Woman found in pit says suspect said he loved her

WILMINGTON >> An Ohio woman who authorities found trapped in a small pit in a neighbor’s shed testified in court Thursday that the man told her he loved her as he closed the shed door.

The woman testified at a hearing for Dennis Dunn in Clinton County Municipal Court. Dunn, 45, was arrested April 26 on a charge of kidnapping when police found the woman after someone reported hearing cries from the shed in Blanchester, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast of Cincinnati.

Police have said she may have been trapped about four hours.

Dunn’s lawyer, James Hartke, said Thursday that no plea has been entered, but that he does not believe Dunn is guilty of kidnapping. The judge sent the case to the county Common Pleas Court, and it’s expected to go before a grand jury.

Hartke has said he believes Dunn suffers from an undiagnosed mental disorder. The judge did not rule on his request for a court-ordered psychological evaluation to determine if Dunn is competent to assist in his defense, Hartke said.

Police have said Dunn has a history of mental health issues. The woman’s mother initially reported her missing about 2 a.m. April 26. Police said the mother called them about two hours later to report hearing cries from the shed behind Dunn’s house. An officer found the woman in the shed, crouching in a pit about 2 feet wide by 2 feet long and about 3 ½ feet deep (0.6 meters wide by 0.6 meters long and 1 meter deep) with wood over the top of it.

The 30-year-old woman testified Thursday that she remembers stepping outside her home to smoke a cigarette, but doesn’t remember exactly how she got into the shed.