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Police: Man raped woman before kidnapping her daughter

Thomas Evans

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Authorities say a man raped a woman in her South Carolina home before kidnapping her 4-year-old daughter and driving across three Southern states.

Prosecutors filed new state charges Wednesday against 37-year-old Thomas Evans Jr., including attempted murder, armed robbery, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of kidnapping.

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Authorities say Evans picked the woman at random and followed her after she dropped two of her children off at school to her Charleston home on Feb. 1.

Investigators say the woman was beaten and her head slammed into a hardwood floor several times.

Authorities say her daughter was found safely with Evans in Alabama on Feb. 14, while he fled from police and was arrested in Mississippi.

Evans waived a bond hearing Wednesday. Court records did not list a lawyer.