SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — A housekeeper at a Shelby County hotel is being hailed as a hero after coming to the aid of a guest allegedly being held hostage by her boyfriend.
The incident happened Thursday morning at the Holiday Inn Express off Highway 385 and Hacks Cross Road.
The housekeeper told Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies she heard a woman’s screams for help coming from a second-floor room.
She said when she knocked, the screams became muffled as if a hand had been placed over the victim’s mouth. At that point, she called 911.
When deputies arrived, they said the victim told them she’d been screaming because her boyfriend had taken her phone and wouldn’t let her leave the room.
Deputies arrested Nicholas Floyd, 35, from the Nashville area and charged him with domestic assault and false imprisonment.
Crime victim advocate and domestic violence survivor Gwen Turner applauds the housekeeper’s actions.
“People don’t always feel comfortable, even if they see something, they’re like, ‘Well, you know, maybe that’s the way they communicate,'” Turner said.
When deputies patted down Floyd, they found meth laced with fentanyl, as well as a pocket knife, which makes Turner even more relieved the housekeeper had the sense to call for help.
“It could have saved her life,” Turner said. “I mean, absolutely it could have saved her life.”
Floyd’s bond is set at $20,000. He’s also facing a drug possession charge.
