Fargo, North Dakota: Woman Rescued After Two Years Chained to a Bed, Two People Charged

A maintenance technician heard a woman crying for help inside a south Fargo apartment on Tuesday, November 3, and went in. He found her chained to a bed, with a security camera pointed at her and the bedroom windows covered in tin foil, according to court documents reported by Valley News Live, the NBC affiliate in Fargo.

Fargo police were called to the apartment complex that day. The responding officer found the woman in a bedroom with a chain and padlock secured around her right ankle, the other end fastened to the bed, court documents say. Officers freed her, interviewed her with a language service because she does not speak English, and took her to a hospital. Investigators noted bruising on her body and face.

What the woman told investigators

The woman told authorities that her ex-husband, Arturo Calzada Becerril, 40, brought her to Fargo from Mexico in 2024. She said she had been chained in his apartment since then and had not been outside for two years. She said she was fed twice a day, was not allowed to use the bathroom, and was given a bucket to relieve herself beside the bed.

At the hospital, she told investigators that Calzada Becerril and Erendira Amoles, 41, beat her and sexually assaulted her, according to the court documents. Prosecutors say the two kept the woman, who is a United States citizen, captive to help obtain immigration status, Valley News Live reported. All three adults are from the same town in Mexico, Calzada Becerril told police.

Court documents say the chains on the headboard were secured with large bolts, washers and nuts, and that the chain was wrapped in a foam pool noodle, with padlocks at the head and the foot of the bed, InForum reported. Calzada Becerril told investigators he locked the woman up so that she did not run away, and said he did not want her using drugs again, according to the documents. Amoles told police she was often the person who locked and unlocked the woman, the documents say.

Arrests and the building reaction

Shortly after officers freed the woman, Amoles arrived at the apartment with her 8 year old daughter, police said. Calzada Becerril and Amoles were arrested on kidnapping and assault charges, booked into the Cass County Jail, and arraigned on Friday morning, InForum reported. Border Patrol assisted Fargo police in the case, according to Valley News Live. The woman who was rescued has not been named by police, and no photo of her has been released.

Neighbors in the building told Valley News Live they were stunned that no one noticed. Erin Schauer, who lives in the building, said security patrols walk the hallways every night. Reed Bertsch, another resident, called it unbelievable that nobody heard or suspected anything.

The charges are allegations. Calzada Becerril and Amoles have not been convicted, and the case will move through Cass County court. Police have not announced any further arrests, and investigators have not said whether anyone else knew the woman was inside the apartment during the two years she says she was held there.