In October 2011, authorities discovered several malnourished victims in the basement of a Philadelphia apartment building. Police described the conditions as “subhuman”, and alleged it was a scheme to steal their social security benefits. Two adults died in the captivity of 52 year old Linda Weston and four others.
A federal grand jury indicted them Wednesday on charges of hate crimes, kidnapping, murder in the aid of racketeering, and forced human labor. Prosecutors say this is the first time the federal hate crimes statute has been used to protect the disabled.
Authorities allege that Weston duped the victims into giving her at least 212,000 dollars over 10 years.
James Turnage
Columnist-The Guardian Express
Discover more from Guardian Liberty Voice
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.