Image inset: Winston Eccleston (courtesy of Haywood County Sheriff’s Office). Background image: The location in North Carolina where Eccleston allegedly imprisoned a woman (Google Maps).
A North Carolina man is behind bars for the rape of a woman he held captive for nearly five months, state law enforcement allege.
Winston Eccleston, aged 26, is charged with multiple offenses, including forced sexual assault, abduction, and several crimes involving firearms, according to court documents from Buncombe and Haywood counties.
The victim in the case, who spoke with authorities in late May, had been missing since January, as detailed in a search warrant accessed by Law&Crime. On the day she vanished, she accepted a ride from a man she encountered while walking in Asheville.
Soon enough, however, that offer of transport led her to a waking nightmare of forced confinement and sexual assault, authorities say.
One search warrant states, “[The victim] recounted being held by chains inside a camper, locked inside a wooden box, and confined in a metal box by Winston Eccleston to prevent her escape. She also reported physical assaults and threats to deter her from leaving.”
The woman informed authorities she had been held against her will in two different campers at an RV park on Weeping Cherry Drive in Waynesville, a town about 30 miles west of Asheville.
A detective on May 22 noted, “[The victim] reported that both campers contained dogs trapped in cages or wooden boxes, neglected, living in filth, and infested with fleas. She mentioned seeing the dogs today.”
When executing the search warrant at the RV park, investigators found five dogs – as well as weapons and pieces of tactical gear.
“Trash and animal feces were scattered on the floor,” another warrant reads. “A wooden box to the left rear of the room contained several canines, that had been screwed shut. Hanging on the wall above the bed, several firearms on display in what would be the living room.”
A second detective described the recovered guns as: (1) a Radical Firearms “AR-15 style rifle”; (2) a “Highpoint pistol with live rounds” and the serial numbers “grinded off” stashed inside a tactical vest; and (3) a Smith & Wesson .22 caliber handgun.
A pair of black handcuffs with tape affixed to the chain were allegedly found next to the third gun. And just to “the immediate right” of the handcuffs, detectives said they found a door “with several locks on the exterior.” Inside that door, investigators found several cameras “pointed towards the room,” according to the search warrant.
A tell-tale description of the evidence in the room is included:
Multiple ropes and locks were located throughout along with an additional set of handcuffs. As the search continued silver in color truck toolbox laid on the floor by the exterior wall was observed. Set on the toolbox was a black in color plastic container that contained several zip ties, rope, gloves, face mask, and a whip.
As the investigation continued, the toolbox was opened and immediately noticed the odor from inside the toolbox was similar to the smell of human [defecation]. Laid inside was several blankets, socks and a chain. The floor of the toolbox was lined with carpet.
All that evidence combined, authorities say, support the woman’s claim of being held against her will, according to the search warrants.
But the allegations also border on the bizarre.
During the ordeal, the victim was allegedly taken to sometimes meet and dine with the defendant’s father, according to some of the warrants.
In a later interview with law enforcement the alleged victim described the defendant taking her to Applebee’s once to have dinner, according to one warrant. Eccleston’s father is said to have been at that meal.
One warrant describes the situation, at length:
[The woman] said she had been over to his dads house and believes his name is Stephen Eccleston. [The woman] said his dad lived off Pollywood Park and they had been over few times to cook food and take showers. Later in the interview [The woman] talks about them moving locations. [The woman] said she was in a trash can on the back of work buggy. [The woman] said at some point his dad was helping make the move, and his dad called him and said “hold up and wait, there’s law out here.” Lt. Greene asked [The woman] why his dad would say that about the law, and warn Winston that the law was out. [The woman] said because his dad knew about me[.]”
The warrant also alleges to contain a snippet of an emailed jail conversation between the son and his father in which the defendant allegedly asks: “do you still at least have the photo of her free.” The elder Eccleston allegedly replies: “yes, do. I’m also requesting my phone records to find out the exact date when we went to Applebee’s.”
In late June, law enforcement searched properties owned by the defendant’s father. In response to one question, the elder Eccleston described a second property “where ‘they’ spent most of their time and took showers,” according to one warrant.
Stephen Eccleston has not been charged with a crime as of this writing.
Despite the evidence of occasionally appearing in public, the defendant allegedly kept the victim under constant threat of violence, authorities say.
Winston Eccleston was arrested in late May; he was indicted earlier this month. The defendant is currently being detained in the Haywood County Detention Center without bond. His next court appearance is slated for Sept. 15.
