting her hair a little bit.
The Source: Charges filed in Ramsey County.