A 64-year-old Virginia man is facing a felony charge after his wife told police he taped her to a chair in the basement of their home — so he could go upstairs and watch football.
Terry Ward was arrested on Sunday night in Richmond after officers responded to a domestic call, according to the criminal complaint in the case.
His wife told police that Ward used tape to restrain her to a chair in the basement, and that she stayed that way for up to 45 minutes while he was upstairs watching the game. When officers arrived, they found marks and tape residue on both of her arms.
According to the complaint, Ward did not deny it. He admitted to police that he had tied her up and left her in the basement.
That admission now has him facing charges far more serious than a domestic argument: felony abduction, along with misdemeanor assault on a family member. In Virginia, abduction is a felony that can carry years in prison on conviction.
Ward is due in court on November 10. The charges are allegations at this stage, and the case will work its way through the Richmond courts in the coming weeks.
The story spread quickly online on Tuesday after it was posted by the WTF facts account on X, and it has since been picked up by sports outlets — less because of the legal case than because of the reason police say it happened: a man allegedly restraining his own wife so nobody would interrupt his football.
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