A California couple and their adult daughter have been charged with child abuse and torture in what authorities say was years of physical, emotional, and mental abuse of six children in their care.
The trio — 60-year-old Kenneth Michael Key, 60-year-old Tina Marie Sheffield Key, and 23-year-old Katlynn Marresa Key — were charged with six counts of torture and one count of child abuse, according to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.
According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the children range in age from 5 to 16, and the investigation began in February.
A complaint filed on Wednesday said the abuse included daily beatings and strangulation to unconsiousness, and they were often punished by having food and water withheld for days at a time, the DA’s office said.
A sheriff’s department spokesperson told ABC News that the investigation began in February when a call came into a child abuse tip line. The children were immediately removed from the home , said spokesperson Mara Rodriguez.
The relationship of the children to their abusers was also not made clear, although the DA’s office said the children were all in “guardianship care.”
A neighbor who only identified himself as “Junior” told KNBC that the group “seems like a normal family.”
“I didn’t see anything strange or hear any screaming from their house,” he said.
The Keys were being held on $1 million bonds each, news reports said, but jail records indicate they are not eligible for bail.
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