GUILTY PA - Four mentally disabled people held captive in Philly dungeon, 2011

[Filly]

Four people were found in deplorable conditions locked in a tiny room in a subasement in Philadelphia.

All four mentally challenged individuals were malnourished and one had been shackled to a water heater.

Police so far said that the poor people were being used for their social security checks and have come via Texas, and then Florida only to land in the Tacony neighborhood of Philly.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/131934493.html


The cops aren't even sure who these poor people are. They have arrested several people, but have'nt given names. The neighbors are seriously p*ssed. Welcome to my neighborhood folks.

 

[mysticrose]

I was coming to post about this filly, but I figured you would be on top of it since it's in your neighborhood.

This is horrible, those poor people.

I say they lock up everyone arrested in a basement, chained shut and on occasion throw them some bread and maybe some water until they scream for their mom, and then lock them up for the rest of their life ....

 

[wfgodot]

"Shackled to a water heater." Good God.

 

[tlcya]

Sigh. Good morning deplorable world full of deplorable people.

is anyone else bone tired of reading about humanity's inhumanity to humanity?

 

[peeples]

Reminds me of the disabled workers forced to live in horrible conditions and work for $65/mo at a turkey processing plant in Iowa.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/ar...es-bunkhouse-housed-mentally-retarded-workers

I know some of the men, now and they are doing really well working at goodwill and Fareway and living in groups of 2

We have a thread on WS's about these guys and how they came to get from Texas to Iowa, and how their family members were duped. (Families couldn't care for t he disAbled men, so they let the state of TX have custyody and the state of TX tghen sent them to Iowa to work) *rolling eyes*
I'll see if i can find the article

Link to thread about the Atalissa bunkhouse men in Iowa

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132634&highlight=Turkey+Service

Link to article about how the atalissa men came from TX to Iowa

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...ews-of-Texas-son-s-plight-in-Iowa-1737516.php

 

[Irish_Eyes]

Wonder if any of these folks are listed as missing?

 

[Irish_Eyes]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/16/justice/pennsylvania-disabled-chained/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

snipped from the article:

Three people have been arrested and accused of holding the people captive and stealing their Social Security checks.
Linda Ann Weston, 51; Thomas Gregory, 47; and Eddie Wright, 49, face charges including criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, kidnapping, criminal trespass, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, Philadelphia police said in a statement Sunday.
The alleged victims include a 29-year-old woman and three men, ages 31, 35 and 41, said Philadelphia police Lt. Ray Evers.
Weston, the alleged ringleader, was convicted more than 10 years ago on a murder charge in Philadelphia, Evers said. She served eight years in prison.
All seven -- the three suspects and four alleged victims -- had been traveling together, he said, but did not know for how long. Weston is believed to have been in McLean, Texas, with some or all of the alleged victims. They then traveled to Florida and Philadelphia, Evers said.

 

[wfgodot]

Sunday Mail's on this one (of course):

Shocking pictures of chains used to bind four starving mentally-disabled people in basement dungeon of 'house of horrors'

The whole story, with lots of pics plus video at link above.

 

[deelytful1]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/mentally-d...ocked-philadelphia-basement/story?id=14749037

Four mentally disabled adults, with the estimated mental capacity of 10-year-olds, were found chained to a boiler in a Philadelphia apartment house basement, reeking of excrement from the bucket they were forced to use, police said today.

Is it that this world has gotten so "dog eat dog" that we don't know what is right and what is wrong? Was Darwin right with his "survival of the fittest" hypothesis? Is Satan truly lurking among us? is the degradation of each generation simply making us worse and worse as a society?
I'm struggling for answers as to how human beings can be so evil since i can not even fathom being able to function each day (nonetheless sleeping!) treating another person in this fashion or even knowing this was taking place ....

 

[katydid23]

Were the captors doing that to cash their disability or social security checks or something? I cannot understand why else one would chain adults to the wall.

