PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Police in Port St. Lucie are trying to find out the identities of nine people found living with a 62-year-old woman in what officials described as deplorable conditions.

Capt. Scott Bartal with the Port St. Lucie Police Department said Judith Leekin kept five mentally disabled adults and four teenagers captive in her Southwest Hawthorne Drive home.

"There were claims by people in that house that they were locked in there, and they were bound with handcuff ties," Bartal said.

Bartal told WPBF News 25 the captives were malnourished and handcuffed together when Leekin left the home. He said some of the teens, ages 15 to 17, had scars on their backs and burn marks on their bodies.

All four teenagers were academically delayed and medically fragile, Bartal told WPBF. He said it seemed that the victims had never been to school or seen a doctor.

Police said they began their investigation after Leekin left an 18-year-old girl in a supermarket.

Lisa Shubert, who lives across the street from Leekin, said she had no idea what her neighbor was up to.

"She seemed like a very sweet old lady, like somebody's grandma, not the horrific stuff that we are hearing now," Shubert said.

Other neighbors said the home was equipped with surveillance cameras and sensors, and that hurricane shutters were often left up for weeks.

As to the reason for the alleged abuse, Bartal said that it appeared Leekin was making a large sum of money by caring for the group.

"It appears, on the surface, that this was done for profit," Bartal told WPBF.

Bartal said police have not determined why or how the victims came into the control of Leekin, but he said detectives did find fake birth certificates in the home. Bartal told WPBF one of the certificates linked the case to New York state.

Chuck Johnson, a spokesman with the Port St. Lucie Police Department, said records show Leekin received custody of the victims in Brooklyn, New York.

Johnson said Leekin is unemployed but has several cars and two homes. He said detectives are working to get records unsealed in New York to find out how Leekin got custody of the nine individuals.

Laura Hendly, another of Leekin's neighbors, said she is still getting over the shock.

"I feel really guilty that we did not know; that we did not do something," Hendly said.

Leekin is being held on $435,000 bond on charges that include aggravated child abuse, witness tampering and possession of fake I.D. Police said she has not cooperated with detectives and is communicating through her attorney.

Bartal said the victims are currently in the care of the Florida Department of Youth and Families while detectives determine their identities.

what a bitch. http://www.underthepowerlines.com

p.s. is buckethead any good? i saw he played with claypool at a time.

I FUCKING LOVE BATTLEFIELD 2!

there's a news thread made for this stuff, dontchanoo

thats just messed up

sicko.


ah yeah.

thats like crazy stuff.
maybe she was bored, though, and needed company. old people are crazy, bored, and lonely. its obvious.

shes bonkers.. obviously

this is why old people need to be made into tires.

thats really messed up. Sounds like someone has that old age craziness.

something tells me it wasnt martha stewart

thats messed up. weird old lady.

Weird Old Lady, She's probably crazy. Right. Somebody should close this.

thats freakish..

i mean thats something people write in horror books.

ew.

Link plz

"when grannies go wild" next on Oprah...

Who Were They? MilkMen?! xD

What the crap!

I think the sad part is she is on bail. They let serious criminals like this have a bail, yet they throw harmless marijuana smokers in jail for years with no parole or bail. I know that's unrelated, but I just thought of that..

The American Justice System is FUCKED up.

yeah.. thats america

Holy shit...


So true..
It's like.. you murder.. say 10 people but still get life in prison??

I've warned people about the elderly, well mainly the people living near me... 90% elderly heh... im gunna get locked up =[

I heard they have switchblades nowadays.

crazy

CRAZY MUDER FUCKER STARVING PEOPLE

I WOULD DIE IF I COULDN'T EAT FOR W/E DAYS

I think there shouldn't be detscentence (spelling?).. They don't suffer enough. Plus, if he/she was a member of a gang, they'll come after the person who said he/she should be dead..

Topic'd; Woah, That's sick. I can't see my grandma's do that...