3 Arrested After Woman Stripped, Beaten

Three women have been arrested in the kidnapping and beating of a Spokane woman who was left naked in the woods near Newman Lake last week.

Paula M. Lloyd, 23, 601 S. Thierman; Rhondi M. Zyph, 18, 1518 E. Cataldo; and Kimberly M. Vigneri, 22, 1518 E. Cataldo; were booked late last week into the Spokane County Jail on kidnapping and robbery charges.

Taunya Gardella, 22, was kidnapped early Wednesday from a home in Post Falls, then taken to a residence in Spokane.

The kidnappers cut off her hair as they drove her to woods near Newman Lake. There, Gardella was stripped, beaten and robbed of her wallet.

Gardella said the attackers were seeking revenge because they believed she had turned in a mutual friend to police on drug charges. She told them she did not.

After her assailants left, Gardella walked barefoot through the woods until she heard the sounds of chain saws.

Three men from a logging company, Kemp West, were working in the woods Wednesday afternoon. One of them drove Gardella to a gas station and called for help.

Gardella was treated and released from Kootenai Medical Center later that day.

The three suspects remained in the jail late Monday on $100,000 cashonly bail, a jail official said.

More arrests are expected in the case, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department.