As many as 50 victims in Philadelphia dungeon case

As many as 50 additional victims may have been identified in the Philadelphia boiler room dungeon case, that was investigated by police on Sunday. Three perpetrators are in custody, and they may be part of a larger conspiracy.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (Catholic Online) - Last weekend, Philadelphia police discovered what they have described as a basement dungeon where four mentally disabled adults were locked up. Police also said that the wounds found on Beatrice Weston, the 19-year-old niece of the alleged ringleader, Linda Weston, where the worst wounds they had ever seen on a living person.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said, "I've never seen anything like this in a living person. It's remarkable that she is still alive. There is no penalty too harsh for the people that did this. The word horrific is not sufficient."

On Tuesday night, police took 10 children and teens into protective custody. Their ages range from 2 to 19. Several of them reportedly had serious injuries including bruises and burns.

Police are not commenting on where the children were found, but it's believed they were found throughout the neighborhood and each of them are tied directly to the case.

The ringleader of the operation, was 51-year-old Linda Weston, was closely aided by her 47-year-old boyfriend Thomas Gregory, and 49-year-old Eddie Wright. The trio were charged with criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, kidnapping, and other charges. Some of the victims may have been sexually abused as well.

Officials are investigating the possibility that the three were part of an interstate conspiracy to hold the vulnerable people captive and steal their government checks. Investigators said there could also be as many as 50 additional victims in the case. This claim is based on Social Security documents found at the crime scene and other personal information. Those documents belong to almost 50 different people. Police are now searching for those individuals. 

Linda Weston has been in trouble with the law before. In the 1980s, she served time in prison for starving Bernardo Ramos, 25, to death after he refused to support her sister's unborn child. Despite the heinous nature that case, she was released after only eight years.

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