A South Charleston man has been charged with beating his girlfriend and holding her against her will after finding a recent phone call from an ex-boyfriend on her cell phone.

South Charleston police responded to a home on Rock Lake Drive about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday to investigate after Metro 911 dispatchers received a call that was quickly disconnected.

When the officers arrived, they heard a loud argument between a man and woman followed by a struggle, then the man's raised voice and the sound of a woman crying.

The woman, who was not identified, opened the door after the officers knocked.

The officers noted in the complaint filed in Kanawha Magistrate Court that the woman had severe injuries to her face and her left eye was swollen completely shut.

Christopher Albert Johnson, 38, then stumbled into the room wearing clothes that appeared to be covered in blood.

The woman was taken outside after asking police to help her. She told police Johnson was upset after checking her cell phone and finding she had recently received a phone call from her ex-boyfriend.

Johnson allegedly punched her repeatedly and kicked her in the head and face when she fell to the ground. She said Johnson then showed her a pair of black-handled kitchen shears and told her he was "going to kill her" for cheating on him, according to the complaint.

The woman tried to call for help several times and attempted to leave the home but was prevented from doing so by Johnson. She said he destroyed two cell phones to keep her from calling for help.

Johnson has been charged with malicious wounding and kidnapping and is being held at South Central Regional Jail on $5,000 bond.