Update: Last week, we reported about Claude Wilkerson, a former Texas death row inmate who was arrested in Mesa County for sexual assault, kidnapping and more; see our previous coverage below.
Now, additional details about Wilkerson's alleged crimes have emerged — and they're shocking.
He's accused of holding a woman hostage in his rural home for months, during which he's said to have raped her on multiple occasions.
Moreover, authorities believe a young runaway also living on the property helped Wilkerson knock the woman unconscious with the use of diesel engine cleaner.
The crimes took place in the small Western Slope community of Gateway.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, authorities stumbled upon what the paper describes as a "house of horrors" on February 20, after Mesa County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to reports that a runaway had been found.
The girl said Wilkerson, who she knew as "Chay," was keeping a woman tied to his bed — and that she'd helped him bind her.
She added that he'd threatened to kill her if she blew the whistle on them.
A deputy subsequently met with Wilkerson and the woman, whose mannerisms struck him as troubling.
So, too, did her request to be arrested on an outstanding warrant in her name, valued at just $50.
During a subsequent interview, the woman said she'd been homeless when Wilkerson offered her a place to stay the previous October in exchange for work around his home
Instead, she says, the runaway girl pressed a rag soaked with the engine cleaner to her face in an effort to subdue her. Meanwhile, Wilkerson allegedly attempted to wrap her feet with wire, but when she managed to kick free, he opted for a tow chain he used to attach her to the bed."
The affidavit quotes Wilkerson as saying he was a "Shaman" who could see the devil inside the woman — and he needed to keep her chained until the demon departed.
With just a few exceptions (a handful of trips to the backyard, two visits to a store in Gateway), the woman said she was kept chained for months. Over that span, she told law enforcers, Wilkerson raped her repeatedly. And these assaults weren't the only reason she feared for her life.
An excerpt from the affidavit quoted by 9News reads: "He also would often claim that he was a serial killer. She said because of the way he chained her and treated her, she believed it to be true that he was a serial killer."
She added that "she was treated like a pet...and would be rewarded with good behavior." At Christmas, for example, she said Wilkerson gave her a marijuana pipe and a coloring book.
The woman is now out of Wilkerson's control — and he's being held on a $1 million bond.
Look below to see two 9News items — the first about his most recent crimes, the second about how he managed to get off death row in Texas. They're followed by our previous coverage.