McKEES ROCKS, Pa. — The Allegheny County Police Department’s general investigations unit is searching for a second suspect in connection with the abduction and sexual assault of a woman in Stowe Township.
The 30-year-old victim told police that she was forced into a vehicle at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday while walking on McCoy Road in Stowe.
The victim told police that she was taken to a home on Pleasant Ridge Road in Stowe, where she was sexually and physically assaulted. County police said the woman was blindfolded and tied up with belts, bandannas and electrical cords. The woman said she was beaten, burned, and doused in alcohol and bleach for 35 hours.
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The victim escaped the home at about 8 a.m. Tuesday and ran to a Pleasant Ridge resident, who was leaving for work. The resident contacted Stowe Township police.
The victim was taken to Ohio Valley Hospital, where she is being treated for injuries suffered during the assault. Police said she does not know the people who abducted and tortured her.
Marnell Watts, 37, of Stowe Township, is charged in connection with the incident. The department has also obtained an arrest warrant for Edward Darnel Ponton, 32, for his role in the assault.
Ponton is described as a black male, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighing 200 pounds. He drives an older-model gold Buick LeSabre with tinted windows. Ponton is known to frequent Stowe Township and the city of Pittsburgh’s North Side.
While they were investigating the case, Allegheny County police found a woman who contacted Stowe Township police in March. The woman told police that Watts and Ponton held her against her will and assaulted her in the same apartment on Pleasant Ridge Road. Investigators said they will question Ponton about that incident as well.
Anyone who sees Ponton or has information on his whereabouts is asked to contact Allegheny County police at 412-473-3000.
Pictured: Marnell Watts (left) and Edward Darnel Ponton (right)