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Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.
Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. Hey, True Crime Besties. Welcome back to an all-new episode of Serialistly.
Hey everybody, welcome back to an all-new episode of Serialistly. It's me, Annie, your true crime bestie, and I am here this Monday morning to break down another true crime case for you. Now, the case that we are talking about today is one that is in the headlines right now.
and it is very disturbing. It is being compared to the original House of Horrors, which if you aren't familiar with that case, it's the case of the Turpin family and the horrendous living conditions and abuse that those children were subjected to.
It's being compared to that case and it's actually being dubbed as the new House of Horrors. It is not for the faint of heart, so I want to give a viewer discretion and listener discretion ahead of this episode. It is very unsettling and disturbing content and difficult to hear. So, as a reminder, please take care of your well-being. I also want to talk about what today's episode showcases because today's case showcases the absolute worst of humanity.
Now, sometimes I feel like I've covered so many cases where nothing could shock me at this point, but yet in so many cases I'm proven wrong and my jaw is still left on the ground wondering how the hell something like this could happen. And today's case is no exception. This case is horrifying, so again, please consider this just a blanket trigger warning for this entire episode because even researching this was extremely hard for me to get through.
It is very troubling. This case is ongoing, and everything in this episode is alleged and is sourced from court documents, and then anything else that I say is strictly my opinion. So as always, please do your own research and form your own opinions. On April 23, 2023, police officers from Penridge Regional Police Department received a phone call from dispatch.
In the call, it was indicated that they needed to go to Green Top Trailer Park in West Rock Hill Township, Pennsylvania. The caller on the phone told dispatch that they believed two minors were in an abandoned trailer and that they were taking items from it. Shortly after, officers arrived and immediately saw a 12-year-old little girl standing in the front yard of a different trailer next to the abandoned one.
She was barefoot, with the hood of her sweatshirt up over her head, and she told officers that she had social anxiety. Officers asked what she was doing and if she was in that abandoned trailer earlier, and she explained that her parents told them not to go over to that abandoned trailer and that her parents should not be responsible.
She continued saying that the only reason that she was over at the abandoned trailer in the first place was because she was looking for a blanket to help keep her pet rats warm, and also that her parents didn't have much money left.
So obviously this was very alarming to officers and before they could even react to what this girl was saying, a second little girl appeared from the back of the property and she started walking up toward the police officers. This girl was 14 years old. She was wearing large work boots that were too big for her feet and was wearing very dirty clothing.
The girls are sisters, and now that both of them were speaking to officers, they both admitted that they had been in that trailer while they were waiting for their parents to come back. And they said multiple times that their parents didn't have much money. So officers then contacted the girl's father on the phone, and about 25 minutes later, both parents arrived at their home.
The parents are Shane and Crystal Robertson. Now, prior to April of 2023, there wasn't much really known about Shane or Crystal other than their ages. Shane is 48 years old and Crystal is 38 years old. But as the events of this day unfolded, they had no idea that they would be making the news for belonging to the worst parents club right next to the Turpin family. And this because of their own Pennsylvania house of horrors.
Officers told Shane and Crystal that both girls' conditions were scary and that they were concerned for their health.
They wanted to see what was going on inside that house, and Shane agreed for them to come inside and check it out. As he was unlocking the door, Crystal told the officers that the kids were going through so much food that she actually had to put a lock on the refrigerator because they were stealing everything and referred to them as garbage disposals with legs. So when officers entered their home, they saw the refrigerator was locked, and it had been locked with a bicycle lock.
As they began to look around the house, officers noticed how filthy it was and even how some parts of the house were in obvious need of repair. Officers asked Shane and Crystal to unlock the refrigerator so they could look inside of it and see what was inside.
So Shane went outside to grab Crystal's purse, which had the key. Officers opened up the lock, and inside the fridge, there was little to no food at all. However, the refrigerator did include alcohol. It also had some old hot dog buns and severed chicken claws that were for the pet lizard. Officers were disturbed and knew that they now needed to call someone else in for this situation. They asked Shane if there were any other children, and he said that he had one other daughter, a 16-year-old girl.
Shane called for her to come out of her room, and she appeared to be in the same conditions as her sisters when she finally emerged.
She said that she knew that the police officers were outside, but that she was busy watching the youngest child at the time. Officers left that house and immediately filed a child line report. Later that same day, officers were requested to come back to that house after a worker from Bucks County Children and Youth discovered even more children hidden inside a back bedroom.
The kids were emaciated, unwashed, and soiled in clothing, and one was huddled in a fetal position, suffering from apparent flu symptoms. When officers arrived, they met with Shane again, and he said that he had lied earlier, that actually the reality is he has seven children.
and he told them that his reason for not saying that earlier was because he didn't want to get into any trouble. Which, hello, don't you think that you are going to get caught? I mean, my first problem with all of this is that the officers before leaving the first time didn't go back and check that room, especially when that third child said she was watching the youngest one,
Wouldn't that click and say, "Oh, there are more kids here. They're not telling me the truth." Or at the very least, at least do a sweep of the entire house to make sure that there's nothing else dangerous in there around the children or other children, which clearly there were. But no, they just left. So now they're coming back. They're realizing that the family had lied, that they in fact have seven children, not three. And this is getting worse and worse.
