Bayside Man Who Kidnapped And Beat Housekeeper Gets Prison Time

BAYSIDE, QUEENS -- A Bayside man was jailed for kidnapping his 54-year-old housekeeper and torturing her while his wife watched after the two grew convinced she was stealing from them, prosecutors said.

Devanand Lachman, 35, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday after he admitted last September to holding the housekeeper, Daisy Machuca, hostage at his home on 217th Street, where he beat her and burned her feet with a blow torch because he thought she stole his cash and gold chain on the job, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Armed with knives and a gun, Lachman and another man still at large ambushed Machuca, who'd worked for the couple for months, while she was in the midst of cleaning his house on Feb. 13, 2015, according to the charges.

Lachman then stole the housekeeper's phone and wallet and punched her repeatedly while accusing her of taking his belongings. His wife, Amber Lachman, returned home in the midst of the kidnapping and watched as he beat their housekeeper and used a welding blow torch to burn her feet, according to the charges.

Amber Lachman, also 35, allegedly told Machuca as she was being tortured that they knew she'd stolen from them, and she would be killed if she didn't tell them where the money and jewelry were. She went so far as to take Machuca's keys and drive to her Long Island home, where she searched for the missing items and found nothing.

"The real crime in this case occurred when the defendants decided to take the law into their own hands by abducting the woman," Brown said.

Devanand Lachman, who pleaded guilty to second-degree kidnapping, was ordered to serve five years of probation after his 10-year prison sentence.

His wife, Amber, pleaded guilty to unlawful imprisonment for her role in the kidnapping. She was sentenced to five years of probation.

Lead photo via Shutterstock