4 Florida adults allegedly held 9 youngsters captive inside their house, locked them in makeshift cages, pressured their adopted children to do chores and sprayed them with vinegar as a twisted punishment.
Officers uncovered the brutal remedy of the youngsters inside a cellular house in Fort White, Florida on July 3, in response to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Workplace.
5 of the youngsters are organic to the household, whereas 4 of them had been adopted in a non-public course of in Arizona. They vary in age from 7 to 16.
Mind Matthew Griffeth, 47, Jill Elizabeth Griffeth, 41, Dallin Russel Griffeth, 21, and Liberty Ann Griffeth, 19, had been arrested and charged with aggravated little one abuse on July 22.
Police had been first notified of the suspected horrors inside the house when a church official reported one of many youngsters was armed with a functioning electrical stun gun at a church camp in Branford, Florida.
Brian Griffeth claimed the stun gun was a toy and faux, however officers later decided it was actual, in response to an arrest warrant obtained by Legislation & Crime.
Officers grew extra involved in regards to the remedy of the 4 adopted youngsters throughout a wellness verify, the place they found the 4 foster children doing chores whereas the 5 organic youngsters had been taking part in or watching TV, police stated.
The 4 adults allegedly abused the youngsters contained in the 3-bedroom, 2-bath residence after shifting the household from Arizona to Florida.
The house, positioned within the deep woods of Columbia County, 35 miles northwest of Gainesville, was in-built 2001 and final offered in March 2024, in response to a web based actual property itemizing.
The Griffeths allegedly caged the youngsters beneath a bunk mattress by screwing a chunk of plywood to stop escape, sprayed vinegar of their faces as punishment and gave them non-prescribed remedy.
Jill Griffeth can be accused of forcing the youngsters to lie on the ground and urgent a sheet of plywood on prime of the kid, leading to ache and splinters, police revealed.
Brian Griffeth allegedly beat his adopted and foster youngsters with a cane however was cautious to not depart a mark on his alleged victims, the outlet reported.
The adults allegedly instructed the youngsters to lie in regards to the dwelling circumstances inside the house and by no means supplied correct education for the youngsters in studying or writing.
One of many youngsters, 14, claimed he was “routinely” locked beneath a bunk mattress the place the adults screwed on a chunk to create the makeshift cage and was locked inside for a majority of the day and evening, solely being set free for lunch and dinner and every time “he wants to play,” he advised investigators, in response to Legislation & Crime.
The teenager stated if he wanted to make use of the lavatory at evening, he must maintain it and wait till the subsequent morning when he was free of beneath the bunk mattress cage.
He additionally advised detectives he was uneducated, was within the fourth grade, and didn’t know his birthday in response to News4Jax.
A 14-year-old lady stated she was “illiterate,” claiming she hadn’t been to highschool in years, in response to the outlet.
A tenth little one, who had lived with the household as a foster little one, was discovered dwelling with their organic dad and mom in Arizona, unhurt, police stated.
The lady had moved to Florida with the household in 2024, however referred to as her mom, begging to return get her,” Legislation & Crime reported.
The lady’s organic mom accused at the least one of many Griffeth adults of sexual assault on one of many youngsters, the outlet reported, citing court docket paperwork.
The Griffeth adults had been booked into the Columbia County Detention Facility on $500,000 bonds.
Jill Griffeth’s bond is listed as $1,500,000 in response to court docket data seen by The Publish.
The kids had been faraway from the home below a Florida Division of Youngsters and Households order.
Baby Safety Workforce investigators interviewed all 9 youngsters earlier than arrests had been made within the alleged abuse.
