Women sentenced for violent 2020 abduction and beating
Published at | Updated at
IDAHO FALLS – A local woman was sentenced on Monday for the violent 2020 abduction of a Rexburg woman.
Tabatha McKnight, 39, was sentenced by District Judge Dane Watkins to a minimum of two years and a maximum of 10 years in prison.
McKnight originally pleaded not guilty to felony first-degree kidnapping, felony aggravated battery, felony grand theft, misdemeanor assault and misdemeanor battery. She changed her plea to guilty in October after reaching a plea agreement.
RELATED | Woman accused in violent abduction pleads guilty
According to the plea agreement, McKnight pleaded guilty to felony burglary; an amended charge of felony intimidating, influencing or impeding a witness; and an amended charge of felony accessory to willfully withhold, conceal or harbor a felon. In exchange, prosecution agreed to drop the other charges.
Additionally, Watkins sentenced Mcknight to a minimum of zero years and a maximum of three years in prison for felony intimidating, influencing or impeding a witness, which will run consecutively with the first charge.
Lastly, McKnight was sentenced to a minimum of zero years and a maximum of three years in prison for felony accessory to willfully withhold, conceal or harbor a felon, which will run concurrently with the second charge.
Maddeline Ovard, 31, was another woman arrested in connection to the kidnapping. She pleaded guilty to felony second-degree kidnapping, felony grand theft, felony aggravated battery, felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor battery in June 2021 as part of a plea agreement.
Ovard was sentenced to three to 23 years in prison by Judge Dane Watkins.
RELATED | Two women in custody for their alleged involvement in violent kidnapping
On March 25, 2020, Idaho Falls Police found a beaten woman at Wolverine Canyon in Bingham County following reports of an abduction.
The woman, who suffered severe injuries, told police the abduction was done by Ovard and McKnight.
The victim told investigators that around 8 p.m. the night before, Ovard, McKnight and another woman attacked her while wearing masks at a home, according to police reports.
Ovard used a socket wrench and brass knuckles to repeatedly hit the woman before taking $400 in cash, keys and a cell phone.
The attackers drove the blindfolded victim to an unknown location, where they continued to beat her with brass knuckles, according to a police report.
RELATED | Police looking for 2 women in connection to violent abduction case
Police say the attack lasted a couple of hours, and the victim said Ovard threatened to slit her throat while McKnight threatened to shoot her.
Around 9:30 p.m., a friend of the victim received Facebook messages from her, showing her bound with her head covered. In a video message, the victim reportedly argued with McKnight about sleeping with a man. The friend called the police to report the messages.
The attackers eventually stopped and loaded the victim into a car before driving her to the canyon in Bingham County.
Ovard and McKnight then had the victim strip and sit on a rock until they left.
The victim suffered a skull fracture and a potential brain bleed but refused treatment, according to police.