Where is the kidnapper today?

On January 19, 2013, Cynthia Hartman fled to her neighbor’s home in Hay Township, Michigan in Gladwin County, claiming she was being held hostage by her then-boyfriend, Shaun M. Cleary. She suffered two head wounds, later identified as gunshot wounds, and was immediately taken to the hospital. Police quickly arrested Cleary and revealed his previous conviction for assault with intent to kill his former fiancée. Investigation Discovery’s episode of “Cabin in the Woods,” titled “Five Days in Hell,” explores Cleary’s criminal actions and the devastation he caused to those around him.

Shaun Cleary had two relationships after being released from prison

Shaun Michael Cleary first caught the attention of police in 2000 after his then-fiancée, Penny S. Doane, reported him. In October that year, she managed to escape from a shed where Cleary had locked her up after stabbing her four times and then drugging her. According to her, the attack happened when she tried to end their engagement. In September 2001, he was found guilty of assault with intent to commit murder and sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison.

After his release from prison, Cleary connected with a woman from Chesaning, Michigan, through a dating app. Their first meeting took place in July 2010, when he took her and her son to a movie, and by September 2010 they had started dating. Cleary claimed to be a financial trader working out of Midland, Michigan, and said his office would move to Chicago in October 2010. In March 2011, he told her he had returned to Michigan because his office had opened a branch in Troy, and he also needed to care for his father, John Cleary. On October 28, 2011, the charges against him were dismissed, and he proposed to her later that month. The couple planned to get married in July 2013, but her perception of their relationship was far from reality.

In the fall semester of 2012, Cynthia Hartman met Cleary at Delta College in Michigan in their shared trigonometry class. He presented himself as the owner of a Midland apartment, worked with engineers for an international company, and claimed to be an Army veteran. He explained that his employer had enrolled him at university to train as an engineer. By November 2012, he and Cynthia had started dating. She was a mother of three who had recently divorced her husband and gradually became closer to Cleary. When he invited her to move in with him at his father’s cabin in Hay Township, Michigan in Gladwin County, she felt ready to take the step forward.

Shaun Cleary took Cynthia on errands while holding her hostage

Over the next few months, Shaun Cleary maintained both relationships, often telling his fiancée in Chesaning that he was on business trips to places like Paris and England, sometimes disappearing for days. She suspected nothing, as he had always been a caring and attentive partner. However, after his father’s death on December 25, 2012, she noticed a shift; he became more distant and met her less often. He explained that he needed space to process his loss. Meanwhile, Cynthia Hartman began to feel increasingly uncomfortable in her relationship with him. She began to reconsider her decision and hoped to reconcile with her estranged husband, eventually deciding to leave Cleary on January 15. That morning, Cleary left for work, unaware of Cynthia’s intentions to leave. When he returned later, she was still in the house. He asked her to wait in the bedroom and said he had written her a letter. Instead, he returned with a .22-caliber rifle and shot her twice.

The first bullet fractured her skull but did not penetrate, while the second grazed her forehead. According to Cynthia, he then duct taped her hands, feet and head in an attempt to suffocate her. She said he pressed on her chest to restrict her breathing, but stopped the effort after about ten minutes. Cynthia recalled that Cleary seemed to calm down after the first attack, but continued to watch her closely, always carrying his gun and refusing to leave her alone. Her hands and legs remained bound with duct tape, and she said he even tried to drown her in a nearby lake. Despite her injuries and limitations, he took her shopping three times: once to buy more duct tape, another time for pizza, and a third time for tacos. On one occasion he even untied her and took her to the restaurant, but she was too scared to try to escape.

Meanwhile, Cleary’s fiancée from Chesaning became increasingly concerned about his absence. She hadn’t seen him in weeks and he promised he would come and meet her soon. Cynthia’s ordeal lasted until January 19. That evening, around 9 p.m., Cleary took a shower and begged him not to tie her wrists again. She felt him becoming more and more hostile and worried that her time was running out. Once Cleary was in the bathroom, Cynthia took the opportunity to escape and managed to hide under a tarp in a nearby neighbor’s yard. He gave chase, but because he couldn’t see her, he got in his car and drove off to search the area. Seizing her chance, Cynthia emerged from her hiding place and alerted the neighbors, explaining that she was being held hostage. They immediately called the police, who quickly apprehended Cleary in his vehicle.

Shaun Cleary is serving his sentence today in a Michigan prison

Shaun Cleary was initially held on $75,000 bail on charges of assault with intent to commit murder, unlawful imprisonment, felony firearm and felon in possession of a firearm. On January 2, 2014, he entered a no contest plea to one count of assault with intent to commit murder. In return, the prosecutor dismissed charges of unlawful confinement, felony firearm and felon in possession of a firearm, along with unrelated charges of possession of a weapon by inmate and attempted jailbreak. Cleary was classified as a habitual offender and received an enhanced sentence of 365 months to 65 years in prison. As he was escorted from the courtroom, he turned to Cynthia and said, “Goodbye.” He is currently incarcerated at the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia, Michigan, and will be eligible for parole in 2042.

Read more: Cynthia Hartman: What happened to the survivor?