Cops rescue 9 foster kids from house in woods where they were ‘sprayed with vinegar, locked in cages & sexually abused’
An investigation was sparked after a child walked into a church camp with a live stun gun
Emma Crabtree , Weekend US Editor
Cops rescue 9 kids from house in woods where they were ‘punished with vinegar, put in cages, drugged, & sexually abused’PauseUnmuteFullscreenClose
A FAMILY of four have been arrested after cops saved nine foster and adopted children from their alleged house of horrors deep in the Florida woods.
Brian Matthew Griffeth, 47, Jill Elizabeth Griffeth, 41, and their adult children Dallin Russel Griffeth, 21, and Liberty Ann Griffeth, 19, were taken in after a tip from a church camp revealed a slew of abuse allegations.
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The four adults from the Griffeth family based in Fort White, Columbia County, were charged with aggravated child abuse on July 22.
Their alleged victims are made up of 9 biological and adopted children ranging from the ages of 7 and 16.
The children were rescued from the house on July 3 and subsequent interviews with the Child Protection Team revealed numerous abuse allegations, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
They include spraying children in the face with vinegar, locking them in makeshift cages, and drugging them with non-prescription medication.
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“Child Protection Team (CPT) investigators conducted interviews with all 9 of the children,” the Sheriff’s Office release stated.
The children reported being “beaten with a cane”, “locked in their bedrooms” and “sprayed with vinegar” as punishment.
At least one of the children says they were sexually abused by Dallin Russel Griffeth, an arrest warrant seen by The U.S. Sun states.
Meanwhile, a 14-year-old boy claimed he was locked in makeshift cage built under a bunk bed.
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He would be trapped by a sheet of plywood that was nailed across to block his exit, according to the warrant.
Others claimed they were “forced to lie on the floor by the mother, Jill, and having her place a sheet of plywood on top of the child’s body and press down on them resulting in splinters and pain,” police said.
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The children also said they were “instructed to lie about what happens at home” and that they were “not being taken to or provided with adequate schooling to read or write.”
The family lives in isolation deep in the woods, and many of the children cannot read – some don’t even know their birthdays.
TIP OPENED FLOODGATES
An investigation into the Griffeth family was sparked by a report from someone at their church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Branford.
The tip came in following an incident a few days before the children were picked up from the house.
One of the Griffeth’s children was found at church camp with a “functioning electronic stun gun” which led investigators to discover the hideous crimes allegedly committed at the home.
Brian had claimed the taser was fake which was later found out to be a lie, the warrant states.
“Additional concerns were raised about the adopted children being treated unfairly compared to the Griffeth biological children, in addition to the children not knowing their full name or their own birthdays,” the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said.
‘MADE TO WORK’
The woman from the church told officers that Brian and Jill would mainly adopt and foster children from African-American backgrounds who would be “treated unfairly”, according to the arrest warrant.
“None of the foster or adopted children are familiar with their last names or basic personal information,” she claimed, adding that she feared the children were made to “act as workers not family”.
The Sheriff’s Office noted that at a previous visit to the home, officers from the Florida Department of Children and Families “noted that the adopted children were working on chores, while the biological children were playing or watching TV.”
“It was discovered during this visit there is a 10th foster child that was not present but was with their biological parent in Arizona,” the Sheriff’s Office added.
This child was found safe and well by Glendale Police.
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The adoptions were privately arranged in Arizona before the family moved to Florida, cops said.
All four adults have been taken to the Columbia County Detention Facility where they are each being held on a $500,000 bond.
Full statement on Griffeth family arrests from Columbia County Sheriff’s Office
On July 3, 2025, Columbia County sheriff’s deputies were called to assist the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) with a court-ordered pickup of 9 children residing at the residence of Brian and Jill Griffeth located at 173 SW Boundary Way, Fort White, Florida.
Of those 9 children, 5 are biological and 4 are adopted with ages from 7-16 years of age.
This pick-up order was a result of an investigation of alleged child abuse that was happening in the home stemming from concerns by a mandatory reporter at their local church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Branford, FL.
While at church camp a few days prior, one of the Griffeth’s children was caught with a functioning electronic stun gun.
Additional concerns were raised about the adopted children being treated unfairly compared to the Griffeth biological children, in addition to the children not knowing their full name or their own birthdays.
Prior to the pick-up order, DCF investigators responded to the Griffeth residence to interview the family regarding the accusations.
During this initial visit it was noted that the adopted children were working on chores, while the biological children were playing or watching TV.
It was discovered during this visit there is a 10th foster child that was not present but was with their biological parent in Arizona.
A well-being check was done by the Glendale Police Department, and the child was safe and healthy.
During the interview of the children by DCF, various forms of child abuse were discovered.
Accusations of the adopted children being beaten with a cane by Brian and also locked in their bedrooms by Brian and the other adults.
