Inset: Moises May in court (WDRB/YouTube). Background: Bodycam footage of police discovering Jonna Wilson chained to the floor (Louisville Metropolitan Police Department).
A Kentucky man who was arrested for chaining up his girlfriend and committing other crimes against her told detectives the woman did it herself because she couldn’t stop cheating on him, according to police testimony at his ongoing trial.
Moises May, of Louisville, allegedly tried claiming that Jonna Wilson, who is also the mother of his daughter, chained herself up before cops found her at a home in Louisville’s Park Hill neighborhood in 2023, according to Detective Brittany O’Neil, of the Louisville Metro Police Department.
O’Neil testified in court Wednesday at May’s trial and detailed how there were no signs or evidence of self-imprisonment, local Fox affiliate WDRB reported.
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“It didn’t seem like it was something she did to herself,” O’Neil said, according to WDRB. She alleged that May told police Wilson chained herself up because she could not stop being unfaithful, the outlet reports.
O’Neil told jurors that May allegedly cut Wilson’s hair with a machete, telling police she “lost a bet” with him over a game of checkers. He allegedly changed his story and later claimed it was cut off because Wilson wanted to dye her hair and May wouldn’t help, so she asked that he cut it instead.
O’Neil also reportedly described how May trafficked Wilson and forced her to have sex with men for money. He allegedly did this at least five times.
After May’s arrest, police released disturbing body camera footage of officers finding Wilson chained to the floor of a second-story bedroom and rescuing her.
“Thank you so much,” Wilson can be heard saying on video.
She and the officers can be seen walking past a room with a padlock on the door and she says, “He never let me in there.”
The Louisville Metropolitan Police Department went to the home on the night of Aug. 16, 2023, after neighbors heard Wilson screaming for help from a broken-out window on the second floor and called police. When officers arrived, they found that the entire first floor had been barricaded. They tried kicking in doors and breaking windows, to no avail. An officer eventually grabbed a ladder and climbed to the second floor. When he walked into the room, Wilson was trembling and crying. She had a metal collar around her neck that was secured by a MasterLock, attached to a chain and bolted to the floor.
Officers called paramedics to check out Wilson, who was treated at the scene. The paramedics used bolt cutters to remove the chain from around her neck.
An arrest citation reviewed by Law&Crime said May and Wilson were arguing when he allegedly held her down on the floor, cut off most of her hair and chained her up. He slapped her and threatened to kill her multiple times, according to the report. May also allegedly forced Wilson to remove some of her clothing, stating “you’re gonna get it tonight” and “I told you next time you leave and don’t come home I’d kill you.” He allegedly kept her chained up for around five hours, WDRB reports.
Wilson spoke to the outlet about the alleged ordeal in August 2023, saying she feared for her life.
“I said, ‘This is my only time, if I didn’t get free now, I’ll be dead,”” Wilson told the outlet.
“He made me strip naked, he put the chain around my neck, he called his friend and said, ‘I’ve got to take this equipment back to Lowe’s. When I come back, I’m going to kill you.’ I only had a few minutes to get out,” Wilson recalled.
May, who has pleaded not guilty, is facing multiple charges for what he allegedly did to Wilson, including kidnapping, human trafficking and harassment. Jurors are expected to get the case Thursday after closing arguments, WDRB reports.
David Harris contributed to this report.
