Locked up kids found eating mattress foam in poo-smeared ‘house of horrors’

A mum and her partner have been charged after two young children were found locked in a room smeared in faeces.

The girls, aged three and four, were also naked and had resorted to eating bits of a dirty foam mattress after they had allegedly been starved when authorities found them in an apartment in a public housing complex in the Bronx, New York, US, on May 3.

Stephanie Grabowski, 40, and her partner, Mark Russell, 45, were arrested on Monday (June 26) and have since been handed multiple charges which include kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, child endangerment, and burglary.

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The couple was reportedly squatting in the apartment at New York City Housing Authority's Mitchel Houses, where authorities found the children when they went to clear out the flat.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said: "The defendants allegedly kept these little girls in a house of horrors.

"They illegally occupied the apartment and left the children alone without food or clothing.

"Fortunately, police rescued the girls and a nurse discovered signs of abuse for which they are being treated. The situation is beyond the pale."

New York Police Department officers and Field Intelligence Detectives went to the property at 10.30am on the morning the girls were found.

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Representatives from the Bronx District Attorney’s Office said the property was found covered in urine and faeces, and added the occupants didn't have enough food, clothing or clean nappies.

The doorknob of one bedroom was tied to the doorknob of an adjacent wardrobe with cord to keep the door in place, according to police.

Officers knocked down the door to the bedroom, where they found the girls on a mattress on the floor.

Police say the room was littered with poo, dirty nappies, and rubbish.

When Grabowski and Russell were arrested, it was discovered noticed Grabowski had an outstanding Family Court warrant for absconding from Administration for Children’s Services back in November 2022.

The children were taken to the Jacobi Medical Centre on May 5 for examinations and it was found they had significant bruising and marks on their bodies which appeared to be at different stages of healing.

They also had rashes and displayed trouble walking, standing and speaking.

Grabowski and Russell were charged with two counts of second-degree kidnapping, two counts of second-degree unlawful imprisonment, two counts of child endangerment, and one count of second-degree burglary.

Grabowski was also indicted with two counts of first-degree kidnapping in connection to the other case. It is whether the cases involve the same victims.

Grabowski and Russell appeared in court on Monday before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio, where Grabowski's bail was set at $150,000 (£117,820.50) cash or a $400,000 (£314,188) bond, while Russell's was set at $100,000 (£78,547) cash or a $200,000 (157,094) bond.

Grabowski and Russell are due back in court on September 13.

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