A Virginia man is facing criminal charges after police said he taped his wife to a chair in their basement so he could watch football without interruption. The unusual allegations have since attracted widespread attention online, as reported [1] by News Nation.
Terry Ward, 64, was arrested and charged with abduction, according to WTVR/CBS 6 Richmond. The reported circumstances involve allegations of domestic violence and unlawful restraint inside the couple’s home.
Richmond police responded to the residence on Maplewood Avenue near Byrd Park on the night of Oct. 11. Officers had received a report concerning a domestic disturbance at the property.
In Virginia, a 64-year-old man was charged after he taped his wife to a chair in the basement so he could watch football upstairs.
Terry Ward was arrested last Sunday night in Richmond after officers responded to a domestic call.
According to the criminal complaint, his wife said he used tape to restrain her to a chair in the basement.
Ward admitted he tied her up and left her there.
She had marks and tape residue on both arms and told police she had been restrained for up to 45 minutes.
He faces felony abduction and misdemeanor assault on a family member
He is due in court on November 10.
— WTF (@mrwtffacts) October 20, 2026 [2]
Ward’s wife told responding officers that she had been tied to a chair with tape in the basement, investigators said. Her account became the center of the subsequent police investigation and criminal complaint.
Police documents cited by WTVR said Ward allegedly admitted that he restrained his wife. According to the report, an officer wrote in the criminal complaint that Ward acknowledged tying her to the chair and placing her in the basement.
The woman told officers that she remained restrained for approximately 30 to 45 minutes. Police reported seeing marks and tape residue on her arms when they arrived at the Maplewood Avenue residence.
Reports indicated that Ward allegedly wanted to watch football upstairs without being interrupted. That detail quickly pushed the case into online circulation and helped the allegations gain viral attention.
Los Angeles Magazine reported on the attention surrounding the case after accounts of the alleged incident emerged. While the football detail fueled interest online, the underlying allegations concern domestic violence and the reported restraint of a household member.
WTVR reported that Ward has been charged with abduction. Los Angeles Magazine also reported that he faces a misdemeanor assault and battery charge involving a family or household member.
Court records show that Ward is scheduled to appear in Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court on Nov. 10. The available reports did not provide additional details about the expected proceedings.
Ward remains innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court. Authorities have not publicly released further information concerning the alleged incident or what happened before officers received the domestic disturbance report.
Local news outlets reported that the investigation remains ongoing. No additional information from authorities was publicly available concerning the case, according to the source report.
The case also follows another reported incident in which duct tape was used to restrain an unruly airline passenger. NewsNation reported that the man was held in his seat after allegedly assaulting passengers and crew members.
That separate incident occurred aboard American Airlines flight 618, which was traveling from Dallas to Newark. The flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Baltimore because of the male passenger’s disruptive behavior.
The airline episode and the Virginia case involved very different reported circumstances. In Richmond, police documents concern allegations that Ward restrained his wife in the basement of their home while he allegedly sought to watch football upstairs in peace.
The allegations against Ward now await consideration in court, with his appearance scheduled for Nov. 10. Until then, the reported admissions, physical observations and charges remain part of an ongoing case in which Ward retains the presumption of innocence.