AKRON, OH- Shocking body camera footage from last month showed the moment police rescued a 23-year-old woman from an alleged serial kidnapper, the Daily Caller reported.
Akron police officers are seen on the video with guns drawn approaching a backyard shed. Police were ordering suspect Willam Mozingo to exit the shed with his hands up, according to the footage released by Law & Crime. The incident took place on Oct. 16 and involved the suspected kidnapping of the woman, Chloe Jones.
Fox News reported Jones and Mozingo are acquaintances and said Mozingo allegedly kidnapped Jones, beat her with a baseball bat, doused her with gasoline while threatening to light her on fire, and then held her captive for four days, Akron police said.
Mozingo, who gave up peacefully, was handcuffed. Police entered the shed and used a ladder to help Jones climb down from a partially hidden hole in the ceiling.
“After being rescued by police, Chloe spent three days in ICU with facial fractures, brain bleed, broken arm and fingers,” her mother, Jessi Barham, wrote in a GoFundMe post. “She was tortured nonstop over the four days she was held.”
The incident began last month when Mozingo offered Jones a ride home, after which he abducted her. Instead of taking her home, he took her to an outdoor shed where she was held for four days until being discovered by the shed’s owner, who notified police.
“She was tied up, doused with gasoline, and threatened to be lit on fire,” Barham wrote. “Chloe was beat from head to toe with a baseball bat and fists. She was held at knifepoint dozens of times and threatened to have her throat slit.
“She was forced to urinate on herself, and she wasn’t afforded bathroom breaks. My daughter was choked multiple times, all while being told if she passed out, he would cut her throat. He wanted her awake and fully able to comprehend everything he was doing to her.”
Jones told Fox 8 that the only thing that kept her alive was thinking of her son.
“I thought about him every day. I just saw his face in my head every day,” Jones said.
Mozingo used Jones’ love for her son to his advantage, repeatedly telling her she would never see him again.
“It was terrifying,” she said. “Being in fear of your life countless times, I can’t even count how many times he threatened my life.”
Jones also took the occasion to warn women across the country about getting into cars with strangers, even though that wasn’t the case in this incident.
“I want to tell the young girls across America it’s not safe to get into a car with people you don’t know or a friend of a friend.”
Mozingo was taken into custody and faces charges of assault, unlawful restraint, kidnapping, abduction, parole violation, and escape. Officials say he is being held on $100,000 bond.
A check of criminal records found Mozingon has a lengthy criminal history, including serving prison time for abduction in 2011, 2014, and 2019. In addition, he held a woman at knifepoint inside a Walmart in 2017, according to criminal records.
In the 2019 case, he kidnapped his ex-girlfriend, beat her, and left her unconscious and undressed inside his Canton, Ohio home. According to court records, he served 18 months in prison and was released on parole.
Barham was livid about Mozingo being out on the streets for the 2019 crimes.
“There was no reason why this man should have been on the streets,” she wrote on the GoFundMe post. “He has proven time and again that he WILL OFFEND AGAIN. They KNEW he was going to take another victim, and the justice system did nothing to prevent it.”
While refusing to answer why Mozingo was out on the street, Akron Police Captain Michael Miller quickly praised his officers, noting the department “remains committed to the endless work of making the City of Akron safer for all” in an emailed statement.
“We are pleased to have played a small role in helping this victim in this particular situation and wish her all the best in her healing and recovery.”
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