(Image Source:nbcphiladelphia.com)
BY GARY COTTON
You're watching multisource U.S. video news analysis from Newsy
They were looking for squatters, thought they heard a trapped dog, and stumbled into -- a dungeon. Philadelphia police were shocked to find four mentally disabled adults chained in a basement closet. Philadelphia’s WCAU has the details.
“Tacony residents are shaking their heads in disbelief. Investigators say the four abused adults, three men and one female, were found chained behind this locked steel door.[FLASH] Police sources say this is one of the worst cases of abuse they have ever seen. They also say the victims were in filthy conditions. Initially they thought they were children because they’re so fragile.”
Three people have been arrested and charged for the crime, but there’s a major obstacle for the police investigation. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports because of the victim’s mental states, police are having a tough time identifying them.
“The female victim is 29, the men 31, 35 and 41; each has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old, police said. … ‘We have no idea who some of these people are...’”
Police think the captives may have been moved from Texas, to Florida, and then up to Philadelphia, but why were they beginning held prisoner to begin with? WPVI reports -- their government disability checks were apparently stolen by their captors. And this dungeon may not be the only one.
“Police are now questioning two men and a woman who is said to have been the ring leader. The FBI is now also involved. Police say this could become a much wider investigation.”
The four victims are all being treated in a local hospital as the investigation continues.
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