Police arrest two in squalid home; woman found chained to machine

Published January 3, 2010 | 11:31 p.m.

KENOSHA NEWS STAFF

A mother and son were arrested after police found them living in squalor with another family member chained to a weight machine.

Police were called after a 27-year-old man complained that his 2-year-old son was being kept from him by the boy’s grandmother, Sally M. Adams, 56.

At Adams’ residence in the 1300 block of 69th Street, police found the house so cluttered that it was difficult to move, according to reports. There was a strong smell of urine and feces, “so strong that it almost made me vomit,” one officer said.

The child was found strapped into a car seat on top of a mattress in a dark bedroom. His diaper had apparently not been changed in several days.

Officers also found a 38-year-old woman, daughter of the 56-year-old woman, tethered to a weight machine by a rusty chain around her ankle. Wearing only a T-shirt, she was covered in and surrounded by urine and feces, police said.

The woman, who weighed only 60 to 70 pounds, was not able to walk, and numerous marks were found on her back.

Adams told police her daughter suffers from mental health problems and had the mental capacity of a 5-year-old.

Her 34-year-old son, Ernest Claiborne, said he chained her up to prevent her from running away.

The boy and the 38-year-old woman were both taken to a hospital for further treatment. A temporary home was being sought for her, while a foster home was being sought for the boy.

Adams faces charges of abuse, reckless endangerment and false imprisonment. Claiborne faces those charges as well as neglect of a child.

From: http://www.kenoshanews.com/news/police_arrest_two_in_squalid_home_woman_found_chained_to_machine_7064555.html