CORSICANA, Texas, March 15 (UPI) -- A Texas man accused of kidnapping, raping and torturing a woman is under investigation in the disappearance of two other North Texas women, authorities said.
Jeffrey A. Maxwell was arrested Saturday after authorities discovered a missing 62-year-old Parker County woman at his Corsicana, Texas, home, the Weatherford Telegram reported.
Officials said she had been held captive for 12 days.
Sheriff's investigators and Texas Rangers discovered the woman -- missing since her house burned down nearly two weeks ago -- confined in a secret compartment in Maxwell's home.
Investigators say Maxwell confessed to kidnapping and sexually assaulting the woman, claiming he'd been paid $2,500 to make the reclusive 62-year-old "go away".
He refused to say who paid him, police said.
Meanwhile, authorities said they are examining possible connections to at least two other disappearances in the last two decades, including that of Maxwell's wife.
Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said Maxwell, 58, is being investigated in the disappearance of Amelia Martinez Smith, 51, of Parker County, because circumstances are similar to the current case.
Smith disappeared in 2000 after firefighters discovered her family's trailer home had burned to the ground.
Authorities also may look into the disappearance of Maxwell's ex-wife, Martha Martinez Maxwell, 41, of Fort Worth.
She has been missing since 1992. Maxwell divorced her in 1995, citing her disappearance, the Telegram reported. UPI
