Elliott was initially charged with hostage taking, kidnapping and aggravated assault but was allowed to plead guilty to the lesser offences
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A woman who drove a beaten and bloody victim to the countryside and punched her as she was handcuffed to a tree has pleaded guilty to her role in the attack.
Abby Elliott, 24, admitted to counts of assault and unlawful confinement in Edmonton Court of King’s Bench Monday.
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According to an agreed statement of facts, the victim was held for ransom for nearly 12 hours in a central Edmonton apartment just days before Christmas 2021. After her captors sent videos of her ordeal to her ex-boyfriend, the victim was driven to a rural property in Parkland County and handcuffed to a tree.
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The victim eventually broke free and was spotted walking down the road with a piece of the tree still handcuffed to her wrist. She was rushed to hospital and treated for cuts and burns to her face and neck.
Charged alongside Elliott were Michelle McGilvery-Bernard, Nicole McGilvery and Jordan Thunderblanket. Nicole McGilvery and Thunderblanket are wanted on warrants.
The agreed facts state the victim met one of Elliott’s co-accused at a shelter and became friends. The victim visited her apartment at 95 Street and 103 Avenue early Dec. 21, 2021, thinking it would just be just the two of them and her friend’s young children.
Instead, a man and a woman the victim had not met were also present.
The group spent the next few hours drinking. They then began to discuss buying cigarettes and finding a ride to the south side. When the victim unsuccessfully tried to transfer money for cigarettes to another of the partygoers, she was attacked.
Over the next 11 1/2 hours, the victim was handcuffed, beaten and burned with a torch. Her hair was cut with a hot knife and part of her head was shaved. She passed out twice during the ordeal. Video calls were made to her ex — the father of her child — demanding $30,000 for her return.
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The woman who lived in the suite’s two children — aged one and six — were present in the apartment at the time.
One of the women in the suite later asked Elliott to bring her car. The victim was led outside and placed in the middle of the backseat. The calls to her ex continued, with the captors eventually lowering their demand to $3,000.
The group eventually arrived at a crossroads in Parkland County and handcuffed the victim to a tree. Before leaving, Elliott punched the defenceless woman in the face.
Police obtained a search warrant for the suite and arrested four people on Dec. 22, 2021. Investigators found the victim’s blood on multiple surfaces. Two of the accused later claimed they found information on the victim’s phone related to child trafficking.
Police arrested Elliott in February 2022. During an interview, she identified herself on CCTV footage and claimed the victim had already been “beaten up” by the time she arrived at the suite. She said she felt “trapped” and agreed when one of her co-accused ordered her to drive the victim out of the city.
Elliott was initially charged with hostage taking, kidnapping and aggravated assault but was allowed to plead guilty to the lesser offences.
The case is next in court April 26 to set a date for sentencing.
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