Overview

• Police in Oviedo, Spain, rescued three children, aged 8 and 10, who had been confined to a villa for over three years under squalid conditions.
• The children were found malnourished, wearing diapers, and showing signs of severe neglect, with no exposure to daylight or the outside world.
• The parents, a German father and a German-American mother, are in pretrial detention on charges including domestic violence, child endangerment, and unlawful confinement.
• Authorities believe the parents' actions stemmed from pandemic-related fears and a rejected homeschooling request in Germany, prompting their move to Spain in late 2021.
• The children are now in a state-run facility undergoing physical, psychological, and social evaluations, as investigators assess the long-term impact of their confinement.