Family Found In "Virtual Prison" Of Filth

Georgia Police: Man Kept Wife, 4 Children Captive In Bug-Infested Trailer For 3 Years

(AP)  When police finally searched the squat white mobile home where they say a man held his family captive for three years, the place was so filthy and bug-infested that one officer had to wear a gas mask and another refused to enter.

Thousands of roaches and other bugs crawled in and out of drawers, cupboards and furniture. Spoiled food littered the place, and a long-ignored plumbing problem left the floors rotten and mattresses moldy.

Investigators allege it was in this three-bedroom trailer in northeastern Georgia where Raymond Daniel Thurmond forced his wife and four children to live, allowing them to leave only once in three years. Even then, it was only fleeting: A two-hour Easter visit to his wife's parents' place in North Carolina.

"It was pretty much a virtual prison," Lavonia Police Lt. Missy Collins said Wednesday. "He controlled what they ate, what they did. He controlled pretty much everything."

Thurmond now awaits a bond hearing on charges of rape, child abuse and false imprisonment. He has asked for an attorney but one hadn't been assigned as of Wednesday afternoon. Franklin County jail officials turned down a request by The Associated Press to interview Thurmond.

The family moved to the mobile home park in August 2005, their place blending in among row after row of white trailers. He took a job at a nearby poultry plant. Neighbors described him as polite and quiet, although the park manager said the family was almost evicted because of late rent.

He had no police record, and at one point enrolled his eldest child in first grade.

Behind closed doors, however, police say Thurmond ruled the family with an iron fist. Sometimes, he'd fly into a rage and hit his children - ages 14, 13, 12 and 9 - with a steel-toed boot, Collins said. Other times, the children told Collins they would hear their father attacking and raping their mother in a bedroom.

"I asked, 'Did you go to help?' And they looked at me like it was the strangest question. Dad pretty much did whatever he wanted to do," Collins said.

People in this town of 2,200 about 90 miles from Atlanta are left wondering why it took so long to discover the dire situation - and why Thurmond's wife and children didn't leave sooner.

Lavonia Police Chief Bruce Carlisle said his officers found evidence that Thurmond may have locked the bedroom doors while he was at work each day, but he suggested Thurmond's wife may also have suffered from "battered wife's syndrome."

"The victims of this type of abuse, they're made to believe they're not worthy of anything, that this is what they deserve," he said. "It's amazing. They were not allowed outside. They were simply not allowed to go near the door. It all goes back to the control thing."

Police are awaiting the results of psychological tests to decide whether to charge Thurmond's wife, but Collins said she seemed to have slowly fallen under her husband's control.

She described her marriage as wonderful at first, but she steadily lost control, Collins said.

"I think it's just hitting her what she is going through," she said.

Thurmond's wife finally came forward after he told her he was leaving her for another woman and that he'd return every few days with food, Collins said.

The children, who are underweight and malnourished, are in government custody, and investigators describe them as shy, but not completely socially undeveloped. They didn't attend school except for the oldest for a short time.

Residents of the 100-unit park gathered at the Thurmond home after learning of the shocking news.

"We had no clue," said Sonya Savage, who has lived there for a year. "I never even knew he had kids in there."

The stench still lingered among the moldy mattresses inside.

"He was very respectable, very kind and very serious," said Alma Medina, the park's property manager, who lived three homes down. "You'd never imagine he would live like this."

[akpals]

So he may have locked them in the bedrooms, but did he force them to leave food to rot on the floor? The wife may have been going through hell, but even so you would think that just for a little exercise she and the kids could have picked up after themselves. I feel really bad for the kids, and the wife but am left to wonder why the place would have been that bad.

[barbaram99]

some women can do this as well. Sick.

[brianbwb-2009]

It is clearly the result of a yet unclassified mental illness, unclassified because it is actually an extreme version of the male mindset, (and those who classify mental illness are generally male, and share the illness, to varying degrees) taken beyond all civilized checks and balances, and into misogyny and extreme sociopathic disregard for human life.

[baicas]

TooTall, you are so RIGHT!!!

Now in regards to the rest of you people, some of you need to get professional help, and you know who you are.

The mother and kids were held as prisoners, haven''t you ever heard of the Stockholm Syndrome, will I believe the mother may have it...and the kids just followed suit.. It was apparent that the trailer had a leak somewhere so much so that a mattress became moldy, so why didn''t he get off his lazy but and fix the leak, and get rid of the mattress...if he was such a decent father and husband he would of made sure the house was clean enough to live in, and the children had enough food to eat. This man is lower than a snake in the grass, and you really can''t get much lower than that.

[Netterz]

Unfortunately, men like this live all over the country, not just the south. Battered women, and abused children live under men of all social standards. So being of the mindset that only Southern men commit this, is ludicrous. Truth be told, most southern people are FAR more kind and considerate than most northerners. There is alot of truth to Southern Hospitality. But then again, todays society easily brands people from all places with some sort of tarnish......

[wellhell3]

Posted by JackSteen2 at 07:46 PM : Aug 14, 2008

A prime example of why we should allow live baby abortions...this one is wayyyyyyy years too late! Do you think we could just allow this one to be aborted now, instead of when he left his mother''s womb?

[gmond]

Tadpole babies are fetal glop? What do you have against frogs?

[o2bewealthy]

JackSteen2 - you know, if you wait a minute for the page to refresh, you don''t have to push that ''PUBLISH'' button more than once.

[libsluv2spit]

Posted by JackSteen2 at 07:46 PM : Aug 14, 2008
+ report abuse

******

eeeeasyyyy there...obama would still need thier votes..he cant depend on black votes..98% of them cant vote because they all have felonies..

[tootall10142]

Alot of us dumb ol southern boys killed a bunch of people from all over so you could show your *** on this site!CRACKER!

[marcosis78]

Its sad really. What was the guy, 22 when he started having kids? It didnt even sound like he was too smart to begin with.

[cnmbarfoot]

Someone is showing their ignorance, anyway. Ignorance of the South and Southerners, Baptists, Republicans, history, math, knowledge in general...Don''t let things like facts interrupt a good rant.

[downsteamjim]

Al Gore will probably give them an award for having such a small ''carbon'' footprint.

[toolmangler-2009]

Posted by JackSteen2 at 07:46 PM : Aug 14, 2008


After three solid pages if this guys drivel, I wonder why he didn''t recognize his kinfolk. Then I realized the the KKK all wear hoods when they arent at the races.

[gmond]

he raised his kids his own way and took care of his wife like a real man. she only got pissed because he was seeing another woman. Even then he still was taking care of his wife and kids. She obviously wasn''''t satisfying him so he did the right thing and took care of his urges outside of the home. Men have been doing it that way for centuries. Nothing wrong with that. He was still supporting the wife and kids

Posted by jasonedward3 at 11:11 AM : Aug 14, 2008

Are you talking about Edwards or McCain?

[jboxton]

I''ve said it before and I''ll say it again: People from the south are just uneducated and simple. Not that that''s a bad thing, it''s just fact. It''s been proven time and time again those from the northeast have significantly higher IQs than the rest of the country (especially the south and midwest which are 2nd and 3rd respectively)

[buffalonyusa]

Wow rf35, I''ve been reading these boards for a while now and have seen some truly stupid comments.

Congratulations! You have just won 1st place in the Mental Midget category.

I apologise to any midgets I might have offended.

[annia1233]

isn''t wonderful to read what one of our fellow neighbors is doing and the opinions of others around the country? It makes you feel like putting iron bars all around your house, yard and have electric fences for protection. God Oh, mighty! protect us of these crazy ugly souls!

[annia1233]

rf35, are you serious? what are you saying? did you really read the article?

[rf35]

There''s an awful lot of stuff going on in Georgia lately, isn''t there?