Ian Edward Kroe received one of the longest life sentences ever after he was convicted of holding a 74-year-old woman hostage at a hotel for at least 2 years. The California court has given him a prison sentence of almost four centuries. San Mateo District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said, “It is one of the longest sentences ever handed out in San Mateo County history, and Mr. Kroe is richly deserving of that for what he did to this woman.”
Ian Edard Kroe (57) found guilty of 33 fel counts, arrested in ’22 by @belmontcapolice after holding a 74 yr old female prisoner for 2 yrs. in multiple states, torturing, threatening, & raping her on multiple occasions. He faked illness throughout the trial to delay the process. pic.twitter.com/NJYTINJuBx
— San Mateo County District Attorney (@SanMateoCoDA) February 21, 2025
Things began pretty normally until Kroe transformed into a truly sick man. The 58-year-old man, originally from Minnesota, got to know his victim, who is also a family friend when she reached out to him in 2016. She intended to offer him her condolences after his mother passed away.
According to the DA’s office, he slowly changed and became more controlling. Kroe r—d the woman multiple times and also imprisoned her in the Hyatt House Belmont Hotel for two years. While holding her hostage there, he drained her bank accounts.
Attorney Wagstaffe said, “It just started out as a friendship with the victim, then suddenly this guy turns into a beast.” The series of tortures began in August 2020. The 74-year-old woman was held as a prisoner by the perpetrator, who repeatedly forced her to engage in s—l acts with her. The prosecutors noted that she was tortured by him for weeks, and every time she wanted to escape, Kroe threatened to end her life.
In 2021, when the victim broke her ankle, the man refused to take her to the hospital. He denied her medical treatment despite the excruciating pain. In August 2022, she was finally able to discreetly contact someone back to him, who then called the police on Kroe.
Man ‘turns into a beast,’ holds woman captive for two yrs, prosecutor says. Gets 394 years in prison. It started out as a friendship, but prosecutors allege it quickly turned into a nightmare kidnapping after Ian Edard Kroe 58 held a woman 74, captive in a hotel for two yrs,💩🤬 pic.twitter.com/xpxyXaxhJi
— Sumner (@renmusb1) June 5, 2025
According to the prosecutors, when the cops arrived, the 74-year-old woman was naked and covered in multiple bruises. In addition, she also had a broken finger and was also unable to move by herself.
After getting caught, Kroe tried to defend him with bizarre logic. He initially tried to claim that the acts were consensual and later insisted that it was the woman who was controlling him through witchcraft.
He had been convicted on 33 felony counts and has been handed a sentence of 394 years. It is one of the record-breaking longest prison sentences ever. The prosecutors noted that this case was unlike anything they have ever seen before.
The man is now facing several felonies, including forcible sodomy, torture, false imprisonment, felony threats, and more. Kroe reported]ly had no serious criminal record before he was arrested over this case. He will now die in prison for his heinous crimes against his family friend.
The hearing to determine how much he owes his victim is slated for October 29.
