Children found in horrific conditions in Asturias after years of isolation
Three young children were discovered locked away in a house in Oveido after being kept hidden by their parents for four years
Three young boys have been rescued from a house in Oviedo, northern Spain, where they had reportedly been kept in complete isolation by their parents since 2021. The children, eight-year-old twins and their older brother, aged ten, were discovered living in unsanitary and disturbing conditions.
According to reports, they were wearing nappies, confined to cribs, and showed signs of extreme neglect.The house itself was filled with rubbish, animal faeces, and a large quantity of expired medication. The children had no access to education, healthcare, or even the outdoors. They were cut off from the outside world to such an extent that no one in the neighbourhood realised they were living there.
The alarm was only raised when a local resident began to hear voices that sounded like children coming from the property. The woman said she found it strange, as she had never seen any children go in or out of the house, nor play outside or attend school. Her concerns eventually led to a police investigation.
When officers entered the house, they found the children wearing multiple face masks and seemingly unaware of the world beyond the four walls they had been trapped in. One officer described the scene as a “house of horrors” and said the children were “completely cut off from reality.”
The couple had reportedly moved to Spain after being denied permission to homeschool their children in Germany. They chose a remote house in Asturias, where they isolated themselves and their children from the outside world.
The children’s mother, upon being arrested, reportedly claimed that the family had moved to keep the children "safe," though the reasons for their extreme isolation remain unclear. She is said to have told police: “They’re safe. I’m a good mother. The world is dangerous.” Authorities believe she may have genuinely believed she was acting in the children's best interests.
The children had been kept hidden away from the world, with locked doors and closed windows, unable to leave the house or interact with anyone outside. The parents had even removed their children's shoes years ago, meaning they no longer had footwear that fit them properly. According to reports, the children's mother had frequently medicated them for conditions such as ADHD without any prescriptions.Both parents, a 48-year-old American woman and her 53-year-old German husband, were taken into custody and are currently being held in pre-trial detention without bail. They face charges of domestic violence, habitual psychological abuse, and child abandonment.
Psychologists working with the case suggest that the parents may be suffering from a combination of serious mental health disorders:
- Munchausen syndrome by proxy: where a caregiver fabricates or induces illness in someone under their care, often to gain attention or maintain control.
- Diogenes syndrome: involving extreme hoarding and neglect of hygiene and living conditions.
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): possibly explaining the fixation on contamination and the insistence on isolation.
- Shared psychotic disorder (folie à deux): where one partner's delusional beliefs are adopted by the other, often leading to a shared distorted reality.
The children are now in the care of regional child protection services, undergoing medical checks and psychological assessments. Authorities are continuing their investigation into what led to such prolonged and hidden confinement.
This deeply troubling case has shocked the local community and raised serious questions about how the children remained undetected for so long. The traumatic experiences of the children, who had been confined to the house since they were just four and six years old, will likely have a long-lasting impact on their lives. Their recovery is expected to be long and complex, but officials say they are now receiving the support they need to begin rebuilding their lives.
Images: Policía Nacíonal
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