Ohio Brothers Rescue Woman From Attacker: 'If We Were Even Two Minutes Late, She Would Have Been Dead'
Two Ohio brothers came to the rescue of a neighbor who suffered a bloody attack.
Aug. 17, 2013— -- Two Columbus, Ohio, brothers are being called heroes after they stepped in to help rescue a woman who suffered a brutal assault at the hands of a family friend.
Natheer Abdul-Razzaque and his brother, Hashim, of Columbus, were taking out the garbage on Wednesday when they heard a woman screaming from a house down the block, ABC Columbus affiliate WSYX-TV reported.
Alarmed by her cries, they went down to knock on the door. There, they witnessed a man running out of the back of the house. A badly beaten, bloodied woman emerged from inside, prompting the brothers to call 911 to get help.
"She was really bloody," Hashim Abdul-Razzaque told WSYX-TV. "She was top to bottom blood."
"If we were even two minutes late, she would have been dead," Natheer Abdul-Razzaque said.
The woman, who was later identified as Leanna Whitlock, told WSYX-TV she had been stabbed 50 times with a screwdriver and a butter knife, and was repeatedly raped by David Hudson, a family friend who was staying with her husband after recently getting out of jail.
Whitlock told police Hudson forced her to perform oral sex several times, as well as stabbed her, punched her, and attempted to suffocate her with a pillow, WSYX-TV reported. Hudson also reportedly told Whitlock if she did not comply, he would kill her.
Whitlock was able to survive the attack by playing dead, which prompted Hudson to leave the house, according to WSYX-TV. She snuck out of a window to try and get help.
Whitlock was rushed to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where she received stitches and staples, and underwent eye surgery for injuries sustained during the assault, WSYX-TV reported. A hospital spokesman told ABCNews.com that she was no longer in the hospital as of this afternoon.
"He didn't ruin my life because I won. I beat him, he didn't kill me," Whitlock said. "I want to make sure that he never gets out, he never sees the light of day again."
Hudson was charged with rape, kidnapping and felony assault, said a Franklin County Municipal Court spokeswoman. He was in custody at Franklin County Jail, where his bond was set at $1.5 million. He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 23.
Meanwhile, the Abdul-Razzaque brothers are glad they didn't ignore what could have been "a joke or a game."
"I hear screaming, I'm going to help regardless," Natheer Abdul-Razzaque said. "I'm not going to listen to a scream and not do anything about it."
Related Stories
ABC News Live