Skip to main content

Locked in the House of Horrors

Police in northeast Philadelphia have discovered what they are calling a "House of Horrors."  Apparently, following a dispute between a tenant and landlord, police were called to a Tacony home in which they discovered 4 mentally-disabled individuals shackled in a basement dungeon.  Officers made this discovery after hearing a rumbling noise coming from the basement.  At first, police thought that the noises might be coming from a dog that was locked up inside the basement.  However, upon closer investigation, officers found a small, dark room that in one officer's words looked like a scene from Silence of the Lambs.  The individuals in captivity were malnourished, covered in bed sores, and in shackles.  
Inside the House of Horrors
So far, police have arrested 4 suspects believed to be behind this "House of Horrors."  Local news and detectives are speculating that the suspects may have been held hostage for the past 11 years, during which time the suspects stole their government disability checks.  

For the past couple days, I've found myself thinking about this story.  From news reports of one disabled person being shackled to a boiler, to others in which those being held captive refer to one of the suspects as "mom," are all extremely disturbing.  

Seeing this makes me sad
Violent crimes of all shapes and sizes are hard to stomach.  For the past 2.5 years, I've been following a number of different individuals who've been shot in armed robberies, drive-by shootings, wild western-type shootouts, botched attempted murders, street assassinations, and other forms of extreme violence.  Despite the horrific details of these and many other violent crimes that are part of my ongoing research, there is something especially repugnant about the House of Horrors story.   

I feel a personal connection to the story because I used to teach special education before I went to graduate school.   In the summer before I entered my PhD program, I got a long-term substitute teaching job in a 1st and 2nd grade special education class.  Most of my students were diagnosed with low-functioning Autism; one student had a particularly severe case of cerebral palsy; and others had milder developmental disorders.  To say that this was a challenging job is an understatement.  But, there was also something extremely rewarding about the "small victories" I experienced each day with my students.  Each day, I found myself humbled and inspired by the kids I worked with.  Even though there were lots of stressful moments and even though I spent a lot of time "putting out fires" in the classroom, I loved my time with those kids.  They were amazing and taught me so many things.  It may sound trite, but I really felt like I grew as a person through this experience and sometimes wonder if I missed my calling.  

In any event, as this story unfolds, I find myself hoping that the DA really goes after the suspects in this case.  I've read somewhere that the FBI and other law enforcement are hoping to charge suspects with a unique kind of hate crime, which was expanded to include individuals with disability.  In the end, I'm not sure how the chips will fall, but I find myself hoping that: a) The truth comes out and we get a sense for how and why these 4 people were held hostage, and b) Those responsible for this are severely punished.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Long Shadow of Gun Violence (In Loving Memory of Bette Clark)

I met Bette and her oldest son, Joey, during a death penalty trial in Center City.  It was the sentencing phase for the two men who killed her youngest son, Timmy, who was gunned down execution-style when he was 15. Caroline, an advocate with the Families of Murder Victims, introduced us.  "Bette, this is Jooyoung.  He's a researcher and wants to interview you."  Joey sized me up and seemed protective of his mom, who had already been through so much.  Her eyes were red from crying, so I said, "I'm really sorry to hear about what happened." She smiled a little and said in her Tacony accent, "Thank you. It's been such a long day.  But, call me whenever, sure." I spent the next day with Bette and her family at the courthouse and visited them weekly over the next year.  I hadn't planned on following the families of murder victims, but my ongoing research in Philly had pushed me in this direction.   While getting to know gunshot...
8 comments
Read more

The Existential Fall Out after Newtown

The Existential Fall Out after Newtown I have a heavy heart tonight.  My thoughts and prayers are with the families of Newtown.  The Newtown shooting is a terrible tragedy. It has reminded me of lessons learned while studying the families of murder victims.  For the past 2 years, I have been researching the everyday lives of families who lose someone in a murder.  This has been difficult—and often heartbreaking—research.  I have spent many nights thinking about how much I take my family, friends, and other people in my life for granted.   I think about the mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings whose first and last thoughts of each day are of the person they loved and lost. The things that I have seen and the stories that I have collected have left a deep and permanent mark on my soul. Amongst the many thoughts swirling around in my head, I keep returning to a t...
8 comments
Read more

Bath Salts and Ultra Violence?

During the past couple weeks, I've come across shocking stories of people who become ultra violent after ingesting hallucinogens.  These stories are a sharp contrast to the likes of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters.  The two stories are something closer to scenes from Texas Chainsaw Massacre. For example, the Internet is filled with stories of Rudy Eugene, a man who was discovered eating another man's face in Miami.  Reports are linking his ultra-violent behavior to "bath salts," a mostly legal synthetic compound that is said to produce a wide array of intense hallucinogenic results in users after ingestion. After being summoned by a fellow motorist, police officers shot and killed Eugene who allegedly growled at officers and continued chewing on the victim's facial flesh until he was shot and killed.  In the media frenzy, Eugene is being called everything from a crazed "zombie" to a cannibal on the Internet. Ronald Poppo (victim) and Rudy Eugene...
5 comments
Read more