Elvis singer in dungeon kidnap plot

Tony Boden, whose stage name was Tony Denim, impersonated Elvis as part of his act and performed at venues across the region with his group Footloose.

But today he was facing the prospect of life behind bars for snatching the girl and holding her captive in a terrifying plot allegedly inspired by a storyline used in popular TV crime drama CSI.

The victim was captured after going to Boden's Soundmasters music shop in Bilston High Street where duct tape was put over her mouth, her mobile phone was disabled to ensure she could not call for help, and she was frog-marched to the cellar.

She was then bound hand and foot and locked in the dark in a makeshift 5ft by 4ft dungeon.

Boden even built a satin-lined coffin to put the victim in but did not use it during her ordeal. It was later found in the shop by police.

The girl was held in a 5ft by 4ft room in the cellar which 23-year-old Boden maintains had not been specifically built as a prison. Her "jailer" was 20-year-old Sarah Marshall, who had reportedly had a secret affair with Boden.

Both appeared before Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday where they were remanded in custody.

Boden, from Frost Street, Ettingshall, pleaded guilty to kidnap, which happened on February 28, when he appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday.

He also admitted falsely imprisoning the victim between February 28 and March 3. Both crimes carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Marshall, from The Crescent, Bilston, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment. Her plea of not guilty to the kidnap was accepted by the prosecution.

The precise reason for the kidnap was today unclear. Fantasist Boden, who claimed to be a millionaire but was short of cash, has since denied that money was the motive. He initially told detectives that he had been threatened by loan sharks over an unpaid £30,000 loan but now says that was a lie.

Boden even joined the search for the missing girl before fleeing moments before police found her. He drove off in his parents' car but was arrested in Wales hours later.

No ransom demand had been made by the time police tracked down the hiding place and freed the victim, who is not thought to have suffered serious physical harm during the ordeal.

Mr Howard Searle, prosecuting, told the court that Boden's pleas were on the basis that he had planned the kidnap for two weeks and that the room in which the victim was held had not been built solely for that purpose.

Mr Chris O'Gorman, defending Boden, asked for a six week adjournment so that the kidnapper could receive a psychiatric assessment.

Miss Sarah-Jayne Buckingham, defending Marshall, said she was vulnerable and her only involvement was the false imprisonment of the victim.

Recorder Stephen Campbell adjourned the hearing until the week beginning July 20. There was no application for bail and no evidence was read out to the court.

The pair were remanded in custody for pre-sentencing reports.

Recorder Campbell told them: "The mere fact that I am adjourning this for reports means that no promises are being made as to sentence."

Boden raised the alarm after the kidnap. He told his parents and the family of the victim that she had "disappeared" while his back was turned as the pair visited the Soundmasters shop in the evening of February 28, which has since become a furniture store.

He had even produced bogus ransom notes that he intended to suggest had been sent to him by the kidnapper but never used them.