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Author Topic: 4 Disabled Adults Found Shackled in Philadelphia Basement  (Read 18020 times)
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Gypsy DD
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« Reply #20 on: October 20, 2011, 07:48:40 PM »

This is the most sickening crime I have heard of..really.  These people who were mentally handicapped, who needed trusted guidance and care, being abused and tortured for a SSI check!!!!!  Horrific...I always think that the way we treat the least of society is the society we have become..in this case the persons responsible have become monsters..

And how in the heck did she only get 8 years in prison for the starving to death of her sister's fiance or husband..in a closet..starving a grown man to death...really ..did they think that 8 years of prison paid for that man's life..did they not think this woman a ghoul to be able to starve a man to death in a closet ...folks..starvation is a slow merciless death...what were the authorities thinking..they had a monster in their grasp ..and let her go to do her deeds again.

Speechless here..just speechless.
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« Reply #21 on: October 20, 2011, 07:53:35 PM »

I heard on one of the news programs, sorry, can't recall which one, that the woman who was captive possibly  had given birth to 2 babies..did anyone else hear that? not sure what became of those 2 kids or if they are two of the children found in the home.
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Gypsy DD
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« Reply #22 on: October 20, 2011, 08:00:37 PM »

I heard on one of the news programs, sorry, can't recall which one, that the woman who was captive possibly  had given birth to 2 babies..did anyone else hear that? not sure what became of those 2 kids or if they are two of the children found in the home.

Yes Cookie I did hear that..it was a mentally handicapped couple that she had kidnapped or however we want to phrase that..that had two children during their incareration in the chamber of horrors she called home..I know two of those children were foound..one a little child 2 years old that only weighed about as much as an infant.... can you imagine living through those screams of children and adults crying from starvation..maybe after being totured and abused enough they didn't scream anylonger..but starvation is very painful..and to feed a two year old only enough that it weighs the amount an infant does would have been painful to the child on a daily basis.  I guess that's why she had them locked in the sub basement..so no one else would hear them.

Thank goodness that the landlord in Philly was not a pushover and came by his apartments himself..he found them in the sub basement..that poor man..the building looks well kept and nice from the outside..I am glad he wasn't an absentee landlord.
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« Reply #23 on: October 20, 2011, 08:18:07 PM »

I heard on one of the news programs, sorry, can't recall which one, that the woman who was captive possibly  had given birth to 2 babies..did anyone else hear that? not sure what became of those 2 kids or if they are two of the children found in the home.

Yes Cookie I did hear that..it was a mentally handicapped couple that she had kidnapped or however we want to phrase that..that had two children during their incareration in the chamber of horrors she called home..I know two of those children were foound..one a little child 2 years old that only weighed about as much as an infant.... can you imagine living through those screams of children and adults crying from starvation..maybe after being totured and abused enough they didn't scream anylonger..but starvation is very painful..and to feed a two year old only enough that it weighs the amount an infant does would have been painful to the child on a daily basis.  I guess that's why she had them locked in the sub basement..so no one else would hear them.

Thank goodness that the landlord in Philly was not a pushover and came by his apartments himself..he found them in the sub basement..that poor man..the building looks well kept and nice from the outside..I am glad he wasn't an absentee landlord.

yes...agree..

just an awful awful situation that these people were forced to live in...I just can not wrap my head around being mean to another human being like that..I am gobsmacked!
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MuffyBee
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« Reply #24 on: October 21, 2011, 09:25:42 AM »

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8363098/ten-children-also-found-in-us-cellar-horror-case
Ten children also found in US cellar horror case
October 20, 2011

US police have probed a growing kidnapping horror case after finding 10 children in the care of a woman accused of locking up four mentally-disabled people in a dank cellar.

"This is a very complicated case," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said late Tuesday.

"This is a very sad story. It makes no sense. When you look at the kids, the psychological trauma is pretty apparent. It's some of the worst things I've ever experienced."

Ramsey told CNN Wednesday that 10 children aged from two to 19 had now also been taken into care, including the niece of the prime suspect Linda Weston, who was reported missing in 2009.
 ::snipping2::
The six children and four teens were taken into care in front of the Philadelphia house. Police are still working to identify all of them, some of whom may have been kidnapped.

"They are still interviewing the children to determine whose they are and where they came from," said Tasha Jamerson, spokeswoman for the Philadelphia district attorney's office.

Two of them may have been born to the woman held in the basement. "We don't know for sure. We'll have to do DNA testing in order to find out. Apparently they were taken from her at a very, very young age," Ramsey told CNN.

