A German-American couple was arrested in Oviedo, a city in northern Spain. They had isolated their three underage children for almost four years, locked in their home in very poor health, surrounded by excrement in a remote rural house.
The children – eight-year-old twin brothers and a twelve-year-old boy – were neither enrolled in school nor had they ever left home. Upon their rescue, they reacted with astonishment as they touched grass and breathed fresh air for the first time.
German family lived in complete isolation
The 53-year-old father and 48-year-old mother – both German citizens, the mother also of US origin – had been living in seclusion in a chalet in the rural area of Oviedo, in the region of Asturias, since December 2021.
“The children were completely cut off from reality,” reported Francisco Javier Lozano, head of the Oviedo local police. “We dismantled the house of horror.”
All three children were placed in the care of the social services of the regional government of Asturias.
Compulsory Schooling in Spain: Alarm from a Neighbor
In Spain, schooling is compulsory for all school-age children. Absence from in-person classes or homeschooling are only permitted under strict conditions and require official approval.
A neighbor alerted the authorities because she heard children’s voices but never saw them leave the property or go to school.
The local police then began monitoring the house: The shutters were constantly drawn, and the only contact with the outside world was food deliveries, which the father personally received.
After the police gathered evidence, the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Minors authorized a search.
The Liberation: Masks and Fear
When the police entered the house, the children were each wearing three masks stacked on top of each other and were showing clear signs of fear. The mother explained that the children had “serious health problems” and therefore needed to remain isolated.
However, there are currently no official medical findings to support this claim.
“I never thought something like this could happen in our country,” said Police Chief Lozano.
The Guardia Civil is continuing its investigation to fully clarify the reasons behind this long-term isolation.
