Neighbor witnessed alleged abuse

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) - Three people accused of abusing a special needs woman in Pensacola remain in jail. 

FOX10 has obtained video allegedly showing the 21-year-old woman being abused in her own backyard. 

Linda Hollowell lives directly across the street from the home on Christine Street.

She said she has heard screams coming from the home before, but decided to catch it on video Saturday.

“It's severely brutal. It's the most brutal thing I've ever seen in my life,” said Hollowell.

In the video, you hear what sounds like a woman screaming in the distance. Hollowell said she grabbed her iPhone and went outside.

“I went back outside, and it was worse, and it was more severe. And I said, ‘I've got to call the police again.’ And the only way I could do this is if I had evidence,” she said. “I felt I had to have evidence, proof of what was going on.”

The neighbor said the special needs woman was being thrown into the ground while a man yelled, "It's time to put on your sign."

When Escambia County Sheriff's Deputies arrived, they arrested Rondal Hale, 59, and his wife DeeAnn Hale, 58, and Clinton Carr, 53.

Deputies said the three handcuffed a 21-year-old special needs woman and chained a 40-pound sign around her neck which read, "I am a [theif] and a liar."

Investigators said the victim had been made to walk around the backyard with the sign on for quite some time.

Deputies said they also saw a four-inch gash on the back of her head where, the victim said, one of the suspects had hit her in the head with a bucket two days prior.

The suspects are suspected of attempting to close the wound with super glue and sewing thread.

FOX10 asked Hollowell if getting the shocking video was really worth the risk.

“I would do it again tomorrow,” she responded. “I would do what you have to do to protect somebody.”

The victim was transported to the hospital and will be put in custody of the Department of Child and Families.