Sheldon J. Pappas, 35, of Festus allegedly assaulted a woman, refused to let her out of a closet and threatened to kill her and her son. He also contacted the woman after the alleged assault and said he would get on a flight to avoid jail, according to court documents.
Pappas has been charged with first-degree domestic assault and first-degree kidnapping, class B felonies that each carry a penalty of five to 15 years in prison, and two counts of first-degree harassment, each class E felonies punishable by up to four years in prison, court records show.
As of Sept. 7, Pappas was being held without bond at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro. He was arrested on Aug. 21, court documents said.
According to the case’s probable-cause statement filed on Aug. 20, a Festus Police officer met the woman on Aug. 14 at an area hospital. She told the officer that Pappas had assaulted her the night before.
The woman said the two had started arguing at their Festus home, and Pappas became “irate” when she started gathering some of her belongings. She said Pappas pulled her backward, and when she got out of his grip she fell toward the door of a bedroom, the report said.
The woman said she then left the home with her 3-year-old son. However, she returned about an hour later after talking to her mother, who told her the situation would become worse if she left, the report said.
When the woman returned, she said she got a blanket from the bedroom Pappas was in and tried to go downstairs. However, Pappas allegedly pulled the blanket from her with enough force to injure the woman, according to the report.
The woman remained in the bedroom, and she said Pappas started yelling at her while putting guns away that he had gotten out after she had left. She told investigators that Pappas told her that he owned her and her son, the report said.
The woman said when they got divorced a judge would be involved, and Pappas allegedly responded by saying he would not be put in a cage. He also allegedly said he would kill the woman, her son and himself, and that he would kill the woman if she went to the police or threatened him again, according to the report.
Pappas then allegedly grabbed the woman’s left arm, twisted it behind her back and threatened to break her arm. The woman was able to get out of his grip and tried to hide in a closet, the report said.
However, Pappas stopped her from closing the closet door, and he allegedly continuously pushed her into the closet when she attempted to leave. At one point, he grabbed the woman by the throat and choked her, according to the report.
Pappas eventually left the bedroom, and the woman said she got her son and ran downstairs. She said she hid her child in a closet, and she locked herself into a bathroom, the report said.
Pappas tried to get the woman to come out of the bathroom, but when she wouldn’t, he left the home. The woman said she left with her son after Pappas was gone, according to the report.
The report also said the woman said Pappas told her on Aug. 15 that he would not go to jail and would “get on a flight and leave,” the report said.