Arizona Beauty Queen Charged With Kidnapping, Torturing Ex-Boyfriend Out on Bond

Thursday , January 03, 2008

TUCSON, Ariz. '”
A former beauty queen accused of biting and torturing her ex-boyfriend over missing jewelry is out on bond while authorities search for another ex-boyfriend that police say helped her kidnap and assault the victim.

Kumari Fulbright, a former Miss Pima County and current University of Arizona law school student, was indicted on Dec. 18 on felony charges of armed robbery, aggravated robbery, kidnapping and two counts of aggravated assault related to allegedly holding her 24-year-old ex-boyfriend hostage.

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The 25-year-old, midway through her second year in law school, faces a long prison term if convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery, aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated assault.

Sgt. Fabian Pacheco of the Tucson Police Department told FOXNews.com that investigators believe an argument over missing jewelry led to the incident.
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Fulbright and the other suspects accused the victim of stealing her jewelry, Pacheco said. The victim, Fulbright's ex-boyfriend, had injuries consistent with his version of events. Injuries included bite marks, swollen hands and wrists with marks from being tied up, Pacheco said.

Fulbright was released on a $50,000 bond shortly after being booked on Dec. 9. Fulbright's next court hearing will be on Feb. 12.

Two suspects remain on the run, Pacheco said. Larry Bruce Hammond, another suspect, remains in jail under a $50,000 bond.

Tucson police are looking to serve that former boyfriend, Robert Ergonis, 44, and his brother, Michael Ergonis, 46, with arrest warrants charging them with kidnapping, armed robbery and aggravated assault, but believe they may have fled the country.

"Through the course of our investigation, we were able to determine that at least Robert Ergonis may have traveled to Colombia, so he may have returned or gone somewhere else," Pacheco said.

Police say Fulbright invited the victim to her apartment in a single-story midtown duplex and excused herself to shower after he arrived.

The Ergonis brothers then showed up and bound him with plastic cable ties and duct tape, accused him of taking the jewelry and threatened to shoot him with pistols.

Fulbright finished her shower, dressed and returned to join in the threats.

She allegedly bit the man on his forearm, right hand and ear, and she stuck a butcher knife in his ear and told him she was going to kill him.

After a time, they took him to Hammond's house elsewhere in the city, where the assault continued, then returned him to Fulbright's house and left him tied up with Fulbright holding him with a handgun. At some later point, the victim freed a hand and grabbed the gun, which discharged but hit no one.

As their struggle spilled outside, the man screamed for help, then ran to a home down the block, while Fulbright returned to her apartment.

"He has some bite marks on him, evident and consistent with his account, and his hands were red and swollen, consistent with someone who had been tied up," Pacheco said.

A police complaint said the suspects stole the victim's wallet, money clip with $500 to $600, his cell phone and brief case.

Pacheco said Fulbright subsequently spoke with detectives, but declined to specify what she said.

"It's premature to talk about what might occur" to Fulbright in terms of disciplinary action within the College of Law, spokesman Nancy Stanley said.

She said the law school has an honor code that deals primarily with academic integrity, while the university's broader code of conduct includes off-campus and out-of-school activity.

She declined further comment, and faculty members similarly declined comment, citing student privacy.

The law school is on break from classes until Jan. 16.

Fulbright's phone is out of service and her apartment was unoccupied Wednesday, without any furniture. Efforts were made also to contact her through MySpace.

Calls to Fulbright's attorney, Thomas Hartzell, and to the Miss Pima County pageant, which Fulbright won in 2005, were not returned. She also was selected Miss Desert Sun in 2006 and sought the Miss Arizona title those two years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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