Vancouver Man Accused of Holding Woman Captive 4 Days, Burning Her With Torch

A 33-year-old woman ran into a Goodwill store in Vancouver's Hazel Dell neighborhood and locked herself in a room, telling Clark County Sheriff's deputies that a man she had been staying with had just pulled a knife and scissors on her. What deputies say she described next was four days of captivity, strangulation and torture inside a nearby apartment, allegations that have landed 31-year-old Nathaniel Samy Allen Sylvester in jail facing charges including second-degree attempted murder.

Deputies Find Woman Crying in Locked Room

Deputies responding to the Goodwill at 1600 NE 78th St. found the woman crying in a locked room inside the store, according to court records cited by The Oregonian/OregonLive. She told them she had just fled the apartment where she said Sylvester had held her for days, and deputies located and detained him shortly after. Booking records from the Clark County Jail show Sylvester was formally booked into custody on August 22 on charges including second-degree murder-related counts stemming from the case.

The woman told deputies she had met Sylvester only several days before the incident and had initially planned to hang out and have consensual sex with him, per the same court records. She said she spent two nights at his apartment before the situation turned violent, and that at one point she left the apartment but returned three days later, telling Sylvester she would not leave him.

Allegations of Strangulation, Burns and Goodbye Letters

According to the affidavit, Sylvester strangled the woman with both hands, an electrical cord, and a belt on separate occasions, and deputies later recovered a cut electrical cord and a belt inside his apartment. The woman told investigators he also burned her with a torch, bit her hand, chased her with a knife, and pushed her onto a bed during the ordeal. She reportedly fended him off at one point with a lamp. Deputies also found a knife and scissors inside the apartment, along with holes Sylvester allegedly punched into the walls.

The woman told deputies Sylvester made her write goodbye letters to her family and told her he would kill her once she finished writing them, the report states. She had bruises on her arms, shoulders and neck, according to the account documented in court records. Deputies also found what were described as goodbye notes inside Sylvester's apartment. The woman said Sylvester hung up her phone when she tried calling a friend, and that he cut himself in front of her, an act the affidavit indicates was intended to make her “pay attention” to him and stop her from leaving.

Escape Through a Second-Story Window

The woman told deputies she ultimately escaped through a second-story window while Sylvester was taking a bath, then ran to the Goodwill and locked herself inside a room until help arrived. Sylvester, for his part, denied assaulting the woman or holding her against her will, and told deputies he fled his own apartment because he believed police were coming, according to the affidavit. He also said the woman became scared after he pulled down a shower curtain, an account included in the same court documents.

Sylvester now faces second-degree attempted murder, second-degree domestic violence assault, fourth-degree domestic violence assault, domestic violence unlawful imprisonment, and harassment with a threat to kill, per the affidavit. Under Washington law, attempted second-degree murder is a Class A felony carrying up to life in prison and a $50,000 fine, per RCW 9A.32.050 and the state's criminal attempt statute. Assault by strangulation is charged separately as a Class B felony under RCW 9A.36.021, carrying up to 10 years and a $20,000 fine; lawmakers amended that statute in 2007 specifically to treat non-fatal strangulation as a standalone violent felony, citing its strong link to intimate partner homicide. Unlawful imprisonment, meanwhile, is a Class C felony under RCW 9A.40.040 punishable by up to five years. Sylvester remains in custody, and as with any pending case, he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Local Efforts to Catch High-Risk Cases

The case surfaces amid a broader local push to identify domestic violence cases before they turn deadly. In August 2025, the Clark County Sheriff's Office partnered with YWCA Clark County to launch a Domestic Violence High Risk Team pilot aimed at the region's elevated rate of intimate partner homicides. As of June 2025, Clark County law enforcement was actively monitoring roughly 200 people via GPS as a result of protection order violations or conditional release terms tied to domestic violence cases. YWCA Clark County runs the SafeChoice Crisis Line and the area's primary emergency shelter for survivors seeking confidential support and housing.

Those institutional efforts exist alongside strain elsewhere in the system. Hoodline previously reported on a public defender shortage in Clark County that contributed to the dismissal of more than 50 criminal cases in July, including 10 domestic violence cases, prompting police to adjust how citations are routed. That backlog offers context for the pressures facing Clark County Superior Court as Sylvester's case moves forward.