KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Kansas City man faces five felony charges after witnesses told police he beat up and stabbed his pregnant girlfriend.
Those same witnesses took action, grabbing 27-year-old Jonathan Holland and holding him until police came, according to WDAF.
“As I rounded the corner at 14th and Baltimore, I could hear screams from a distance,” said one witness, Marc Saighman. “I could see one block down a man kicking and punching a woman repeatedly and her screaming.”
It happened downtown last Saturday afternoon.
Witnesses said they saw Holland, in broad daylight, assaulting his five-week-pregnant girlfriend.
“By the time I finished calling the police, saying 'please come quickly,' I saw he had a knife in his hand,” Tom Fehr told WDAF.
Police say Holland stabbed the woman in her leg so severely it cut to the bone.
Saighman said he started to run in the direction of the 27-year-old.
“I saw him turn around and wield a very long knife. It looked like a hunting knife,” Saighman said. “She was balled up on the ground, screaming, just screaming over and over again, and he repeatedly kicked her -- I must have seen him kick her three or four times -- and punch her.”
“It was the most monstrous thing I’ve ever seen in person,” Fehr said.
Saighman said Holland picked up a backpack and tried to leave.
“I went to follow him. I wanted to make sure he didn't get away,” Saighman said. “As I rounded the corner to go to the parking garage area, he and I almost ran directly into each other, and at that point I made a decision to go after him.”
He said Holland took a couple swings at him, but he was able to take him to the ground and put him in a chokehold.
He looked up and saw two men coming to help him. Minutes later, police showed up, and took Holland away.
“What's really shocking is that [this] would go on, especially in a busy area of Kansas City, in the middle of the day,” Saighman said.
He said people came and tended to the victim, and the ambulance took her away. Court documents say the victim survived, but it's unclear if she is still pregnant. She told police that Holland has assaulted her in the past.
Holland is facing three counts of domestic assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. He's held on a $100,000 bond, and is due in court on October 17.
