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Oct. 17: Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey waits to address the media in front of the Philadelphia apartment building where four weak and malnourished mentally disabled adults, one chained to the boiler, were found locked inside a sub-basement room. Police arrested three adults staying in an apartment upstairs, including the person accused of being the ringleader, Linda Ann Weston, in what authorities say is a scheme to steal the Social Security disability checks of defenseless and vulnerable people.![Sgt. Joseph Green walks to basement]()
Sgt. Joseph Green walks down the steps leading to the sub-basement where four weak and malnourished mentally disabled adults, one chained to a boiler, were kept.![Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey stands at basement]()
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey stands by the entrance to the dank basement room in Philadelphia where four weak and malnourished mentally disabled adults were being kept.![Sgt. Joseph Green stands in basement]()
Sgt. Joseph Green stands in the dank basement room in Philadelphia where four weak and malnourished mentally disabled adults, one chained to the boiler, were found locked inside.![Basement Cot]()
The sub-basement room in Philadelphia where four weak and malnourished mentally disabled adults, one chained to the boiler, were found locked inside.![Basement Boiler]()
The sub-basement room in Philadelphia where four weak and malnourished mentally disabled adults, one chained to the boiler, were found locked inside.![Bleak Basement]()
The dank sub-basement room in Philadelphia where four weak and malnourished mentally disabled adults, one chained to the boiler, were found locked inside.![florida basement]()
The dank basement room in Philadelphia where four weak and malnourished mentally disabled adults, one chained to the boiler, were found locked inside.![Eddie_Wright]()
This undated photo provided by the Philadelphia Police Department shows Eddie Wright.![Gregory_Thomas]()
This undated photo provided by the Philadelphia Police Department shows Gregory Thomas.![Linda_Ann_Weston]()
This undated photo provided by the Philadelphia Police Department shows Linda Ann Weston.![philly1]()
Four mentally disabled victims were rescued from the basement of a northeast Philadelphia apartment building on Saturday after the landlord shined a flashlight behind a steel door that had been chained shut.![philly2]()
Police say Weston, the alleged ringleader, as well as Gregory Thomas and Eddie "the Rev. Ed" Wright, kidnapped and imprisoned the victims in a plot to take control of their Social Security disability checks.![philly3]()
The victims, who were found weak and malnourished, were living in squalor in a basement crawlspace, according to authorities.![philly4]()
Police said the space was too small for an adult to stand up straight and reeked of waste from the buckets the victims used to relieve themselves.![philly5]()
The victims, ages 29 to 41, had the mental capacity of 10-year-olds, along with some physical disabilities, authorities said. One could barely see.![philly6]()
There were mattresses and blankets, but the only food found was a container of orange juice, according to police. The adults shared their space with three dogs.![philly7]()
Philadelphia Investigators Probe Alleged Imprisonment of 4 Mentally Disabled Adults
Authorities say Linda Ann Weston and two others locked four mentally disabled victims in the basement of a northeast Philadelphia apartment building in a plot to profit from their Social Security disability checks.
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- Philadelphia Investigators Probe Alleged Imprisonment of 4 Mentally Disabled Adults
