"She mouthed the words help me:" Domino's delivery driver speaks out after stopping kidnapping

NOW: “She mouthed the words help me:“ Domino’s delivery driver speaks out after stopping kidnapping
NEXT:

SHEBOYGAN COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A pizza delivery driver is being credited with saving a woman's life in Sheboygan County.

Authorities say the driver tipped them off to a possible kidnapping. Now, one man is facing serious charges.

CBS 58 News caught up with the Domino's Pizza delivery driver, 24-year-old Joey Grundl.

"I don't really expect anything. I just kind of expect to show up and kind of leave," Grundl said.

They're routine trips, roughly 15 to 20 of them a night. Most of them are unmemorable until a delivery in Waldo.

"And I just showed up. I gave the guy his pizza and behind him was a woman. I could see a black eye on her right eye and that's when she pointed to it and mouthed the words to me 'Help me' and shortly thereafter mouthed again to me 'Call the police'. And after the guy gave me the money for the pizza I got in my car and started driving back to the store and that's when I dialed 911," said Grundl.

Sheboygan County deputies visited the home and arrested the man, later identified as 65-year-old Dean Hoffman.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim was his ex-girlfriend and she did not give permission for him to come in. She told authorities he punched her in the face with a closed fist and then bound her hands together and her feet, hog tying them together with a power cord from her vacuum. Hoffman then allegedly took a towel and shoved it into her mouth and forced her to try and scream in order to ensure that no one would be able to hear her.

She says he untied her before ordering pizza when she gave Joey the unexpected tip.

"Som sometimes it's best to just pay attention to what's going on. You never know when someone maybe is trying to give you a little hint there," Grundl said.

Hoffman admitted to authorities he had a gun in his car. He's now charged with seven counts of domestic abuse, including strangulation and kidnapping. 

Share this article: