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Malnourished autistic teens found wearing only diapers inside shit-smeared room as dead father lay nearby

The Department of Child Safety had been made aware about the condition of the two teenagers by neighbors but they did nothing
PUBLISHED MAY 28, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Two autistic teens were found naked, malnourished, and crying inside a locked room, with their dead father lying nearby at their home in Brisbane, Australia. The horrific scene was uncovered after police officers responded to a property on Midson Street in Stafford, in Brisbane's north, just after 7 am on Wednesday, May 27, according to news.com.au. They had been called to the residence on reports of the sudden death of a man, and in the front yard, found the body of a 49-year-old male. A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson confirmed they had gone to the home after receiving a call at 7:19 am for a "medical incident."

But the body was not the only thing authorities encountered inside the home. As they swept the residence, they reportedly heard noises coming from a locked bedroom and found two teens, aged 17 and 19 inside wearing nothing but diapers. Excrement had been smeared on the walls and a blow-up mattress was their only furnishing. A man who lived in the area but did not wish to be identified told ABC News confirmed that the house smelled putrid and that there were chickens in the kitchen. He also said that the boys were "always locked in their room." 

Another neighbor said she had called the Department of Child Safety in February to report the horrific conditions and had raised concerns about the boys being locked outside with no protection in the harsh summer heat but was told nothing could be done. "He would lock them outside in nothing but a nappy; they had no clothes on, from what I could see no sunscreen, they had no hats and they had no water," she said. "I rang [the department] because to me, I couldn't believe how hot it was, that you would leave a child outside. The only shade they had was this small landing, which was probably a meter by a meter."

"[The department] basically said because they technically have shade, and they technically are in an enclosed yard, there's nothing that they can do, which doesn't sit well with me being a mum," she continued. "They didn't even ask me for the address."

She said she was shocked when she learned that the boys were teenagers because she had always believed they were in primary school because of their size. "Just last week I saw one of the boys get off the bus and his arm was probably two of my fingers thick," she said. "I was just mortified because I've never seen him that skinny before."

A woman who lived nearby and who said she, too, had tried for years to help the boys, to little avail. "Oh, [it is] extremely difficult to see it, hear it, know it all the time and not being able to do anything about it and to try and get things done about it. But just not being heard by people who could change it."

The teens have since been transported to the Prince Charles Hospital for treatment. Queensland Police declined to comment on the case but did say that the older man's death was not believed to be suspicious. However, they said they would be waiting until the post-mortem examination before making a final call.

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