On Monday (April 28), eight-year-old twins and their sibling, 10, were finally freed from the home in Oviedo in Spain’s northwest after being l0cked inside since 2021, local outlet El Comercio reported.
Additionally, the children are reported to haven’t been to school over this period. They have also been made to abide by COVID restrictions, even though such rules — such as wearing face masks — have long been lifted.
Two children are led out of the home. Image credits: El MundoAfter being rescued, the kids underwent a medical evaluation and are now in government custody at a juvenile centre, Sky News reports.
Their parents have since been arrested. It’s believed that they have something called ‘COVID syndrome’ and have been charged on suspicion of d0mestic vi0lence with habitual psychological @buse and child abandonment, according to Oviedo Police Department.
The couple, aged 53 and 48, are being held without bail.
The home where the children were being held. Image credit; AFP via Getty ImagesWhat is COVID syndrome?
Also known as COVID anxiety syndrome (CAS), this is a mental health condition where a person is still living in fear of the virus.
As per VeryWellMind, symptoms of this include compulsively checking for symptoms of COVID; avoidance of public places; obsessive cleaning; and other manipulative behaviors.
For illustrative purposes only.What have police said about the case?
Oviedo Police Chief Javier Lozano dubbed the property a ‘house of horrors’ during a press conference. Another agent told newspaper El Mundo: “The children were in terrible shape. It was absolutely outrageous. Not malnourished, because they were fed. But they were also dirty… [and] completely cut off from reality, and not just because they didn’t go to school.”
The agent added: “When we took them out of the house, into the garden, where they wouldn’t even go outside, they saw a snail and went crazy, freaked out.”
The children were made to sleep in cots (Police handout/El Mundo)What did police find at the house?
Reportedly police found that the children, despite their age, were seemingly made to sleep in cots that had drawings of monsters scribbled across them.
The home was also filled with garbage and littered with large quantities of medication and masks that presented a ‘clearly unsanitary situation’.
Police had to speak to the children, born to German parents, in English because they did not know how to speak Spanish in light of them not going to school.