Overview

• Spanish police arrested a German couple in Oviedo for allegedly confining their three children indoors for over three years in unsanitary and restrictive conditions.
• The children, twin 8-year-old boys and a 10-year-old, were found wearing diapers, triple face masks, and sleeping in caged beds, with no access to fresh air or education since December 2021.
• Authorities described the home as a 'house of horrors,' filled with trash, animal waste, and stockpiled medications, while neighbors reported never seeing the children leave the property.
• Investigators speculate the parents suffered from 'Covid syndrome,' maintaining an extreme self-imposed lockdown long after Spain lifted its pandemic restrictions in March 2022.
• The rescued children are now in state care, while their parents remain in custody without bail, facing charges of child neglect, abandonment, and psychological mistreatment.