Trial Under Way For Woman Accused Of Raping Man Defendant Allegedly Tortured, Raped Victim Of ‘Battered Man Syndrome’

When the man escaped his east Spokane apartment, he was so emaciated and battered by his common-law wife and her friend he could barely stand, according to Spokane County prosecutors.

He had survived four months of torture that had left him with a broken nose, cheek and ribs and covered with scabs and second-degree burns.

The violence mounted until Jan. 16, when he was raped and told he would be killed, prosecutors said.

The man, a 43-year-old former janitor, left two days later.

The rape and assault trial of Theresa Spickler-Bowe, 37, opened Thursday.

Eunice Eickhoff, 50, the victim’s companion of 12 years, pleaded guilty last week to felony rape and assault charges. She told police she had abused her husband because she was afraid of Spickler-Bowe.

She is expected to testify against her one-time best friend.

Together, according to prosecutors, the two women controlled the man’s money, movement and behavior. When he misbehaved, prosecutors say, the two chained, hit, kicked, burned and eventually raped him in a spiraling cycle of violence.

But Spickler-Bowe’s attorney, Dennis Dressler, pinned blame on Eickhoff. Spickler-Bowe denies participating in the abuse.

“The issue here isn’t how terrible this is,” Dressler told the jury in his opening statement. “The issue is responsibility.”

Prosecutors plan to call a Spokane counselor with expertise on male victims of domestic violence. He will testify that “battered man syndrome” kept the victim from leaving, said Deputy Prosecutor Jonathan Love.

According to Love, police who found the man on Jan. 18 huddled outside an east Spokane clinic initially thought he was a vagrant. When they saw his wounds, they took him to Deaconess Medical Center.

There, Dr. James Nania treated him for a multitude of injuries.

In his 18 years of treating emergency room patients, Nania said, only car accident victims had arrived in worse shape.

“It would be easier for me to diagram the areas he didn’t have injuries than where he did,” Nania testified Thursday.

Nania said the victim’s head was covered with small bumps and bruises which the patient said had been caused by punches.

The doctor also treated second-degree burns on the man’s chest and buttocks. Eickhoff and Spickler-Bowe are accused of burning him with a butter knife and spatula heated on the stove.

In addition, Nania found anal injuries consistent with rape. Police later found human hairs on the handle of a red broom in the apartment.

“Those hairs could belong to anyone,” Dressler said in his opening statement.

During the alleged torture, Eickhoff and her husband were living in a six-unit apartment complex at 1613 E. DeSmet rented by Spickler-Bowe and her husband, William Bowe.

Neighbors often heard cries of pain coming from the apartment, according to police. One night, a neighbor found the victim standing outside the apartment in subfreezing weather wearing only his underwear, police said.

Spickler-Bowe was the instigator, cajoling Eickhoff into joining her in the abuse, prosecutors say.

After the alleged rape, Spickler-Bowe held a knife to the man’s throat and threatened to kill him, prosecutors say.

The victim is expected to testify later in the trial.

If convicted of both counts, Spickler-Bowe faces at least 10 years in prison. Eickhoff received an exceptional sentence of 12-1/2 years.

Love also is considering filing charges against William Bowe, who allegedly witnessed the torture but didn’t participate.

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