She was held hostage by a man she met online—a secret note with a Grubhub order saved her life
Trigger Warning- This article contains themes of sexual assault and kidnapping, which can be distressing for some readers.
A person might have to think differently to get out of a difficult situation at times. However, no one had thought that a 24-year-old woman would be able to get help for herself through Grubhub while she was in a hostage situation. The woman had been talking to a man on a dating app. After some time, she agreed to meet him in the Bronx, New York for a weekend. However, she had no idea that the man would assault her and hold her hostage. So she came up with a plan to escape, per CNN Edition.
The man had sexually assaulted the woman and had taken her phone away. There was no way for her to get help or escape the situation. However, she had an idea and asked the man if she could order food. The man, Kemoy Royal, agreed to let her order food from her phone. In that moment, the woman managed to ask for help in the "additional instructions" section of the order placed through Grubhub. The note read, "Please call the police. He is going to call me when you deliver. Come with the cones, please don't make it obvious." Employees at Chipper Truck Cafe noticed the note with the order and decided to seek help from the police.
Alice Bermejo, the restaurant owner, was aware of what had happened, too. "It was just a waiting game to see what happened. We didn't know if it was real or fake." An hour later, the police went to check the place where the food had been ordered from. Royal opened the door to collect the order and the officers immediately arrested him. According to the complaint, the man was charged with sexual abuse, predatory sexual assault and rape. He was kept in custody and the judge set his bail at $25,000. The restaurant owner was informed that the call for help had turned out to be real.
The police explained to her that the woman was safe and the man had been arrested. Bermejo was grateful that the woman could get help at the right time. "We're just grateful that the girl is okay. That is the most important thing." Grubhub also recognized the restaurant for helping the woman and getting her out of a dangerous situation. The COO of the company contacted Bermejo and offered her $5,000 to invest in the business for helping the woman. As the incident happened back in 2022, the sum meant a lot to the restaurant owner who was experiencing the after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
"For them to call us and thank us was a big enough deal for us. We're very grateful to them… because as everybody knows, the pandemic has been tough on everybody," Bermejo went on. Grubhub appreciated the restaurant and pointed out in a statement, "Every time we see a simple but extraordinary act like this, we are amazed by how our partners positively impact their communities. However, they decide to use the money, we hope it helps the restaurant and reminds all of their customers of what amazing people they are."
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