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Woman arrested for attempted murder after her boyfriend was locked inside a storage unit for four days

Robin Renae Deaton is accused of trapping her partner in North Carolina ‘hoarder’s paradise’ after an argument

Madeline Sherratt
Friday 28 February 2025 14:39 GMT
Robin Renae Deaton, 52, has been charged for first degree kidnapping and attempted murder, say police
Robin Renae Deaton, 52, has been charged for first degree kidnapping and attempted murder, say police (Monroe Police Department)

A North Carolina woman has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly abandoning her boyfriend in a storage unit for four days after they had an argument.

Robin Renae Deaton, 52, was arrested after police in Charlotte had a 911 call from a man on Monday 24 February, who said his girlfriend had double locked him inside the unit the Thursday prior.

The boyfriend told police he and Deaton had been in a heated argument when she abruptly slammed the door shut saying: “This is what you get.”

He claims he was unable to find his phone to call for help because the ‘hoarder’s paradise’ unit had been overcrowded with belongings and was pitch black.

The boyfriend was found in container 43 off of a remote highway in Charlotte Monday afternoon
The boyfriend was found in container 43 off of a remote highway in Charlotte Monday afternoon (Google Maps)

Police responded to the man’s distress call and found him inside container 43 on Monday afternoon, at the Cooper Storage Units on Old Charlotte Highway.

When he emerged he was taken to hospital dehydration but has since been released.

“I’ve been locked in the storage unit for about a week now and I just now found my phone,” the man was heard saying to operators, as per 13NewsNow. “I just need out of here. I just can’t breathe. I haven’t had a drink or anything.”

The man also told police that he thought Deaton had secured the door shut by bolting two locks in the outside, reported local station WBTV.

But “as soon as the officers opened up the door, things started falling out,” Monroe Lt. Morgan Malone told the outlet. “The further they opened it, more stuff fell out.”

Deaton was arrested Thursday and has now been charged with first-degree kidnapping and attempted murder.

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