Abigail Hernandez's Alleged Kidnapper Arrested Twice While She Was Missing

Nathaniel Kibby ordered held on $1 million bail.

ByABC News
July 29, 2014, 1:31 PM

— -- The man charged with kidnapping a New Hampshire teenager Abigail Hernandez was arrested twice during the nine months that she was missing, court records indicate.

Nathaniel Kibby, 34, was ordered held today on $1 million bail after being arraigned on a charge of kidnapping Hernandez last year. The charging document says Kibby "confined (Hernandez) with a purpose to commit an offense against her." His lawyer declined to enter a plea.

The affidavit detailing the case was sealed, but the prosecutor told the judge it was a "unique case and this bail is more than warranted."

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Hernandez, who was 14 at the time, disappeared as she was walking home from Kennett High School in Conway on Oct. 9, 2013. She returned home on July 20 after nine months. She is now 15.

While Kibby sat at the defense table in an orange jail jumpsuit, his alleged victim sat with her mother, Zenya Hernandez, in the front row of the courtroom. This marked the first time that the teenager has been seen in public since she arrived home on July 20.

Kibby has a lengthy criminal history, the majority of which took place when he was 17-years-old. These charges included six criminal trespassing cases, two counts of receiving stolen property, providing false information to purchase a firearm and theft, all of which were misdemeanors, court documents state. During that time his address was a post office box in North Conway, which is adjacent to Hernandez's hometown.

PHOTO: Abigail Hernandez, now 15, was seen publicly today for the first time since she arrived home on July 20, 2014. She vanished on Oct. 9, 2013 and Kibby is charged with felony kidnapping.
Abigail Hernandez, now 15, was seen publicly today for the first time since she arrived home on July 20, 2014. She vanished on Oct. 9, 2013 and Kibby is charged with felony kidnapping.

But records show that Kibby two run-ins with police during the nine months that Hernandez was missing.

He was charged with marijuana possession on Oct. 22. That arrest took place in North Conway, which is 34 miles away from Kibby's current home in a trailer park in Gorham, N.H. Kibby was scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 3, 2013 in connection to the marijuana charge and documents state that he entered a guilty plea and paid $434 to cover his fine and fees.

On March 3, 2014, he faced criminal charges for simple assault and criminal trespass. Kibby later wrote a letter to the sheriff's office explaining that it was in connection to an automobile accident with a man identified as Eric Ray. The charging documents accused Kibby of "shoving" Ray's wife, Tammy Shackford, to the ground and he subsequently accepted a negotiated plea deal where he paid a $1,000 fine and agreed not to contact Ray or his wife.

In the letter that he sent to the sheriff's office, Kibby insisted he remained calm throughout the aftermath of the March 3 accident and claimed Ray was trumping up the charges.

PHOTO: Nathaniel Kibby, 34, listens during his arraignment at Conway District Court in Conway, N.H., July 29, 2014.
Nathaniel Kibby, 34, listens during his arraignment at Conway District Court in Conway, N.H., July 29, 2014.

"I considered informing (Eric Ray) I was armed with a carry pistol, but decided against it. I tried to sympathize with his anger and felt it was best to turn the cheek," Kibby wrote in the letter.

In the letter, Kibby wrote, "This is not a joke. It is not frivolous. This is not filed in spite, but out of a genuine concern for my safety and for my property."

The case was settled on July 23, 2014, just three days after Hernandez arrived home to her mother's house.

The Hernandez family put out a statement after her return saying that she is safe though she has lost a lot of weight and is unable to eat solid food.