Benjamin Obadiah Foster, who was charged with kidnapping and torturing a southern Oregon woman, died Tuesday night after an hour-long standoff with police, according to KTVL-TV.
The news outlet quoted Grants Pass police spokesman Jeff Hattersley as saying that Foster, 36, died in a nursing home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Authorities issued an updated statement saying: “After a standoff lasting several hours, Benjamin Foster is in custody. A press conference will be held tomorrow with additional information.”
They also reported that the woman he allegedly had kidnapped was still in critical condition in a hospital.
Police officers surrounded the house where Foster was believed to be hiding, a police source said.
The man was wanted for attempted murder, kidnapping and assault after it was said the woman was found unconscious, tied up and one step from death in Grants Pass last Tuesday.
Officers had pinned Foster under the porch of the home where his latest victim was found, a source announced. The police fired bullets and tear gas into the house and asked him to come out with a megaphone. At the time, the suspect was thought to be armed, a police source said.
There was a large law enforcement presence gathered outside the house on Tuesday night. A KTVL video showed officers surrounding the area and at times moving towards the house.
On Tuesday morning, Grants Pass police released a photo of what they said was Foster walking a dog “in the Grants Pass area.”
Last Thursday, local and federal officers raided a property in Wold Creek, about 20 miles north of Grants Pass, and seized the man’s vehicle. They also detained Tina Marie Jones, 68, for hindering a prosecution in the raid, but Foster was able to flee the scene.
Jones was accused of following Foster in a vehicle Thursday as he was driving to a remote location and intentionally guiding him over an embankment, court documents say. The woman took the defendant to the property that was later searched, according to court records.
Officials had revealed that Foster was “actively using online dating apps to contact unsuspecting individuals who may be enticed to assist in the suspect’s escape or potentially as additional victims.” They also warned that the subject could try to change her appearance by cutting or dyeing her hair or shaving her facial hair.
Before moving to Oregon in 2019, Foster had kidnapped his ex-girlfriend inside her Las Vegas apartment for two weeks. He was originally charged with five felony counts, including assault and battery, and faced decades in jail upon conviction. However, in August 2021, he reached a plea agreement with Clark County prosecutors allowing him to plead guilty to felony assault and misdemeanor assault that constitutes domestic violence.
The judge in charge of the case sentenced them to between 21 and 2 years in prison in the state of Nevada. But after nearly two years behind bars awaiting trial were included in his sentence, Foster served less than 200 more days in state custody.
The defendant’s ex-girlfriend suffered seven broken ribs, two black eyes and injuries from being bound at the wrists and ankles with zip ties and duct tape during the two weeks of her abduction, a Las Vegas police report said.
The victim told police that she was forced to drink bleach and suffocated to the point of unconsciousness.
The woman reportedly ran away when Foster lost sight of her on a trip together to a grocery store and a gas station.
Some police records indicate the suspect was out of custody at the time with a suspended jail sentence for carrying a concealed weapon without permission. In addition, he was awaiting trial in another 2018 case related to domestic violence, but the 2021 plea agreement with prosecutors resolved the domestic violence case, according to the copy of the agreement, and he was “sentenced to receive credit for time served.
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