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Star-News – Aug 4, 1993
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On 5 September 1991, a woman was working at her family’s business in Asheville, North Carolina. That morning, Guy Pendergrass and Rhoda Bruington (“Bruington”) came into the shop looking at wedding dresses for their purported wedding. After some time, Bruington pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the woman.
Pendergrass ordered the woman to place a note on the door of the store saying, “Be Back in One Hour.” Subsequently,the woman’s daughter entered the store and was forced to lie on the floor of the dressing room where she and her mother were bound and gagged by defendant. Soon thereafter, another woman entered the shop to return a tuxedo but was also tied up and forced by Pendergrass to lie on the floor of the dressing room along with the other women.
Subsequently, another daughter of the employee came into the shop with her five-month old baby whereupon Bruington pointed a gun at the baby’s head. Upon Pendergrass’ order, this woman put the baby into a crib located in the shop. Despite her pleas to hold the baby because it suffered from a breathing disorder and because she was breast-feeding the child, Pendergrass refused to allow her to hold the child. Defendant then forced her to the dressing room whereother women already lay bound and gagged and similarly forced her to lie on the floor where he bound and gagged her.
Pendergrass then molested two of the women and raped one of the women while holding scissors to her throat and telling her to shut her eyes. After withdrawing his penis from her vagina, he ejaculated on her stomach and throat.
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