 

[Missizzy]

This is horrid horrid story. No doubt about it. I've thought about it all day, though, and have a couple of questions. The victims are described as being developmentally disabled. The motive seems to be to steal their SSI checks. And yet the victims are described as functioning at a 10 year old level. This cannot be.

The be eligible for SSI, one must meet strict guidelines. There are a few "presumptive disabilities" which automatically qualify a person for SSI, but not many. To qualify under a DD classification, one must test at 69 or lower in their IQ score or their functioning ability must be equal to that level. I know that most people don't consider the connection between chronological age and development very often but I do as I have a number or adult children with DD.

These horribly abused victims are described as functioning at a 10 year old level. Does anyone have any idea how high that is? A person functioning at that level can follow directions, understand safety issues, make reasoned choices and so on. For those under the level of 69, you can safely assume that the vast majority function at around a infant-8 year old level. Think about most third graders. They are very capable little beings, but obviously still needing our care and protection. They can typically cook, write, read, manage simple bus routes, handle hygiene issues, make phone calls, etc. We even start training 10 year olds for baby-sitting jobs.

What I'd give for my children to function at a 10 year old level. It's a major benchmark. My daughter, who is a trafficked sex worker has an IQ of 63. She reads and writes at a first grade level and her all around functioning capability is similar to a 6-8 year old. She requires the constant management of her pimp to function.

These poor folks might have been found eligible under some other classification, such as a physical disability but something is just not adding up. I'll be watching for updates.

I'm tremendously pleased that they were found and freed. How I hope there's an appropriate placement for them.

 

[deelytful1]

http://www.wesh.com/news/29505774/d...=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=wesh

4 Chained In Phila. Basement Linked To Fla. Home

Jeff Rouse tells The Palm Beach Post that Weston and Wright had lived with 10 others at his West Palm Beach house and an adjacent duplex.

Rouse says the house was stripped of wiring, windows and plumbing before he evicted them. He says they were living without running water when they moved out.

Geez...what lowlifes.. sigh

 

[Filly]

Sunday Mail's on this one (of course):

Shocking pictures of chains used to bind four starving mentally-disabled people in basement dungeon of 'house of horrors'

The whole story, with lots of pics plus video at link above.

She's got some decent earrings on there in that mugshot, right?

That article said the building is rundown. Holy heck they ain't seen rundown if they said that. It's not a castle, but it's alright.

This neighborhood is historic. Oddly enough there is not one bar in this area keeping with the that Mr. Disston put in place. He built the saw mills that made Tacony flourish.

Right near this tragic scene is a music hall that has been preserved. Absolutely gorgeous. What a juxtapose? Is that right?

The neighborhood has changed drastically in the last few years. However, there are still some "natives" of Tacony who live there. As in every neighborhood they don't miss a trick so I'm still wondering exactly how they missed anything happening. They are law abiding citizens and would never let someone do such a horrendous thing to people.

My friend lives smack around the corner from here and was away this weekend. I'll ask her when I talk to her today what she knows.

Prayers for all those poor people treated so horribly.

How crazy is that the woman flippin starved her own boyfriend to death in a closet and she was out roaming free across the country?

 

[JoeFromLB]

Three people - including a woman who served eight years in prison for starving to death a man held in the closet of her North Philadelphia apartment in 1981 - were charged Sunday with holding four mentally challenged adults chained in the cellar of a Tacony apartment house for weeks in an alleged scheme to steal their Social Security checks.

The alleged ringleader, Linda Ann Weston, 51, served eight years in the starvation death of Bernardo Ramos, 25, after he refused to support her sister's unborn child.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/2...r_four_are_found_chained_in_Philadelphia.html


EIGHT YEARS??!! For imprisoning a man in a closet and starving him to death!!

Unbelievable. She should have been executed by now for that.

