Husband allegedly ‘taped wife to chair in basement’ so he may watch sports activities on television

WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT A 64-year-old man has been accused of taping his wife to a chair in their basement for up to 45 minutes so he could watch Sunday Night Football ‘without interruption’, police say

Terry Ward(Image: Richmond County Law Enforcement)

A husband has been accused of taping his wife to a chair in their basement so he could watch football upstairs “without interruption”. Terry Ward, 64, from Richmond, Virginia, USA, was arrested and charged with felony abduction and misdemeanour assault on a family member on October 11.

Police were called to Maplewood Avenue near Byrd Park at around 11.30pm after reports of a domestic disturbance. According to the victim Ward “forcibly” bound her to a chair using tape and left her downstairs for around 30 to 45 minutes while he went up to watch “Sunday Night Football”.

They further documented sticky tape residue “wrapping around both of the woman’s arms”, according to reports of the criminal complaint, Case We Follow. The complaint also alleges Ward admitted what he had done when confronted by officers.

A husband wanted to watch football upstairs ‘without interruption’.(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Quoting the arrest paperwork an officer wrote: “Terry stated that he did indeed tied his wife, [name omitted], to a chair and place her down in the basement.” While the bizarre allegation has sparked a flurry of online reaction – with some social media users attempting to frame it as a “dark joke” about sports obsession – authorities are treating it as a serious domestic violence case.

Ward has since been released on bond, but under strict conditions, the New York Post reported. According to the pe has been ordered to stay at least 1,000 feet away from the home and to have no contact with his wife.

Amber O’Brien was killed in another disturbing domestic violence case

He is due to appear at Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court on November 10, 2026. This comes after a man who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death said he “snapped” after claiming she told him she’d had an abortion, the Daily Star previously reported.

Stephan Garner, 31, denied murdering 33-year-old Amber O’Brien, who was pregnant with twins, but did accept he was responsible for her death. Garner killed Ms O’Brien after the pair had argued at his flat in Blackley, north Manchester, jurors at Manchester Crown Court have heard.

Ms O’Brien’s body was left on the bathroom floor of an eighth floor flat in Blackley, where she had been living with Garner, the father to her nine-week-old unborn twins.

She was naked, “cold to the touch”, and was covered in a blue tarpaulin lying in “pools of water”.

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