Santiago tells Texas jury he didn't starve 3 children

ap via msnbc.com

July 26, 2010

DALLAS — A man accused of keeping three emaciated children locked in the bathroom of a Dallas hotel for as long as nine months told a jury Monday that the starving youngsters refused to eat the meals he prepared for them.

The children were gaunt and filthy when they were found by police in July 2009 in a hotel alongside a busy Dallas highway. A doctor who treated them described the children as having sunken cheeks and flaky skin and said they emitted a repugnant odor.

Alfred Santiago, who took the stand in his own defense, said he gave the children breakfast and lunch each day...

Alfred Santiago said his former girlfriend repeatedly told him that she was responsible for her three children. He said he was "careless" in not notifying authorities of their condition. He also said it was Abneris' idea to keep her children locked in a bathroom..

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Her trial is scheduled to begin after his ends. The former couple share a last name but were not married...

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and from dallasnews.com
and here: Jurors weep as boy describes months locked in motel bathroom
Uncle: Children looked like Holocaust victims

Adam Herrman missing, Valerie and Doug Herrman charged with theft

Right: hopefully where the Herrmans end up.

July 7, 2010

BY TIM POTTER
The Wichita Eagle

via kansas.com

Doug and Valerie Herrman walked out of the Butler County Jail on Wednesday afternoon after they were booked on charges of felony theft...

Left: Fourth-grade photo of Adam Herrman released by the Butler County Sheriff's Department 01/05/2009. Herrman was last seen in 1999 when he was 11 or 12 years old. An investigation is proceeding in the case.

EL DORADO — The adoptive parents of Adam Herrman, who disappeared from his Towanda home at age 11 more than a decade ago, were charged today with felony theft.

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The charges are related to the alleged fraudulent receipt of over $50,000 in government assistance for Adam's care, according to Butler County Attorney Jan Satterfield.

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Doug and Valerie Herrman each posted a $50,000 bond. The couple voluntarily went to the Butler County Jail in response to warrants that were issued against them.

Charges were filed today to avoid questions of whether the five year statute of limitations on the charges has expired. The Herrmans allegedly cashed the last adoption state subsidy check on July 8, 2005, according to Satterfield, six years after Adam's disappearance.

The boy disappeared in 1999, but Butler County authorities didn't learn of Adam's disappearance until late 2008.

"This is not the beginning and end. This is just the beginning for the Herrmans," said Satterfield of the charges. Adam would be 23 if he were still alive.

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Thank you Jan. Sincerely. Don't let them slip through the cracks. What about the Internal Revenue Service? If they cashed those adoption checks and claimed them as dependents, I'd bet they claimed him on their federal taxes as well.

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