The children all bore signs of physical abuse and were extremely malnourished. Police spokeswoman Jillian Russell said they were being examined in local hospitals.
 ::snipping2::Mark Riordan, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Children and Family said the department had no record of the children in any of its databases or school records.

"The neighbors are coming forward saying they heard screams," Riordan said. "It does appear law enforcement was called to that house, but nothing was phoned in to the department."

Ramsey told CNN that Philadelphia had now set up a special task force to investigate the case, which may have spread through five US states -- Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia and Texas, and possibly also North Carolina.
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KittyMom
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« Reply #25 on: October 21, 2011, 09:29:39 AM »

How did this go on for so long?  It's just horrifying.
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« Reply #26 on: October 21, 2011, 11:07:00 AM »

How did this go on for so long?  It's just horrifying.

I'm not sure the duration or scope of this is fully known yet, plus it spans across multiple states.  I think by moving around, using stolen information, having overloaded or inept social services and etc. all contributed to this.  JMHO
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« Reply #27 on: October 21, 2011, 05:42:05 PM »

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hmIait5scDp1raPlSmSGLJMUtSFQ?docId=072b011272504e45988bd0dbdc39eeca
Grandparents seek custody of Pa. captive's 2 kids
October 21, 2011

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The parents of a mentally disabled woman held captive in a squalid basement as part of what police believe was a Social Security fraud scheme are seeking custody of her two young children, their attorney said Friday.

Wilbert and Peggy Wanamaker are the parents of 29-year-old Tamara Breeden, among four people freed from the locked basement of a home in the city's Tacony section last weekend.

Four people have been arrested in the case, in which investigators believe the suspects locked people up and cashed their Social Security checks. Eight children and four young adults linked to the defendants are now in protective custody.

Attorney Steven Wigrizer, who represents the Wanamakers, said they plan to seek temporary custody of two of the children, believed to be ages 2 and 7, who they say are Breeden's.

A court would need to make a decision on custody, said Alicia Taylor, a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Human Services. DNA tests are being conducted to determine the children's identities, she said.
 ::snipping2::
Breeden's parents are fairly certain two of the young children belong to their daughter, who is in social services placement, Wigrizer said. They plan to petition for temporary custody, he said.

"Our understanding is that these are her kids," he said. "Unless something shocking comes to light, we believe that that will be the end result of DNA testings."
 ::snipping2::
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« Reply #28 on: October 22, 2011, 07:25:20 PM »

you know darn well that there would have been some fooling around with those 4 locked up or with others before them. would not surprise me at all if the children belonged to her and one of the men being held captive with her or one of the men who held her captive fathered the children...sad scenario...
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« Reply #29 on: October 28, 2011, 11:54:27 AM »

http://www.kxan.com/dpps/news/national/northeast/3-face-new-charges-in-philly-basement-captive-case-nt11-jgr_3974479
New charges in basement-captive case
Aggravated assault, kidnapping, conspiracy

October 28, 2011



The dank sub-basement room in Philadelphia where four weak and malnourished mentally disabled adults, one chained to the boiler, were found locked inside is shown Monday, Oct. 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Ron Cortes, Pool)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia's district attorney has filed new charges against three suspects accused in an alleged Social Security plot in which police say mentally disabled people were kept in a basement.

Seth Williams announced Friday he is adding new charges of aggravated assault, kidnapping, conspiracy and other counts against Linda Ann Weston, her daughter Jean McIntosh and Eddie Wright.

Prosecutors say these charges relate to the abuse of a 19-year-old woman who was locked in a bathroom closet for at least two weeks.
 ::snipping2::
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KittyMom
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« Reply #30 on: October 28, 2011, 11:57:15 AM »

Every time I read something on this case I get angry all over again.
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« Reply #31 on: October 28, 2011, 12:09:55 PM »

Every time I read something on this case I get angry all over again.

There were so many ways over a long period of time this built up and could have been stopped.   
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« Reply #32 on: October 28, 2011, 12:41:19 PM »

This case makes me so angry I could explode.  Having the mental capacity of a 10-year old means they are trusting, loving, etc.  Just think about 10-year olds you know.  My ex, who I have taken care of for 22 years, is mentally about a 10-year old.  It's not been easy, but I cannot even begin to imagine of putting him in a basement, let alone chaining him to a boiler.  Oh, there have been times I was very angry with him for his "innocent" ways, because he cannot think situations through logically, but never in a million, trillion centuries would I ever not treat him like a human being.  Truth is, he keeps me humble he is so trusting.
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« Reply #33 on: October 28, 2011, 09:02:04 PM »

