Latest news with #houseofhorrors
Irish Times
28-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Gardaí fear mother was held captive in Dublin ‘house of horrors' for many years
The mother of a family living in Dublin may have been kept captive by the father for years in what has been described in court as a 'house of horrors'. Gardaí are trying to locate the man, who they believe is still in the jurisdiction. They suspect he may have hoarded money he received in social welfare rather than spend it on caring for his family, the Dublin District Childcare Court heard on Wednesday. The children in the house were taken into care after the authorities were prompted to visit the house, as one of the children had attempted suicide. Locks on the internal doors in the house, the neglect of the children, and other factors have led to fears the woman was severely restricted in her movements for many years, possibly more than a decade and a half. READ MORE However, questions have arisen about the authorities' responses to concerns raised about the woman's welfare in hospital when giving birth to her children, some of whom are now teenagers. Judge John Campbell, of the Dublin District Childcare Court, asked for the Health Service Executive (HSE) to be represented in court for Wednesday's hearing. He is concerned that one of the children, a girl with severe difficulties, is about to reach 18 years, after which she will no longer be governed by the Childcare Act. Solicitor Brian Horkan, for the HSE, told the judge a high-level meeting is to be held later this week with the Tusla Child and Family Agency . The meeting will discuss funding and other aspects of support the teenager will require after she ages out of the childcare system. She is currently receiving medical care. The court heard the teenager has already been diagnosed as having 'complex post-traumatic stress disorder' and may have an emerging personality disorder. The lack of a plan for the girl's future needs 'is causing her distress', said solicitor David Stafford, for the children's court-appointed representative (guardian ad litem ). 'What is her future? Where is she going to live?' he asked. The child 'is going back into a deterioration phase, and we need to know where she is going to live'. Confirmation of funding for future care, for a least a year, is required, though longer would be better, he said. Solicitor Seona Ní Mhurchú, for the mother, who was in court and is receiving support, said her client is 'very concerned' about what was going to happen to her daughter. The court heard the authorities found about €7,000 in cash in a safe in the house, yet the family was living in very poor conditions. A Garda witness told Ms Ní Mhurchú and Judge Campbell that efforts to date to serve a protection order on the husband regarding his wife and children have not been successful. The witness said the man, who came to Ireland some years ago and may have applied for asylum, is now a naturalised citizen. He does not seem to have any known associates or hobbies, and is no longer drawing social welfare. 'He appears to have vanished,' the judge said. 'He appears to be in the country, but can't be found.' Border alert orders have been issued and there is no indication he has tried to leave the jurisdiction. Mary Phelan, barrister for Tusla, said the agency will meet with the HSE and inform the court next week of the decisions made on the care of the girl due to reach 18 years. 'We all know the clock is ticking,' she said. The judge described as 'extraordinary' the fact that the girl's younger brother had somehow at the age of 14 opened a Bank of Ireland account into which a substantial sum, in the low tens of thousands of euro, was deposited, apparently by his father. 'All we hear about money laundering and [money] mules and this [teenager] can have [tens of thousands of euro]' in a bank account and the bank 'seems not at all concerned', the judge said. The teenager, who is also in care, had recently begun to withdraw the money and was 'going through it like a dose of salts', the judge said. The current balance in the account is less than €1,000. Several Garda inquiries into the man are ongoing, including into his finances and possible domestic abuse and coercion. The Garda witness agreed to make inquiries of her colleagues regarding matters that would be relevant to the care of the man's children.
