The family of a kidnapped woman in Duson, La., Bethany Arceneaux, took justice into their own hands Friday when they rescued Arceneaux from her captor, Scott Thomas, killing Thomas in the scuffle that ensued.
Arceneaux, 29, was kidnapped on Wednesday from a child-care center parking lot by Thomas, 29, the father of her son, reported The Advertiser. Their 2-year-old son was in her car at the time and was not harmed.
Arceneaux’s family received a tip that she was being kept in an abandoned house nearby. As law enforcement had not yet acted, a half dozen family members assembled at the house and kicked down the door. They said they did not know what they would find.
They found Arceneaux, bloody but alive, and Thomas. In the confrontation between Arceneaux’s family and Thomas, guns were fired and Thomas was fatally shot.
Arceneaux, who had been stabbed multiple times by Thomas, also sustained further injuries. She was driven to a nearby hospital and is reportedly in stable condition.
“She’s shook up, she’s sliced up, but she’s alright,” said Ryan Arceneaux, Bethany Arceneaux’s brother, who was involved in the confrontation along with another brother, Kaylyn Alfred.
“We found her. We went and got her in that house. We kicked doors down. It was like a movie unfolding.”
According to USA Today, Arceneaux had a protective order issued against Thomas on June 17. He was arrested Aug. 8 for violating the order and charged with aggravated assault and aggravated flight from an officer.
“He keeps threatening to kill us,” Arceneaux wrote in her complaint to police. “He put a knife to my neck countless times.”
“I can just imagine how chaotic that confrontation was,” police spokesperson Capt. Kip Judice told KATC. “The person who acted in defense of Ms. Arceneaux is a relative, a close relative to her. So I can imagine his emotions were probably high, and everyone’s levels were very escalated.”
Judice said that while events indicate that the family members acted to protect Arceneaux, police are still investigating the incident. It is not clear whether any of the Arceneaux family will face charges.
Sources: The Advertiser, USA Today, KATC, KPEL 9.65