This case makes me so angry I could explode.  Having the mental capacity of a 10-year old means they are trusting, loving, etc.  Just think about 10-year olds you know.  My ex, who I have taken care of for 22 years, is mentally about a 10-year old.  It's not been easy, but I cannot even begin to imagine of putting him in a basement, let alone chaining him to a boiler.  Oh, there have been times I was very angry with him for his "innocent" ways, because he cannot think situations through logically, but never in a million, trillion centuries would I ever not treat him like a human being.  Truth is, he keeps me humble he is so trusting.

you are the sweetest thing Sister...
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« Reply #34 on: November 05, 2011, 05:02:30 PM »

 

Nov. 4, 2011, 3:00 AM

Norfolk cops: Weston didn't kill woman in Virginia


LINDA ANN WESTON is not expected to be charged with murder in the 2008 death of a woman in Virginia, police there said yesterday.

Norfolk police spokesman Chris Amos said that a review of Maxine Lee's death, which could be completed today, shows that Lee died of natural causes - specifically bacterial meningitis - as previously ruled.

"We're not going to fabricate something," he said. "There's nothing there. We're not going to charge her with murder."

 ::snipping2::

Weston, 51, was arrested here Oct. 15 after four mentally disabled adults were found locked and malnourished in a Tacony sub-basement boiler room.

She had been convicted in 1984 of third-degree murder in the starvation death three years earlier of her sister Venus' boyfriend, whom she locked in the sisters' hallway closet for two months.

 ::snipping2:: MORE
Zarandi yesterday said that he didn't think the police findings would matter in the long run, given what Weston faces in Philadelphia. "I don't think she's going to see the light of day soon," he said.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20111104_Norfolk_cops__Weston_didn_t_kill_woman_in_Virginia.html
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« Reply #35 on: November 05, 2011, 09:33:23 PM »

Brother of Philadelphia basement captive describes emotional reunion

By Sarah Hoye, CNN
updated 7:58 AM EST, Sat November 5, 2011



Philadelphia (CNN) -- Robert Sanabria thought he would never see his big brother again.

Robert was 15 when his brother, Edwin, left home at age 18.

Born prematurely with only one functioning lung, Edwin spent his school years in special education classes, Robert said. He remembered his brother as soft-spoken, humble and kindhearted.

"When he left, he just took off," Robert told CNN by phone last Saturday. "He was in love and ran away."

He last saw his brother in 1999. Neighbors and friends would tell Robert they thought they spotted Edwin around the city.

"It was like a bigfoot sighting," he said. "Every time they said they saw him it went nowhere. The information led to a dead end."

Robert, 29, is a sergeant in the U.S. Army who lives with his wife outside Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

All his years of military training and combat experience couldn't prepare him for what happened a few weeks ago.



 ::snipping2::

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/05/justice/philadelphia-captives-brother/index.html
« Last Edit: November 05, 2011, 09:35:07 PM by San » Logged
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« Reply #36 on: November 07, 2011, 12:33:58 PM »

Brother of Philadelphia basement captive describes emotional reunion

By Sarah Hoye, CNN
updated 7:58 AM EST, Sat November 5, 2011



Philadelphia (CNN) -- Robert Sanabria thought he would never see his big brother again.

Robert was 15 when his brother, Edwin, left home at age 18.

Born prematurely with only one functioning lung, Edwin spent his school years in special education classes, Robert said. He remembered his brother as soft-spoken, humble and kindhearted.

"When he left, he just took off," Robert told CNN by phone last Saturday. "He was in love and ran away."

He last saw his brother in 1999. Neighbors and friends would tell Robert they thought they spotted Edwin around the city.

"It was like a bigfoot sighting," he said. "Every time they said they saw him it went nowhere. The information led to a dead end."

Robert, 29, is a sergeant in the U.S. Army who lives with his wife outside Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

All his years of military training and combat experience couldn't prepare him for what happened a few weeks ago.



 ::snipping2::

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/05/justice/philadelphia-captives-brother/index.html
San, thank you so much for sharing this article.  I am crying with joy that maybe, just maybe there is some good coming from all of this.
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« Reply #37 on: December 20, 2011, 07:08:17 PM »

Disabled Adults Locked In Cellar: Edwin Sanabria Testifies About Philly Captors

PHILADELPHIA -- A mentally disabled man said he had nowhere else to go in 2001 when he and his high school sweetheart moved in with a paroled killer - who had starved a man to death in her closet.

A decade later, Edwin Sanabria, 31, and Tamara Breeden, 29, were found emaciated and sporting dozens of scars between them, according to photographs shown in court on Monday. Breeden bears most of them, with scars, welts and bruises marking most of her body, especially her scalp, along with her cauliflower ears.

