First picture of 'house of horrors' dad who held three kids prisoner for four years

Daily Record

02-05-2025

Christian Steffen, 53, and his wife Melissa Ann Steffen, 48, were arrested after neighbours raised the alarm after hearing children making noises in the house, despite never having seen any coming or going.
The first photo of a father who kept his three children locked away in a "house of horrors" for four years has been released.
This is the face Christian Steffen, 53, who along with his spouse Melissa Ann Steffen, 48, was arrested by police in Spain after neighbours alerted authorities upon hearing the sounds of children from the residence, despite never noticing any children entering or leaving.
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Police then found three boys – two eight-year-old twins and their 10-year-old brother – living in appalling conditions, amidst heaps of rubbish and animal dirt on the floor.
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The children were forced to wear nappies and sleep in 'caged beds'.
Images of their father have now emerged for the first time. It is reported that he had jobs as a freelance tech recruiter and an HR manager.
He is also thought to hold a PhD from Hamburg University, reports the Mirror.
A source familiar with the investigation told El Espanyol: "The minors had a schedule for going to the bathroom and a maximum number of times per day because the rest of the time they had to wear diapers.
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"They were obsessed with the idea their children had serious illnesses and were going to die from the pandemic.
"All the blinds in the house were closed, except for those in the children's two bedrooms, which were allowed to be open exactly halfway across the window. At 5.10pm every day, the children were to lower the blinds in their rooms ."
The children were not allowed to attend school or leave the house. Instead, they were educated in a study room within the home, learning how to read, write and do maths.
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When police arrived at the property, in Oviedo, Spain, the children were found barefoot and wearing nappies.
When officers took them from the home, the youngsters did not even have fitting shoes to wear.
A police officer previously said: 'They were very scared and around the mother, who told us all the time the little ones had serious pathologies and that we should not approach them.
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'They had three masks, each on top of each other. They were oblivious to any contact with reality.
'They touched the grass and breathed fresh air as if they had never done so before in their lives. They saw a snail and they were completely taken aback.'
Francisco Javier Lozano, the chief commissioner of the Local Police of Oviedo, revealed at a press conference this week that the German couple were arrested.
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An initial search of the property was complicated due to a power outage causing darkness across Spain.
He added: 'We have dismantled the house of horrors.'
When police knocked on the front door, the father answered but asked the officers to wait for a few minutes so the children could put their masks on.
The children, who spoke in English, were taken to the Central University Hospital of Asturias and placed under the guardianship of the Government of the Principality.