‘Almost like wild animals’: 16 children locked in 13 m² survived in the ‘house of horrors’ in the United States

Authorities in rural Ohio have uncovered a horrific scene: 16 children, ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years, were found living in squalid conditions, allegedly confined to a single room for years. The discovery has drawn chilling comparisons to the case of David and Louise Turpin, who were found to have imprisoned 13 of their children in their California home.

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absolutely horrific

According to the Vinton County Sheriff's Office, the children, all belonging to the same family, were living in a space measuring roughly 3.5 by 3.5 meters, approximately 13 square meters. The state's Attorney General, Andy Wilson, described the scene as "absolutely horrific." Initial reports suggest the children were kept in this confined space almost constantly for several years.

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almost wild animals

The eldest child, an 18-year-old, is reportedly illiterate, and some of the younger children are unable to speak. The conditions in the dilapidated house in Hamden, Ohio, were described as extremely unsanitary. The full extent of the abuse and neglect is still under investigation, but the initial findings have shocked the local community and law enforcement.

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The discovery of 16 children, living locked up in conditions of extreme unsanitary conditions in a dilapidated house in the village of Hamden, has quickly evoked another 'house of horrors,' like that of David and Louise Turpin, who had reduced thirteen children aged 2 to 29 to the state of beasts before being arrested in January 2018.

This case echoes the 2018 discovery of the Turpin siblings, who were found chained to furniture and malnourished in their parents' home. The Turpin children, aged 2 to 29, had been subjected to severe abuse and neglect. The parallels between the two cases highlight a disturbing pattern of severe child endangerment and abuse.

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The children, aged 18 months to 18 years, belonging to the same family, lived in a space of about 3.5 meters by 3.5 meters, or a room of about 13 m².