24-year-old Travis Odom was taken into custody for vandalism, aggravated kidnapping, and assault on May 2nd. On May 1st, around 11 p.m., officers arrived at 909 Flats Apartments, where they located Odom, who was sitting on the steps in front of the leasing office, bleeding from his nose, crying hysterically and highly intoxicated. While Odom was getting medically evaluated in the ambulance, officers spoke with Javier Nunez, who advised them that he was on the couch in the leasing office when Odom and his girlfriend, Claudia Rehg, approached him. Nunez said he observed Odom pulling her into the apartment complex, telling her they were going to his apartment while she was saying, “No” and “Please, let go,” before frantically asking Nunez to call the police.
While Nunez was alerting the authorities, Odom punched him in the face, chipping his tooth and leaving visible swelling, during which Rehg ran away from the office, attempting to get away from Odom, who then chased her out the front door. Rehg fled near 10th Avenue North and Rev. Dr. Enoch Boulevard, where she spoke with officers, advising them that she and Odom had been romantically involved for two months. She explained that they were on Broadway and used a rideshare to return to Odom’s apartment. When they arrived, Rehg asked if they could go back to Broadway so she could gather some belongings from her vehicle, which they had parked downtown. She said this made Odom angry and he hit her in the back of the head repeatedly, threw her against a concrete wall, and strangled her, causing her to lose consciousness.
She was then transported to Vanderbilt Hospital for medical attention. Officers reviewed security camera footage from the parking garage, showing Odom holding Rehg in a “chokehold” and dragging her into the garage while she tried pulling away from him, hitting his back, trying to get out of his grasp. Rehg fell to the ground as her body went limp, lying there for about 15 seconds without any movement. Odom stood over her while she rolled onto her back and lay there for another 40 seconds before helping her up and carrying her to the apartment complex entrance. Once they got to the stairs, Rehg started pulling and running away toward the parking garage exit, where she found Nunez in the leasing office. When officers spoke with Odom, he said, “I plead the fifth,” and, “I plead the fourth,” refusing to speak with them. He was then taken into custody.