Saturday, October 15, 2011

In Philadelphia, four disabled, malnourished adults found in locked basement

From The AP:

PHILADELPHIA - Authorities say four mentally disabled adults have been found locked in a Philadelphia basement suffering from malnutrition.

Officer Tanya Little says police were investigating a report of squatters in a building on Longshore Avenue on Saturday. When police arrived, she says they found three men and a woman locked in a room in the basement behind a steel door that was chained up.

Police say the victims had the mental capacity of 10-year-olds. Little says the four were taken to a hospital and listed in stable condition.

She tells The Philadelphia Inquirer that they had been living in "deplorable" conditions. It wasn't immediately clear how long they had been in the basement.

Police and other city officials are trying to determine who was responsible for their care.