Woman takes stand, tells of kidnapping, fighting off attacker

CEDAR RAPIDS - Amanda Daniel said Keith Elson Jr. forced her to leave the Kwik Shop early the morning of May 17, 2010, holding her at knifepoint and then leading her back to his apartment, about three blocks from the store.

Speaking in a soft voice, barely audible in the courtroom, Daniel related that once they were inside Elson's apartment, he made her take off her clothes.

“I felt like I didn't have any choice,” Daniel said, tearing up. “He put shaving cream on me ... and put his mouth on my chest. He made me ... he raped me.”

Daniel testified in the second day of Elson's first-degree kidnapping trial in Linn County District Court.

Elson, 54, of Cedar Rapids, is accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting Daniel, now 20, taking her from the Kwik Shop, 1001 First Ave. SW.

The trial resumes at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The prosecution is expected to wrap up its case that morning, after which Elson's defense will start. Elson is claiming intoxication and diminished capacity as his defense.

Daniel was upset throughout her testimony, and Assistant Linn County Attorney Jason Burns at times had to encourage her to answer more than yes or no.

Elson looked down during Daniel's testimony; it looked as if he wiped his eyes once.

Daniel said Elson came in the store twice the morning of May 17 - once around 2 a.m. when he asked to use the restroom and then again shortly after 4 a.m.

When Elson came in the second time, she testified, he tried to buy beer, and she told him he couldn't purchase beer after 2 a.m. He then put the beer on the counter and walked over by the coffee machine. She went over to put the beer back in the cooler. When she walked by him, he grabbed her by the neck and threatened her with a knife.

“I was scared,” Daniel said. “He told me I had to go with him.”

He then took her to his apartment at 1400 Seventh Ave. SW, where he raped her. Afterward, she testified, he kept apologizing to her and told her to never let anybody hurt her.

“He told me I was raised right because of the way I acted,” Daniel said. “He said he had been watching me.”

Elson, she said, told her that sex was the only way to get high other than cocaine. He was drinking beer, but she said she never saw any drugs or drug paraphernalia in the apartment.

“He told me we're done so that's not going to happen again, and he let me put my clothes back on,” Daniel said.

Daniel said Elson then made her read out loud things he had written on the walls. She said he talked about his children and that he had just gotten out of prison.

Elson then said he was going to hang himself with a belt and went to the kitchen. He brought back a knife, but he laid it down when she told him she wasn't going to sit there while he had a knife. Daniel said she then picked up the knife and told Elson to stay away. He didn't, and she stabbed him.

Daniel said they struggled over the knife and that Elson hit her in the head. She said she got out from under his arms and stabbed him again. He got the knife away, and she grabbed a fan and hit him with it. She then ran into the bathroom and braced herself against the door to keep him out. The lock on the door was broken, she said.

Daniel said she armed herself with scissors she found in the bathroom and waited. In earlier testimony, police testified they broke down the door and found her in the bathroom with a hand wound. She couldn't stop shaking.

Officers also testified they couldn't identify the man on the store surveillance tape who appeared to force Daniel out of the story until a neighbor of Elson's saw his bike parked across the street.

The neighbor, Edward Hoffman, testified he went to the Kwik Shop that day about 8:30 or 9 a.m., saw the police cars and was concerned because the store is about three blocks from his house on Seventh Avenue SW.

Hoffman said he found out what happened and then noticed what looked like Elson's bike chained up outside Family Dollar, across the street from the convenience store. He went inside to see if Elson was there, and he wasn't. He then talked to police and told them he thought Elson owned the bike.

The non-jury trial may finish on Thursday. Reporter Trish Mehaffey will be liveblogging trial proceedings today at TheGazette.com.

Editor's Note: The Gazette normally does not identify victims of sexual abuse by name. But during the search for Daniel, her name was announced to the public. It was only later that police said she had been sexually assaulted. The judge ordered that Daniel not be photographed during the trial this week.