PRINCETON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A woman says she was enticed and fraudulently misled by a man thinking he would give her a ride from Princeton, WV, to North Carolina to a friend’s funeral, then everything takes a turn for the worse.
The victim says she had packed several items to take on the promised trip and got into the vehicle at Sheetz gas station in Princeton with Robert Hairston from Kimball, WV. The victim says another woman was in the car that she did not know very well but stated they knew the victim’s deceased friend and wanted to go to the funeral, too.
When they began the trip to what should have been to North Carolina, Robert Hairston claimed he needed to run a few errands and that they would leave for North Carolina at around 4:30 pm. At the end of the day, Robert dropped off the one female in the car at her job in Princeton, showing that there was no plan for her to take the trip with them; it was preplanned to get the victim alone with Hairston under false pretenses. After the other woman was dropped off, Hairston became angry and verbally abusive toward her. When the female victim would ask Hairston about going to the funeral, he would scream and curse, telling her to “shut the f*&% up” and that “she was a white entitled bit*%.” Hairston struck the victim in the head and threatened to beat her if she continued to ask about leaving for the funeral.
The victim says she was forced to ride with Hairston all day Tuesday, Tuesday night, and Wednesday. He then took her to a trailer, accused her of being an informant, and made her strip her clothes off, looking for a wire. While she was naked, Hairston sexually assaulted and sexually abused her. He told her how he was going to kill her and dismember her so that she couldn’t be found.
The victim said she begged Hairston to let her go, but every time he would strike her and continue to tell her he was going to rape and kill her. He forced the female back into the car on Wednesday and drove her around going to places, making her go with him so she wouldn’t flee.
On Thursday, Hairston to the victim to his mother’s home in Princeton. The victim says that Hairston had been drinking alcohol and taking street drugs the whole time he had her, and he finally passed out at his mother’s house. The victim further stated that he left his cell phone unlocked, and while he was passed out, she used his phone and got on his Facebook account to message her friend. She pleaded with her friend to help and come get her, to which he agreed. She sent the GPS location via Facebook Messenger. She then exited the home, and her friend picked her up along the road and took her home. The victim came to the West Virginia State Police Princeton Detachment center two days later and showed them the messages and what happened. They noticed bruises on her face, eyes, ears, arms, and legs.
Hairston is charged with kidnapping, six counts of malicious assault, six counts of assault during the commission of a felony, four counts of sexual abuse in the first degree, sexual assault, and conspiracy.
He is being held in Southern Regional Jail under a 250,000 dollar bond.