Local man arrested after police say he attacked a woman and held her hostage

IDAHO FALLS — A 43-year-old man is facing charges in district court after being accused of beating a woman and holding her hostage.

Nathan Kenneth Eckersell is charged with felony attempted strangulation and misdemeanor charges of battery, intentional destruction of a telecommunication line and a violation of a no-contact order. Eckersell has pleaded not guilty to the last two charges.

On Dec. 1, around 8:44 a.m., an Idaho Falls Police officer responded to a home after a report of a kidnapping. Dispatch stated a woman had been “held at the residence against her will, and she had been beaten but was able to escape and was waiting in her vehicle at Eagle Rock Junior High School,” according to court documents.

When officers arrived to meet with the victim, she stated she entered Eckersell’s home after work the night before and saw “(Eckersell) completing a drug transaction between two of his friends.” She told officers that Eckersell is a fentanyl and methamphetamine addict.

The two friends left, and the victim says she and Eckersell argued before falling asleep around 4 a.m. She told police she slept for around 30 minutes before waking up to see Eckersell sitting on the side of the bed with “a piece of tin foil in his hands.”

The victim says she got up and told Eckersell she was leaving, but he “stood in front of the door to prevent her from leaving.”

According to the victim, she tried to reach for her phone on the headboard of the bed to call 911, but Eckersell took it from her and “placed both hands around (the victim’s) neck with his thumbs near her throat and began choking (the victim).”

Eckersell allegedly placed the victim on the bed and continued to choke her while pressing his knee into her side to “help hold her down.” Officer reports say there was “inflammation and bruising around the base of (the victim’s) neck.”

During this fight, Eckersell also reportedly hit the victim with an open fist “approximately five to six times.”

The victim was able to escape the choking, and Eckersell stated he was going to smoke a cigarette in the garage. The victim says she grabbed her coat and purse and tried to escape by running out the front door of the garage, but says Eckersell “grabbed her by her ponytail and pulled her backward.

He then reportedly told her to “sit near a wooden spool in the garage and smoke with him.”

While Eckersell was smoking, the victim tried to escape again out the back door of the garage, but Eckersell allegedly “grabbed her shoulders from behind and threw her back into the garage area,” causing her to “hit her left ribcage area on a chair.” She told officers she believed she strained her back muscles due to being thrown.

Eckersell then “made (the victim) remove her coat to prevent her from leaving because it was cold outside. He then finished smoking and went inside to grab a glass of water, and the victim was able to run out the front door of the home, get into her car, and call 911 while driving to the school.

Officers say the victim had “a noticeable bruise behind (her) ear,” a ruptured blood vessel near her ear, bruises on the front of her chest, scratch marks, and bruising around the base of her neck, and she complained of lower back and pelvis pain.

After speaking to the victim, officers tried calling and texting Eckersell but could not reach him. They then set up a perimeter around his home, but he refused to leave or make a statement to them other than “(the victim) was lying.”

Police reports say officers eventually left the home as “(Eckersell) was believed to be home alone and didn’t meet the requirements of calling in the Idaho Falls SWAT team.”

Officers then met with the victim at EIRMC, who informed them that a previous no-contact order was in place between her and Eckersell.

According to Vine, Eckersell was arrested and booked into the Bonneville County jail on Dec. 2 with a $35,000 bond. He later posted bail and was released on Dec. 17.

He is expected to appear for a District Court arraignment on Feb. 10. If convicted, he could face up to 26 and a half years in prison. Though Eckersell has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

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