Man charged after allegedly holding knife to woman’s throat and threatening to kill her in Preston County

ARTHURDALE, W.Va. (WBOY) — A woman allegedly escaped a kidnapping attempt just a few steps from her front door in Preston County by biting the man who grabbed her, according to law enforcement.

Just before midnight on July 20, troopers with the Preston County detachment of the West Virginia State Police were called to a home in Arthurdale where a man had allegedly grabbed a woman and held a knife to her throat, according to a criminal complaint.

Troopers said the victim and a witness told them that a man had put his arm around the victim’s neck when she was just a few steps from the front door of the house and “attempted to drag her off.” The victim said that the man had a five-inch knife that he pressed against her throat and that he stated “If you say a word, I’ll kill you right here,” the complaint said.

The victim was able to escape after she bit the man on the arm that was holding the knife and the witness began walking toward him; according to the complaint, when he saw the witness, he “said, ‘fine, I’m leaving’ and walked away.”

Neighbors and witnesses identified the captor, who was photographed on a security camera, as James Albright, 47, of Masontown, according to the complaint. Troopers said that both the victim and the caller who witnessed the incident “agreed the photo shown was the same man who grabbed the victim.”

The complaint said that after searching for multiple hours, troopers were not able to find Albright on July 20. He was booked in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on Aug. 3 on a kidnapping charge and is being held there without bail as of Monday.

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