Investigators interviewed the three victims earlier this month. They are now 20, 20 and 23 years old. What they described is horrific.
One woman was 16 when she met Zavala in March or April of 2011, an investigator states. Two weeks later, Zavala locked her in his bedroom and raped her “on an almost daily basis.”
She was scared for her life and felt isolated, describing the home as “in the middle of nowhere,” according to an affidavit. “She did not know anyone in that area that could help her escape from Zavala,” it reads. She became pregnant and then was somehow able to escape.
Another woman was 17 when she was held captive at the Tuttle home, from about January to August 2012, the affidavit states. During that time, she was punched, strangled, hit with a metal bar and cut with a box knife.
One time, Zavala is alleged to have shoved his hands into the back of her throat, causing her to vomit and be unable to eat for a period of time, the investigator wrote.
She, too, was sexually assaulted and became pregnant as a result, court records show. She was eventually able to escape.
A third victim began dating Zavala in October 2012, court records show. She was homeless at the time and had no family support, and Zavala offered her a place to live. But shortly after she moved in, Zavala had her car towed, leaving her with no transportation.
In one particularly violent assault, Zavala allegedly bashed the woman in the head with a hammer multiple times in December 2012, causing a permanent skull deformity. When she tried to run from him, he struck her again in the head with the hammer and in the abdomen with a metal bar. “Zavala told (her) no one would miss her when she was dead, because no one was looking for her,” the affidavit states.
The woman told investigators Zavala raped her nearly every day, court records show. Zavala allegedly used a belt on occasion to strangle her during the attacks, causing her to lose consciousness.
