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| Houston police investigate claims of four men held captive in 'dungeon' | Houston police investigate claims of four men held captive in 'dungeon' |
| (2 months later) | |
| Police in Houston are investigating claims that four men have been held as long-term captives in dire conditions at a house in the city. | Police in Houston are investigating claims that four men have been held as long-term captives in dire conditions at a house in the city. |
| Officers received a call at about 8.25am local time Friday morning alleging that several men were being held against their will in a converted garage at a single-story home on Whitecastle Lane, 10 miles north of downtown. | Officers received a call at about 8.25am local time Friday morning alleging that several men were being held against their will in a converted garage at a single-story home on Whitecastle Lane, 10 miles north of downtown. |
| Police arrived and found four men aged roughly from 50 to 80 living there. Three appeared to be malnourished and were taken to a local hospital. They had been at the house for varying lengths of time, with one claiming he had been kept there for about a decade. Officials are investigating whether the men are homeless invalids or military veterans who were forced to hand over their welfare money. | Police arrived and found four men aged roughly from 50 to 80 living there. Three appeared to be malnourished and were taken to a local hospital. They had been at the house for varying lengths of time, with one claiming he had been kept there for about a decade. Officials are investigating whether the men are homeless invalids or military veterans who were forced to hand over their welfare money. |
| "All four said they had been enticed to that location with the promise of beer and cigarettes and not been allowed to leave," a police department spokesman told the Guardian. Several women with apparent mental disabilities were also found to be living there, he added. | "All four said they had been enticed to that location with the promise of beer and cigarettes and not been allowed to leave," a police department spokesman told the Guardian. Several women with apparent mental disabilities were also found to be living there, he added. |
| One man who does not live at the property was detained for questioning and has not been charged, pending further investigation, the spokesman said. | One man who does not live at the property was detained for questioning and has not been charged, pending further investigation, the spokesman said. |
| Police said a man at the home told them it was "a dungeon", according to the Houston Chronicle. | Police said a man at the home told them it was "a dungeon", according to the Houston Chronicle. |
| Sergeant Steve Murdock told the paper that the four "were prisoners in that house", that conditions were "very deplorable" and it seemed that other men had previously been held there. | Sergeant Steve Murdock told the paper that the four "were prisoners in that house", that conditions were "very deplorable" and it seemed that other men had previously been held there. |
| The police spokesman said that the house's doors and windows are protected with security bars. The garage had a linoleum floor, there were no bathroom facilities or beds, and the room was bare except for one chair. | The police spokesman said that the house's doors and windows are protected with security bars. The garage had a linoleum floor, there were no bathroom facilities or beds, and the room was bare except for one chair. |
| The three mentally disabled women and a female caretaker lived in better conditions and are being treated as witnesses, he added. Three of the women appear to be related. | The three mentally disabled women and a female caretaker lived in better conditions and are being treated as witnesses, he added. Three of the women appear to be related. |
| A next-door neighbour said he occasionally had brief conversations with a man who sometimes came in and out of the house, but it was always calm there and he was shocked by the news. "I don't know nothing about it," Julio Garcia, 27, told the Guardian. "Right now I'm surprised about all this. [The street is] quiet, we don't see anything here." | A next-door neighbour said he occasionally had brief conversations with a man who sometimes came in and out of the house, but it was always calm there and he was shocked by the news. "I don't know nothing about it," Julio Garcia, 27, told the Guardian. "Right now I'm surprised about all this. [The street is] quiet, we don't see anything here." |
| A woman a couple of doors away, who declined to give her name, said there was never any hint that something might be wrong. "I never saw nothing. It's just shocking," she said. | A woman a couple of doors away, who declined to give her name, said there was never any hint that something might be wrong. "I never saw nothing. It's just shocking," she said. |
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