As a result of the allegations of physical abuse, DCF investigators obtained a court order to remove all of the children from the home.
Over the next few days Child Protection Team (CPT) investigators conducted interviews with all 9 of the children.
During these interviews, allegations by the children included:
- Being caged under the bunk bed by screwing in plywood to prevent his escape
- Being forced to lie on the floor by the mother, Jill, and having her place a sheet of plywood on top of the child’s body and press down on them resulting in splinters and pain
- Being sprayed in the face with vinegar as a form of punishment
- Being given non-prescribed medication
- Being instructed to lie about what happens at home
- Not being taken to or provided with adequate schooling to read or write
As a result of the CPT interviews and the DCF investigation, all four active and participating adults in the Griffeth home were arrested on July 22, 2025, for aggravated child abuse and transported to the Columbia County Detention Facility and where each are being held on $500,000 bond.
At this time, it is also unsure of the legal adoptive status of one of the children since there is no record found in Arizona.
It should be noted, due to the original concerns by a mandatory reporter here in the State of Florida, DCF became involved and investigated Griffeth family.
The adoption process for these children was conducted privately in Arizona, prior to moving the family of 13 to Ft. White, Florida.
Due to the implementation of mandatory reporting here in Florida, a report was made, an investigation was conducted, and these children were removed from this house of abuse.
3 Children Rescued from ‘House of Horrors’ After Being Locked Inside by Parents Since COVID-19 Pandemic: Reports
The parents of the children — 8-year-old twins and a 10-year-old — were reportedly arrested after they were rescued on April 28
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Kimberlee Speakman is a digital writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. She has also published stories in Forbes and worked in broadcast television as a reporter for Hawaii-based news station KHON2 News.
Published on May 1, 2025 10:44AM EDT
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- Police in Spain launched an investigation after neighbors reported that three children at a home in Oviedo had not been going to school
- When officers went inside the home, they found it littered with trash and filled up with medication and masks, according to local media outlets
- The children had reportedly been locked inside the home since 2021
A German couple living in Spain has been arrested after reportedly subjecting their three children to living inside what officials described as a “house of horrors,” according to multiple outlets.
The Oviedo Police Department said it rescued three children from a home in the neighborhood of Oviedo, Spain, on Monday, April 28, over three years after they were locked up inside following the final wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to translated reports by local media outlets El Comercio, El Mundo and Spanish newspaper ABC.
The children’s parents — identified as a 53-year-old German man and his 48-year-old American wife, who also owned a German passport — were arrested and charged with domestic violence with habitual psychological abuse and child abandonment, according to police, per ABC. The outlet and El Mundo reported that the children were 8-year-old twins and a 10-year-old.
The Oviedo Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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An investigation into the family began after a neighbor filed a complaint on April 14 about children residing in the home who haven’t been attending school, according to El Comercio. This prompted an investigation by Oviedo police, who collected testimonies from other neighbors and records of the home.
“Initially, there was nothing that drew particular attention,” Oviedo Police Chief Javier Lozano said in a press conference, per Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. However, things changed when they delved further into their investigation.
Police found that the home had been rented out by the family in October 2021, and only the name of the father was registered on the home, according to the outlet. Officers also witnessed the father only leaving the home to pick up grocery deliveries and mail, and neighbors told police that they had not seen the family leave the home since December 2021, per El Comcercio and El Mundo.
When officers approached the home on April 28, the father reportedly “agreed” to let them in. Officers who went to the home noted that they saw the parents place up to three masks on the children before letting them in, per El Mundo. The mother told officers to “be careful” since her children were “very sick,” the outlet reported.
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Once inside, officers found the home filled with trash and a large number of medication and masks, as well as other items, which officers deemed “a clearly unsanitary situation that could put the health and safety of the minors at risk,” per El Comcercio.
Lozano reportedly dubbed the home a “house of horrors” during the press conference, while ABC reported that the children had also been living among feces since 2021.
Police also discovered that the children slept in cribs and defaced monsters and dolls were also found in their rooms, per El Mundo. The officers noted that the children did not appear to have any illnesses, but were “dirty” from being left inside the home.
“The children were in terrible shape. It was absolutely outrageous,” one agent told El Mundo. “Not malnourished, because they were fed. But they were also dirty… [and] completely cut off from reality, and not just because they didn’t go to school. When we took them out of the house, into the garden, where they wouldn’t even go outside, they saw a snail and went crazy, freaked out.”
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The three kids were taken to the National Human Rights Center for a medical evaluation and then placed into the custody of the Ministry of Welfare, who placed them in a juvenile center, according to El Comcercio. Their parents were being held in pretrial detention without bail, as of Wednesday, April 30, per ABC.
“We’ve all been affected by Covid syndrome and what the pandemic has brought, and we can speculate about what led a family to live locked up for so long,” Lozano said during the press conference, according to the outlets.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
