Updated Nov. 12, at 3:40 p.m.
A 37-year-old man was arrested on kidnapping and assault charges after he allegedly held a woman against her will at a remote cabin for five weeks.
Daniel L. Selovich, 37, of Manley Hot Springs, was charged with kidnapping, two counts of fourth-degree assault, one count of third-degree assault and two counts of first-degree sexual assault.
On Nov. 7 around 11:30 a.m., troopers said they received a report of a “seriously ill” woman who needed to be taken to a hospital from a cabin located about 16 miles south of Manley Hot Springs. A friend of the victim called troopers, according to AST spokesperson Beth Ipsen.
Charging documents stated the friend was contacted by the victim via Facebook Messenger. The victim told her friend she “was having pains in her chest and thought she had pneumonia.”
Troopers and the Rescue Coordination Center tried to send a military helicopter and crew to the remote cabin, but the response was delayed because of poor weather, according to troopers.
The next day around 9:30 a.m., the helicopter crew was able to get to the cabin and took the woman and Selovich to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
Troopers said they went to the hospital and determined the woman was a victim of domestic violence-related assaults for more than a month — from Sept. 26 to Nov. 7. Troopers saw bruises on her arms and head a laceration on the right side of her neck.
During her discussion with troopers, the victim stated Selovich picked her up from the Fairbanks International Airport in a U-Haul van on Sept. 26. He first sexually assaulted her inside the van a few hours later. She and Selovich stayed at a Fairbanks hotel and had sexual intercourse, which troopers noted she “did not tell Daniel no or stop,” according to court records.
The two flew to his cabin on Oct. 1.
“He reportedly subjected the woman to many sexually assaults, and assaulted her several times causing non-life-threatening injuries,” the dispatch says.
Court documents showed Selovich “sexually assaulted her at the minimum two times each day to the maximum six times each day,” according to the victim.
The victim claimed Selovich duct-taped himself to her in order to prevent her from running away, court records show. He would also tie a rope that was anchored to a roof support around her neck and bind her hands together.
“[She] stated she thought it would be better for her to run from the cabin and possibly be eaten by a bear [than] continue being physically and sexually assaulted by [Selovich],” a trooper affidavit said.
Selovich was also hospitalized in Fairbanks before being remanded to the Fairbanks Correctional Center, troopers say.
Criminal Past
Online records show someone matching Selovich’s full name and date of birth has a criminal record spanning at least four other states.
In 2008, a warrant for Selovich’s arrest was issued by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s office in Tennessee, under the charge of vandalism/malicious mischief.
In 2009, Selovich was reportedly arrested and charged with fourth-degree assault in Benton County, according to the Tri-City Herald. He was convicted and sentenced to 365 days in jail with 360 suspended and a fine of $450.
In 2010, arrest records show Selovich was arrested in Shasta, Calif., for “rape by force/fear” and assault with a deadly weapon. The Record Searchlight, a Redding, Calif. news organization, reported the charges stemmed from a 2004 case where the victim reported he “bit and repeatedly slapped her” during the assault.
–This is a developing story.