Spectators gasped Monday when grim hospital photographs of the couple and two other victims were shown in court at the preliminary hearing of Linda Ann Weston, the convicted killer who's accused of kidnapping disabled adults in a widespread fraud and abuse scheme.

Sanabria, the first victim to testify, said Weston took him to a Social Security office soon after he moved in and took over his financial affairs. He said he never again saw his $674 monthly Social Security checks or food stamp card.

Police said they found dozens of identification cards, Social Security cards, power of attorney papers and other forms when they arrested Weston, who also had taken in a disabled niece who received government benefits.

 ::snipping2::
http://main.aol.com/2011/12/20/disabled-adults-locked-in-cellar_n_1160185.html?1324390648&icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl9%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D121703
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« Reply #38 on: January 01, 2012, 07:43:45 PM »

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-12-20/news/30540193_1_mentally-disabled-man-disabled-adults-mental-capacity
Basement captive testifies he was beaten
NINA MANDELL
December 20, 2011

A mentally disabled man who was held captive for more than a decade in Philadelphia testified Monday that he was starved, beaten and robbed of his Social Security checks.

An emaciated Edwin Sanabria, 31, was found with his high school sweetheart, Tamara Breeden, 29, and two other people in accused torturer Linda Ann Weston’s basement apartment in October.

Police believe that Weston, her adult daughter Jean McIntosh, her boyfriend Gregory Thomas and Eddie (The Reverend Ed) Wright, held the disabled adults captive and stole their Social Security checks for the past decade.

McIntosh, who wore a hijab according to CNN, reportedly shook her head and pushed her attorney to challenge testimony during the preliminary hearing in the criminal case. Weston remained emotionless and looked bored, The Associated Press reported.

All four are facing charges including kidnapping, aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy and false imprisonment in the case.
 ::snipping2::
Judge Patrick Dugan will determine on Tuesday if there's enough evidence to send Weston to trial.
 ::snipping2::
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« Reply #39 on: January 01, 2012, 07:47:11 PM »

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gC7vKiDjzL6I-ZfTSR9nn0tQIGQA?docId=25853dd76b0f4f45ab9e07371e9846fc
Man locked in Pa. cellar: I never saw gov't checks
By MARYCLAIRE DALE
December 19, 2011

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A mentally disabled man said he had nowhere else to go in 2001 when he and his high school sweetheart moved in with a paroled killer — who had starved a man to death in her closet.

A decade later, Edwin Sanabria, 31, and Tamara Breeden, 29, were found emaciated and sporting dozens of scars between them, according to photographs shown in court on Monday. Breeden bears most of them, with scars, welts and bruises marking most of her body, especially her scalp, along with her cauliflower ears.

Spectators gasped Monday when grim hospital photographs of the couple and two other victims were shown in court at the preliminary hearing of Linda Ann Weston, the convicted killer who's accused of kidnapping disabled adults in a widespread fraud and abuse scheme.

Sanabria, the first victim to testify, said Weston took him to a Social Security office soon after he moved in and took over his financial affairs. He said he never again saw his $674 monthly Social Security checks or food stamp card.

Police said they found dozens of identification cards, Social Security cards, power of attorney papers and other forms when they arrested Weston, who also had taken in a disabled niece who received government benefits.
 ::snipping2::
Sanabria had three children with Breeden, including a 5-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy who lived with the group in recent years. But he did not know the girl, nicknamed Little L, for Little Linda, was his daughter until he read it in a newspaper, which reported the results of DNA tests done on children taken in by authorities after the arrests, he said. He had been told his daughter had died and the girl was Weston's, he said.

"I didn't understand she was mine," Sanabria testified.

The preliminary hearing was set to continue Tuesday with testimony from two more witnesses, perhaps some of the other victims. The others include Herbert Knowles, 40, of Norfolk, Va., and McLemire, 41, of North Carolina.

More than a dozen relatives of the victims, including Breeden's two aunts and a sister, attended the hearing. They said her health is improving but declined to say where she is staying. The victims had initially been in protective custody.
 ::snipping2::
The suspects, all from Philadelphia, remain in custody. They haven't entered pleas. Weston showed little emotion during the hearing, looking bored at times, although McIntosh frequently suggested to her lawyer that he challenge the testimony.

Common Pleas Judge Patrick Dugan will determine Tuesday if there's enough evidence to send the case to trial. The charges include kidnapping, aggravated assault, custodial interference, theft by deception and neglect of a care-dependent person.

The victims have the mental capacity of 10-year-olds, authorities have said.
 ::snipping2::
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