PHILADELPHIA – Police have identified three people who allegedly kept a group of four mentally-challenged people locked and chained in what has been described as “a dungeon” in order to possibly steal their government checks, and have said they are facing a number of charges including kidnapping.
Linda Ann Weston, 51, Thomas Gregory, 27, both with addresses on the 2500 block of N. 29th Street, and Eddie Wright, 29, homeless, are all facing charges of criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, kidnapping, criminal trespass, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment and other related charges, according to police.
The alleged ringleader, Linda Ann Weston, 51, previously served eight years in prison for starving Bernardo Ramos, 25, to death after he refused to support her sister’s unborn child, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.Weston’s boyfriend, Thomas Gregory, 47, and homeless man Eddie Wright, 49, were also arrested Sunday. Each suspect was charged with criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, kidnapping, and other related charges.Late Sunday night, Gregory and Wright were arraigned and held on $2.5 million bail each, while Weston was still being processed, thank you Kevin
Police have said Saturday night their investigation has initially determined Weston may have been orchestrating the scheme, and had relatives living in the Longshore Avenue home, which is how she had access to the basement.
The disturbing discovery of the four people was made when police from the city police department’s 15th district had initially been called to a home on the 4700 block of Longshore Avenue around 10:30 a.m. Saturday for an issue involving a dispute between a tenant and a landlord, according to Philadelphia Police Lt. Raymond Evers.
The landlord had found the people locked behind a steel door in the basement of the home. Police had reported hearing a rumbling behind the door that sounded as if a dog may have been locked inside, according to Evers, but found the four people inside the small room, which one police official described as “a dungeon.”
The four displayed signs of being malnourished. A police official said they were “very, very thin” and had bruises and bed sores on their bodies.They were taken to Frankford South Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition Sunday.
The four have not been identified. Police said Sunday the four had been living in West Palm Beach, Fla., prior to coming to Philadelphia within the last few weeks. A police official said Saturday the mental state of the four has hindered attempts to determine where they are from, but law enforcement agencies are looking into the possibility they are connected to the west coast of Florida and Texas.
A police source said the four includes three men, the oldest being about 40, and one woman who looks to be around 20 years old. All of them have mental disabilities.
The police source said the room in which the four had been locked looked like a scene out of the film “Silence of the Lambs.”more
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