Summary
A German couple, Christian Steffen (53) and Melissa Ann Steffen (48), were arrested in Spain for allegedly keeping their three children—two eight-year-old twins and a ten-year-old brother—locked in a “house of horrors” since December 2021. The children had not seen sunlight for years, were forced to wear masks and nappies, and slept in caged beds, living in deplorable conditions filled with garbage and animal feces. The rescue was prompted by a neighbor’s concern, and upon their release, the children exhibited signs of being disconnected from reality but were not malnourished.