 

[JoeFromLB]

Police say two of the victims were held for 11 years.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...led-people-found-in-Philadelphia-dungeon.html

 

[JoeFromLB]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/131965188.html

Weston, the alleged mastermind of the scheme, was previously convicted of third-degree murder for holding captive 25-year-old Bernardo Ramos, who was the father of her sister's unborn baby. Weston and her sister held Ramos captive in a closet in an apartment they lived at on 33rd Street near Berks in Strawberry Mansion for two months until he died of starvation in 1981. Police later found Ramos' body in an abandoned Spring Garden house.

Police yesterday said Wright was previously from Texas. They said the four victims found Saturday had lived in Texas for some time, then in Florida's West Palm Beach area for about a year and a half before being brought to Philadelphia the week of Oct. 3.

"It's not yet clear whether" the victims were imprisoned in Texas and Florida as well, Little said. But the three suspects and four victims "all drove from Florida together" to Philadelphia, she said. The FBI is also investigating.

 

[Tig]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/131965188.html

Weston, the alleged mastermind of the scheme, was previously convicted of third-degree murder for holding captive 25-year-old Bernardo Ramos, who was the father of her sister's unborn baby. Weston and her sister held Ramos captive in a closet in an apartment they lived at on 33rd Street near Berks in Strawberry Mansion for two months until he died of starvation in 1981. Police later found Ramos' body in an abandoned Spring Garden house.

Police yesterday said Wright was previously from Texas. They said the four victims found Saturday had lived in Texas for some time, then in Florida's West Palm Beach area for about a year and a half before being brought to Philadelphia the week of Oct. 3.

"It's not yet clear whether" the victims were imprisoned in Texas and Florida as well, Little said. But the three suspects and four victims "all drove from Florida together" to Philadelphia, she said. The FBI is also investigating.

I take note she was convicted of 3rd degree murder for Bernardo Ramos. I do not know what 3rd degree is but if ya have anything to do with hoding someone and starving them to death, I would think the charges and sentence would be different. I wonder sometimes what is wrong with our justice system. Guess just let her go so she can do this over and over again. Sd.

TY for your post.

 

[JoeFromLB]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/17/justice/pennsylvania-disabled-chained/?hpt=ju_c1

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told CNN's Kyra Phillips on Monday that Weston had IDs for about 50 people in her possession: "Social Security information, power of attorney information, those kinds of things.

"We now have to track down each and every one of those people to get their status," Ramsey said. ... We need the FBI's assistance to track down a lot of leads that are really going to take us beyond those two states."

(I wonder what may have happened to these people!)

 

[Filly]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/17/justice/pennsylvania-disabled-chained/?hpt=ju_c1

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told CNN's Kyra Phillips on Monday that Weston had IDs for about 50 people in her possession: "Social Security information, power of attorney information, those kinds of things.

"We now have to track down each and every one of those people to get their status," Ramsey said. ... We need the FBI's assistance to track down a lot of leads that are really going to take us beyond those two states."

(I wonder what may have happened to these people!)

Whoa!

Seriously how on this green earth does a convicted felon pull that?

Lord let those poor people be safe somewhere. Unfortunately it doesn't look good.

Not that it matters but on an aside my friend said the neighborhood has tons of people milling about. News folks and such. She herself basically goes to work and takes care of her little grandschild. She is always out in the neighborhood though and has never seen anything suspicious. Well having to do with this crime anyway.

Paryers for all the poor people out in this world who have nobody to fight for them and are just left to the devices of these evil people.

Lemme look this ladies name up and see what States she comes up in.

 

[mysteriew]

I wonder how they came into contact with their victims?

Also find it telling that she was convicted of the death of one man she held prisoner, then she gets out of prison and does it again.

I also wonder why they left the other states?And these weren't small moves either. States away. Why would you take your prisoners and move so much? Unless maybe you feared someone would begin looking for you for some reasons.

50 ID's? That is going to be interesting. I wonder what type of ID's? The perps could have gotten new ids each time they moved to hide the fact that they had lived in the other states. But that is way too many ids for that IMO.