Woman escapes Tomball home after being held captive by ex, Pct. 1 says

TOMBALL, Texas (KTRK) -- A man is in custody after authorities said he held his girlfriend captive in her Tomball home.

Harris County Constable Precinct 1 said it happened last Thursday evening in the 21000 block of Glen Willow Drive.

They say the 62-year-old woman escaped from the home and ran to a neighbor's house for help.

She was badly hurt and taken to the hospital.

Deputies say the 42-year-old suspect, Thomas Vernon Abercrombie, then barricaded himself inside before being flushed out with tear gas.

Four bullmastiff dogs and four African-spurred tortoises were also found inside the home and taken to the Houston SPCA for heat and other related health concerns. A badly decomposing dog had been found by animal cruelty investigators in a back closet.

It's unknown how long the woman had been held against her will, but neighbors report not having seen her in weeks.

"I didn't even know if she was still here because I never saw her. So apparently, he probably did not let her go outside or whatever," a neighbor who asked to remain anonymous said.

Video and pictures shared by the Houston SPCA show a home covered with debris, broken windows, broken walls, and trash piles in every room.

Abercrombie, a convicted felon, was charged just last year for punching this victim in the face.

Court records show an employee at Wells Fargo Bank requested a welfare check on her in April 2022.

Abercrombie was arrested and charged in 2022, a protective order was issued, and an investigation was opened, but he still returned back to the home she owned.

Records show the woman has owned the property for more than a decade, and the Harris County Appraisal District recently valued it at close to $1 million.

A neighbor told ABC13 the property fell into disrepair around the same time Abercrombie moved in two years ago.

"(I'm) just so glad that the lady that we know that lived here is safe," the neighbor said.