article linked in first oneA gang accused of holding four mentally disabled adults captive in a dungeon and allegedly stealing their benefit cheques may have had up to 50 victims across the United States, police said.
Following the discovery of the malnourished adults in Philadelphia at the weekend 10 children and teenagers were taken into protective custody after being found at another location in the city.
Police said identity documents belonging to a total of 50 potential victims were found and those people were being sought.
A fourth alleged member of the gang Jean McIntosh, 32, was charged with counts including unlawful restraint, false imprisonment and aggravated assault.
Her mother Linda Ann Weston, 51, has already been charged with criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault and kidnapping, along with two alleged accomplices Gregory Thomas, 47, and Eddie Wright, 50.
More than 30 years ago Weston was convicted of starving to death a 25-year-old man at her home in Philadelphia and served eight years in prison.
The 10 children and teenagers taken into protective custody, who were aged between two and 19, were found at an undisclosed location in Philadeplia, police said.
One of the older victims told detectives he had met Weston through an online dating service.
The victims included Beatrice Weston, 19, a niece of Weston who was reported missing in 2009.
Police said the youngsters were being examined for signs of abuse or malnutrition and some appeared to be underweight.
The original four victims were found in squalor in a 15ft by 15ft basement cell too low to stand up in and one of them was chained to a boiler.
They had only recently arrived in Philadelphia and may previously have been held in Florida and Texas.
A police spokesman said: "They moved them around. Whenever it looked like people knew what was going on, they moved."
The victims were identified as Derwin McLemire, 41, of North Carolina, Herbert Knowles, 40 of Virginia, and Tamara Breeden, 29, and Edwin Sanabria, 31, both of Philadelphia.
Ella Davis, Mr Knowles' grandmother, said he was an easy target because of his mental disability.
She said: "He was a trusting person. You know if you told him something, he would believe it. I tried to get him to not have that kind of confidence in people.
"He thought everyone was his friend. That's the way he was."
The FBI has joined the investigation and said it may be the first case prosecuted under a new 2009 hate crime law.
Four malnourished mentally disabled adults have been found in what police described as a "dungeon" in Philadelphia.
Two of them may have been held captive in various locations around the United States for as long as 11 years, police said.
The victims, who all had the mental capacity of 10-year-olds, were discovered chained to a boiler in a tiny 15ft by 15ft basement room behind a steel door that was chained shut.
Philadelphia police Sergeant Joseph Green said: "This is just a horror story. They were abused physically and emotionally."
Three people have been charged with holding the victims as part of what is believed to have been an extended social security fraud.
Linda Westen, 50, a convicted murderer, allegedly posed as their caregiver while cashing their disability benefit cheques.
She and two alleged accomplices, Eddie Wright, 51, and Gregory Thomas, 48, were charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault and false imprisonment.
Police said two of the captives were held for 11 years and referred to Westen as "Mom."
They travelled with her as she moved from city to city, including stops in Texas and Florida.
The other two had been with Westen since February, and all of them arrived in Philadelphia earlier this month.
Sgt Green said the basement cell had contained "a couple water bottles but no food or anything. There was a bucket they used to urinate in."
The room looked like a Cold War-era bomb shelter and the ceiling was too low for an adult to stand up.
It contained a mattress with some bedding and a flat board with a pillow.
Officers were investigating a report of squatters in an apartment building when they found the victims.
They were taken for "much needed medical attention" at hospitals and were "doing well," police said.
The victims were a 29-year-old woman and three men aged 31, 35, and 41.
Philadelphia police spokesman Ray Evers said interviewing them had proved difficult and officers were trying to establish their identities.
He said: "We have no idea who some of these people are."
My faith in humanity hits another low. What kind of sadistic, greedy fuck do you have to be to come up with something like this?
couple of pics from of the dungeon
