Suspect Lured Women to Apartment "For the Thrill" of Killing and Allegedly Considered Cannibalism

A North Carolina man who was previously charged with kidnapping and other crimes saw his charges upgraded to attempted murder after police alleged he tried to kidnap a woman "for the thrill," bring her back to his apartment, and potentially engage in cannibalism. The Rowan County Sheriff's Office issued the new warrant on Monday, according to the agency's Facebook post. Hunter Chase Nance, 24, was served the warrant in prison, where he was being held on bond for several other charges related to the events of Feb. 15.  What were they? Read on to find out. 

Chance Meeting Ends in Knife Attack

Police say Nance met a woman at a gas station on Feb. 15, where they exchanged phone numbers. Later that night, Nance offered to come pick the woman up and bring him to his house in Cherry Grove, WBTV reported.   But a potentially fortuitous meeting turned into a nightmare. When the pair got to Nance's house on Peaceful Lane, he locked the door and attacked the woman with a knife, police said. 

"The Guy in the House Down There Just Stabbed Me"

The woman fought back, grabbing the knife, which cut her hands. Ultimately, she was able to escape. A woman who was driving by picked the victim up, potentially rescuing her, as she walking down the road, WSOC reported. The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was driving down Peaceful Lane when she saw a young woman with bloody hands walking quickly. "I said, 'Are you OK?' She was shaking and crying," the eyewitness told the station. "And she said, 'Yeah, I'll be fine,' and I said, 'What happened?' and she was like, 'The guy in the house down there just stabbed me.'"

Woman Drove Victim to Police

While talking to the injured woman, the eyewitness said a car pulled up behind them from the direction of Nance's house on the dead-end street. "We saw the headlights pulling up and she said, 'I think that's him,' and I said, 'Get in the car, get in the car,'" she said. The driver said she took the young woman to a nearby gas station, where they encountered police in the parking lot. "If we had not picked her up, and that was him coming down the road, I don't know what would have happened to her," the eyewitness said.

Wanted to Kill "For the Thrill," Police Say

Police say Nance told them he chose the woman randomly and wanted to kill her "for the thrill." He also allegedly told police he wanted to mutilate her and leave her body outside for passers-by to view and that he had an interest in cannibalism and killing others, WBTV reported. Nance was arrested and originally charged with false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon, and first-degree kidnapping. He was being held on $600,000 bond. When prosecutors applied an attempted murder charge, his bond was raised to $1.2 million. Nance is due in court on March 8 and has a court-appointed attorney.  

"You Don't Know Who You're Living Next To"

"It's unbelievable," Nance's next-door neighbor Paula Fullbright told WBTV. "Obviously, it could've ended up worse. Thank God the girl was strong enough to fight him off and get away. Honestly, I've had thoughts go across my mind, 'What if he tried to break in my house and get one of my daughters?' That's terrible that I even have that thought. I wish I hadn't. But that is the reality of it right now." "It's a fear," another neighbor, Richard Dawson, said. "You don't know who you're living next to anymore."