Derek VanBuskirk

The victim’s account of the brutal attack on him and his wife. Les and his wife Natasha said the attackers tied the couple’s feet, blindfolded them, bound their arms behind their backs, and kept them apart for two to three hours of torture. Les: “The worst was when they started cutting my wife’s nipples, just to cause pain. She’s a very, very strong woman. A good woman.” They forced the barrel of Les’ own AK-47 into his mouth and pulled the trigger. It failed to fire. Les: “It was God’s grace. There’s nothing wrong with my gun. But they didn’t know much about guns, to be honest.” Natasha was nearly raped twice. Her clothes were cut off, she was slapped, and rags were forced into her mouth until her frenulum tore. Her lips are badly swollen, there are bruises behind her ears, and her shoulder was almost dislocated. Both were tortured with boiling water. Les was hit over the head with bolt cutters. His face was severely swollen, the white of one eye filled with blood, and his left eardrum burst. He cannot hear from that ear. The attackers told Natasha, “We’re not here to steal cables.” Bank cards were left untouched.