According to court records, a teenager who told police that he and his twin sister were handcuffed and subjected to horrific abuse escaped their family’s home after finding a handcuff key and hiding it in his mouth.
The twins, barefoot and wearing handcuffs, were captured on doorbell video seeking assistance in a Cypress neighbourhood outside Houston. The video, obtained by Houston TV station KHOU, showed the teens going door-to-door seeking assistance around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.
According to an affidavit, the boy was shirtless, and the girl was wearing only a plastic grocery bag around her neck as a shirt.
Zaikiya Duncan, 40, was arrested in Louisiana hours later after police issued a missing child alert for five other children. According to authorities, all seven children, including the twins, are now in the custody of Child Protective Services.
According to the affidavit, the 15-year-old twins were severely malnourished and told police that they had been abused for months. According to the affidavit, they told police that Duncan handcuffed them, forced them to drink bleach and other household cleaners, and sprayed oven cleaner in their mouths “if they talked too much.”
According to the affidavit, the twins also told authorities that they were forced to eat and drink faeces and urine.
Duncan is being held in Baton Rouge and is awaiting extradition on aggravated assault charges. Jova Terrell, her 27-year-old live-in boyfriend, is also charged with assault. It was unclear whether either had an attorney, but they are expected to be extradited to Texas within 30 days, according to Houston TV station KPRC.
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