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They had their first encounter with a judge today, in court. (It was either a hearing or arraignment but I don't remember.) The reporter I heard said he had a clear view of the mother's face and he described her reaction to what the judge said. He reported that the mother showed no signs of emotion, but that she appeared to be aware of her surroundings, that he did not get the impression that "nobody's home."
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The reporter (named Chris) said he asked another reporter about the father because the other reporter had a clear view of the father's face during the court session. Chris says the other reporter told him he had the same impression about the father's reaction, that he showed no emotion but did not give the impression that "nobody's home."
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Each of them are being assigned a Public Defender. They can't have the same defense counsel because the plaintiff might try to drive a wedge between them, the news said. The $9 million bail amount was increased to $12 million each (total $24 mil), one million for each victim, and there are 12 victims. They are not pressing charges in regards to maltreatment of the 2 year-old infant because the baby did not show any signs of abuse. Apparently they knew how to feed a baby but that was the limit of their parenting skills. This has led the reporters and commentators to speculate that these parents might have been treating each child somewhat normally in infancy but as they grew older the parents behaved in ways as if to attempt to keep their children from growing up, but when they rebelled they were punished. This punishment seems to have increased as the oldest children grew into adulthood, and sometime perhaps as recently as the past year but then again maybe earlier, the parents resorted to chains, keeping certain ones locked to their bed for extended periods, sometimes for weeks or even months at a time(!) They were not unchained even to use the restroom during those periods. Draw the logical conclusions.
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They were allowed to shower once or twice a year. They were forbidden from washing above the wrist, and one story says that when they were found to wet their arms past the wrist they were then punished by being chained to their bed.
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Sometimes the parents used CHOKING as punishment.
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This business of restraint seems to have begun years ago when the parents began tying up a child with rope as a form of punishment. One boy was HOG-TIED with ropes at one point. Some time ago, one of the older children (maybe as an adult) having been so tied up with rope, managed to get free of the ropes, and then it seems that was when the parents began to use chains and padlocks in preference to rope.
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About 2 years ago, the 17-year old girl (who would later end up making the 911 phone call) as a 15-year old, began to conspire with her younger sister on a plan to escape. After 2 years of planning, finally the opportunity came to carry it out, and they did. So two girls climbed out the window and started to run away, but the younger sister became scared and returned to the house out of fear, while the older sister continued on with the plan. It was because of her courage and fortitude in the face of this horrible situation that this girl has given all 13 children of these two malefactors the freedom they are now beginning to enjoy.
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It has come out now that when the law enforcement arrived at the house to answer the 911 call, there had been 3 (adult?) children chained to furniture, but upon the official call at the front door, somehow two of the chained individuals became released such that the officers only found one individual chained. How the other two were unlocked is not yet perfectly clear, as one reporter thinks the children themselves managed to unlock those two, but others say they believe the parents hastily tried to unchain all 3 but only managed to free two before the officers found the third still chained. This would imply that the parents had known that children being restrained with chains was something they should be ashamed of. It isn't clear how the officers knew that two others had just been unchained but the officers are confident this is correct information, so we'll find out later, on what their confidence is based.
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Several reporters have asked police representatives what part religion or religious practices or beliefs play in this tragic story but every time they're asked the police say they are not able to answer any such questions about the role of religion.
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Neighbors are being interviewed by Chris and other reporters. Some have said that they recall seeing the children "marching around in circles" around 2 am at night inside the house, apparently seen through the windows (but they haven't said yet). Putting this together with the explanation that the whole family went to bed every morning at 4 or 5 am and remained therefore indoors all day long, only to emerge in the evenings, leads to the conclusion that the parents gave the children some manner of organized exercise after midnight in preparation for going to bed before the sun came up. This also explains why the neighbors almost never saw them outside during the daytime, when children are usually active outdoors. Apparently there were a few exceptions, such as when some of the taller children (later it would be discovered they were adults but undersized due to malnourishment) were seen doing "yardwork" outside. Also, some neighbor said he noticed the whole family marching in line from the house to the van in the driveway, the shortest first and increasing in height to the tallest. They would parade that way out to the van and get inside, then the parents got in and the van drove away. No one yet claims to know where the van went on those occasions. When they returned, the children again marched in order of height back into the house.
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Some neighbors say they had no idea there were 13 children for they never had seen the very young ones.
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There are already changing details in the story and it's going to be some time before any "official" version emerges. Child Protective Services (CPS) says they plan to do everything they can to keep the children together since to them, each other is all they have in this life, but finding someone willing to adopt all 13 is going to be a big challenge. They have all been through an enormous ordeal, with the exception perhaps of the baby.
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Family photos show them in years past visiting famous tourist places as a group, but there is no record of any of the children being allowed to keep friends outside the family. Neighbors say the girls were always dressed alike and so were the boys. One son was taken to a public school for one class, but his mother went with him and when the class was over, his mother took him right home.
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Apparently the children were forbidden to learn about the outside world and at least some did not know what a policeman is, or what medication or pills are.
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They were not allowed to play with toys. They were never seen outside playing any outdoor games.
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Police say they found several toys in the house but they were still sealed in their packages, never having been opened. The parents are said to have brought food into the house but they ate it themselves, not sharing some with the children. They are being accused of leaving apple pie or pumpkin pie out for the children to see, to smell and to wonder about, but not for them to eat. The oldest girl, 29 years old, weighs less than 90 pounds and has the physical appearance of being about 12. All the children are severely underweight (except apparently the baby). Preliminary findings have revealed severe neuropathy (nerve damage) in the older children, and particular muscular deformation, both due directly from malnutrition. In the hospital they have been closely monitored for ability to take nutrition, for they cannot be given too much too soon because that could be FATAL. Their bodies are so unaccustomed to normal meals that they cannot sustain eating too much more than what they have been eating for many years.
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They were allowed to write in journals all these years, and these journals, numbering in the hundreds, are being collected for inspection as the authorities look for evidence against the parents for wrongdoing.
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I have yet to hear how the 17-year old girl knew enough about cell phone use to 1) charge the battery, 2) know how to dial, 3) how to speak into the phone, 4) how to hear and converse with the person on the other end of the line, and 5) to know that 911 was the number to call (since a deactivated phone would not otherwise function at all). From the looks of things, this girl might be a genius.
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