(Image Source: CBS News)
BY KIM ST. ONGE
A bizarre case where four mentally-disabled adults were held captive in a basement dungeon just got weirder. Philadelphia police say during the investigation, they rescued 10 children and teens from near the scene.
WPVI explains.
“Police say they were either blood related or somehow connected to the victims or three defendants in this investigation. They range in age between 2 and 19.”
Police identified one of the teens as 19-year-old Beatrice Weston.
She’s the niece of the suspected dungeon ring-leader Linda Ann Weston
Officials also found missing Florida teen Benita Rodriguez. WPTV spoke to Rodriquez’s mom.
"She said she tried to call me, but his mom wouldn't let her use the phone. Once they got to Philadelphia she was not allowed to be outside."
Rodriquez says her daughter had been missing since July when she ran away with her boyfriend, Gregory Thomas Jr.
Thomas. Gregory Thomas Sr. is his father and one of the suspects in the case.
The additional search happened after Weston’s apartment landlord discovered the four adults and two dogs behind a steel locked door on Saturday. WCAU went in the basement and describes the conditions as unbearable.
“This was a sub-basement level room, so the floor was made of dirt, broken down concrete. It was incredibly cramped. There was barely anything for these people to sleep on and police suspect they were trapped down there for about a week so you can imagine what it would have smelled like.”
Officials made a fourth arrest in the case on Wednesday--Weston’s daughter, 32-year-old Jean McIntosh, who lived in the second floor apartment where the four adults were held.
Officials report McIntosh allegedly helped Weston steal the victims’ Social Security disability benefits-- and investigators say there could be as many as 50 other victims. A writer for Care2 says this case is beyond shocking.
“Given the extent of the four individuals’ disabilities, who was not caring for them, that someone could have abducted them and subjected them to such inhumane treatment? Might someone have claimed to be a relative or guardian and taken them?”
The 10 children and teens are now in the care of city health officials.