The Sun
24-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Heartbreaking twist in ‘House of Horrors' case where 3 children were kept captive for 4 years by ‘germaphobe' parents
THREE children locked in a "house of horrors" by their parents for four horrific years are facing another heartbreaking struggle. Christian Steffen, 53, and his wife Melissa Ann Steffen, 48, were arrested for alleged child abuse after the police raided the house in Spain. 8 8 8 The police found three young boys at the Oviedo home - dubbed the "house of horrors" - who are thought to have lived there for four years since the pandemic began. The eight-year-old twins and ten-year-old boy were discovered in horrific conditions - each wearing three face masks and forced to wear nappies and sleep in caged beds. And now, the tragic victims are reportedly set to be put into a children's home. The police said the house was full of rubbish and old medicines as well as filthy pet excrement and a cat with a massive tumour. The children were reportedly kept out of school and were forbidden to leave the house. A source close to the ongoing investigation said: 'They had a timetable and a maximum number of times a day they could use the toilet because the rest of the time they had to wear nappies." The young boys were reportedly suffering from "severe constipation" when they were discovered because they weren't allowed to go to the toilet when they wanted. The parents also used black market medicines containing cannabis derivative THC to treat the kids for alleged deficit attention disorders which investigators say they are not even sure the youngsters were suffering. The mum-of-three told cops they had asked officials in Germany - where they lived before moving to northern Spain - for permission to educate their kids at home after the initial Covid crisis. The family emigrated after being warned that social services would be alerted if they took them out of school. A guest room in the horror house had been turned into a makeshift classroom where the boys had reportedly learned to read, write and draw. The police said the house was full of rubbish and old medicines as well as filthy pet excrement and used tampons. But strangely the couple were reportedly using half a dozen air purifier machines they kept in their bedroom. The children were reportedly told to lower the blinds on their bedroom windows at 5.10pm each day after being allowed to raise them exactly halfway up the windows during daylight hours. They had no television to watch or electronic games to play with and wore pyjamas all day and all night - and many neighbours have admitted they had no idea anyone was even living in the house. Cops were only called when a resident in the area raised the alarm. The woman reportedly heard voices that sounded like children coming from the house despite never having seen anyone leave the house to play or go to school. After several days of surveillance cops were clear that more than just the man they saw coming in and out had to live there. The size of the boxes of food of the orders that the man brought into the home were the biggest giveaway. 8 8 8 But nothing could prepare the agents for what they would find when they entered the Josef Fritzl-esque horror house. When they wanted to take them out of the building they did not even have shoes of their size as they had not bought shoes for years. The police added that when the children were freed, one of them knelt on the grass and touched it with amazement. An officer said: '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.' The chief commissioner of the Local Police of Oviedo, Francisco Javier Lozano explained the details of the operation leading to the arrest of the couple at 2.45pm on Monday. The initial search of the house was reportedly made more difficult because Spain had been plunged into darkness by the electricity outrage. When the cops 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. One police officer told the Spanish press: "They were very scared and around the mother, who told us all the time that the little ones had serious pathologies and that we should not approach them. Josef Fritzl's crimes THE twisted dad asks his daughter Elisabeth to help him install a door in his cellar in 1984. She agreed and moments later she is drugged with an ether-soaked towel, tied up and chained to a bed. She would spend the next 24 years locked up in the hellish prison in Amstetten. Evil Fritzl went on to rape her over 3,000 times in rat-infested bunker. He would beat and kick her and force her into degrading acts - including re-enacting scenes from violent porn films. Elisabeth gave birth to seven babies in the cellar with no medical care. Kerstin, born 1988, Stefan (1990) and Felix (2002) were left to live with their mum in the underground hellhole. But Lisa, (born 1992) Monica (1994) and Alexander (1996) - were raised upstairs, by Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie after he convinced her they were left on the doorstep by Elisabeth. Alexander's twin Michael died shortly after birth with cruel Fritzl tossing his body in an incinerator. The family's nightmare sees Fritzl threatening them if they dare to escape and punishing them by switching off the electricity. Their nightmare comes to an end when Kerstin fell critically ill in 2008. Fritzl allowed Elisabeth to take her to the hospital where she revealed the shocking horrors she had suffered. Despite trying to argue he was trying to be a protective father, Fritzl was sentenced to life in prison in 2009. "They had three masks each on top of each other. They were oblivious to any contact with reality." Lozano added: "We have dismantled the house of horrors". Having been checked out at the Central University Hospital of Asturias the children have now been placed under the guardianship of the Government of the Principality. And the boys' parents have been warned they face possible prison sentences of between five and seven years. They are being investigated on suspicion of domestic violence, psychological mistreatment and child abandonment. It is not yet clear who is defending them, but lawyers hired by the couple are expected to consider an expert analysis of their clients' mental health amid speculation it had suffered as a result of the Covid crisis. Christian reportedly worked as a freelance senior tech recruiter and HR manager, having obtained a doctorate in philosophy from Hamburg University. He previously worked as a marketing consultant and head of a call centre at a telecommunications company. 8 8
