Newly released video footage from Kentucky law enforcement officers shows the harrowing moment when a woman was rescued from an upstairs bedroom where she had been chained to the floor for two days.
At approximately 7 p.m. on Aug. 16, officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) reported to a second-story home after receiving calls from neighbors that a woman inside was screaming for help, according to a release from the LMPD on Facebook.
Upon arriving at the scene, police officers could hear and see the woman, identified as 37-year-old Jonna Wilson, from the window of a second-story room, WDRB reported. Wilson kicked out the window to call for help after allegedly being chained up by her estranged boyfriend, 36-year-old Moises May, the outlet stated.
Though the officers attempted to enter the house through the main door, they found it was barricaded, forcing them to obtain a ladder to access the second-story of the home, the release stated.
After climbing to the upstairs window, police found Wilson inside who was chained to the floor of the bedroom by her neck. The chain was bolted to the floor and secured around Wilson’s neck with a Masterlock. Body camera footage shows Wilson crying as police work to free her from her prison, telling officers no one else was in the home.
Police managed to find an axe within the home which they used to detach the chain from the floor. Later, video footage shows officers with Wilson on the front porch of the home, using bolt cutters to remove the chain from around her neck.
“The most surprising thing is probably the extent he went to lock her in there. Every single window was bolted shut. Every single door had screws in it. He made sure he barricaded the house pretty well,” responding officer Anthony Roach told WDRB. (RELATED: Police Arrest French Man After Reportedly Finding Wife In ‘Torture room’ With Broken Legs And Shaved Head)
“The only thought I had on it is that God created an opportunity for her and he gave her the strength to get her out of that situation and he also had community members outside that were willing and engaging enough to call us and do their part to help also,” Roach said of Wilson. “Thank God she is OK.”
May was arrested Aug. 18 and charged with kidnapping, wanton endangerment, assault, terroristic threatening and harassment. May pleaded not guilty at his preliminary hearing the following day and is scheduled to appear again in court on Aug. 28.