PITTBSURGH — Two brothers were accused of being involved in a situation where a man was kept hostage in a basement after he was beaten with a hammer.
Police said they were called to the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital on Dec. 28 for reports of an assault.
The victim told police he has flipped houses for Michael George Holloway, 49, for seven years.
Holloway picked him up for work on Dec. 27 and took him to a house they were flipping on the 300 block of Rochelle Street in Knoxville.
When the two men entered the home Holloway pointed out that the dishwasher was missing. After work began, Holloway began attacking the victim with a claw hammer and asked where the missing dishwasher had gone, court documents said.
The victim told police he was hit around 70-75 times.
Police said Holloway took the victim’s phone out of his pocket and told him if he went to the door he would “smash him in the head and kill him.”
The victim said Holloway FaceTimed multiple people during the attack, including his girlfriend, and appeared to record parts of it.
Holloway’s brother, Sean Michael Lowry or “Pooder,” and two other unknown men were called to the location after he decided he wanted to “finish [the victim] off and kill him,” police said.
The men allegedly dragged the victim by the hair into the fruit cellar of the house and shoved cans of paint in front of the door so he could not escape.
The victim told police that “Pooder” brought a revolver to the scene and told him to give back the dishwasher if he took it. While talking to the men, he told them he lived near Mayor Gainey. After hearing this, Pooder and the unknown men left the house.
Holloway put the victim into a truck, drove around his house multiple times, threw his phone out the window and threatened to rape and kill his daughters if he called the police, court documents say.
The victim was taken to a hospital after returning home. Police said he had a broken arm that would require surgery and possibly had a broken tibia. He also had a concussion, numerous bruises on his back and visible bruising on his throat.
Charges were filed against Holloway on Jan. 15. He is currently being held at the Allegheny County Jail.
Lowry was charged on March 13.
Police were able to identify him using Holloway’s phone and the victim selected him out of a photo lineup.
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