So the officers went back into the house and this time they found a 10-year-old girl, an 8-year-old girl, a 6-year-old boy, and a 4-year-old girl.
Based on the children's conditions, they were immediately taken out of the house and they were transported to Grandview Hospital so that they could be evaluated. But the house, and what was actually found inside the house, was about to make this case far more disturbing. Before we get into the details of what was inside the house, we are going to take a quick break and have a quick word from today's sponsors, because as you know, the sponsors help keep this podcast free, so I appreciate you all for understanding.
Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy, and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.
Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.
Go to ssa.gov slash extra help.
Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Okay, so after they discovered this lot of children that initially Shane and Crystal had lied about having, officers began searching the actual house more in depth.
They took photos as they went through each room, room to room, and then they went to the living room where they took even more photos. Next, they approached a bathroom with the door's lower half completely missing. They then went into Crystal and Shane's bedroom. Now, they had a bed in the center of the room, but what was surrounding it was absolutely horrifying. They had multiple animal cages surrounding the bed.
The sheets looked like they hadn't been washed in months, there was garbage on the ground and holes all over the walls, and the bedroom next to theirs was blocked off by a broken washing machine. Now this room didn't have a door either and was cluttered with dirty clothes and garbage all over the floor. It also had missing sheetrock on the walls. It was just a complete disaster.
The third bedroom they went into had feces on the floor outside of the entrance. And inside that bedroom, there was a filthy mattress in the center of the room and it had just a blanket thrown on top of it. And the blanket was also covered in feces. The room also had around two dozen rats that were in several cages.
The bathroom next to that room had piping underneath the sink that was heavily corroded, and the exhaust fan was caked with dust, and there were no cleaning products in sight. The bathroom didn't have soap, didn't have toothpaste, and it didn't have any other hygienic products whatsoever.
They found a very similar situation when they looked further into the kitchen. The cabinets were in very, very bad shape, and the oven looked like it had never even been cleaned before. In fact, the only food that officers saw at all in the house was for animals. Other than that, it was just the alcohol, which was in the refrigerator, and it was locked.
The floors of the entire home had bare plywood that would sink down so far in certain areas that you could literally see the dirt from below the trailer. Now, of course, Crystal had a complete explanation for all of this. She said that the new pieces of plywood in the front of her bedroom door had been placed there after she fell through the floors a few months back, and that they just hadn't gotten around to fixing it yet.
Yet this doesn't address how the floors were like that through the entire house. But for whatever reason, Crystal felt like she needed to explain herself to the officers for that one, which was interesting because the floors would probably be the least of anybody's worries in that moment.
And interestingly, she didn't have anything to say about how the walls inside the house were either destroyed or completely disintegrating. She didn't say anything about the feces, about the lack of hygiene products. And officers also noted that the entire place smelled like urine and feces. And they saw several bugs in the house while they were taking all of the photographs and collecting all of that digital evidence.
there were also more pets than just the two dozen rats as if that weren't enough as if 24 rats isn't enough inside a home so inside the home there also were two dogs two turtles two
two rabbits, there were snakes, toads, and a four-foot-long reptile known as Tegu. Literally my worst nightmare. I love animals. I have a dog. I'm not a big fan of like rodents or reptiles or wildlife in general. This is my worst nightmare, especially when you accompany it with the complete filth inside the house, the feces,
the urine, the holes in the wall. I mean, it truly is a house of horrors. And I mean, the animals shouldn't be exposed to those living conditions, no less actual human beings and children. So when doctors saw the children at the hospital after they were taken in for evaluation, it was determined that all of the children except for the 14-year-old daughter were clinically malnourished.
two of the children tested positive for COVID, two children had a low kidney function, three children had active fevers, and were diagnosed with acute viral syndrome. Based on all of this information, all of the children were immediately taken out of the care of their so-called parents, and Shane and Crystal were informed that all of their children would be placed in foster care homes for the time being. Now, if that isn't enough, it actually gets even worse.
Because the children are all minors, there aren't names given in any of the documents, and some of the descriptions of how things were noticed or how things were discovered are pretty vague, but I can only imagine what the foster parents' reactions were after taking these poor children in and then discovering the actual level of neglect that these children had gone through. So over the next week after the children were placed in foster care, officers learned that
None of the children had any formal education. Ever. And they all lacked basic knowledge. So for example, some of the children didn't know their own birthdays, four of the children suffered from speech impediments, and all of the children struggled significantly with reading, writing, and spelling.
Additionally, they all exhibited signs of social anxiety and said that they didn't like being in public or around other people. Now before we continue, I just want to reference, this sounds so similar to what happened with the Turpin case, the one that I mentioned at the top of this video, and I'm going to talk about it in a little bit again too. But so many of those children and Jordan Turpin, who ultimately ended up being the source of the rescue of all of her siblings,
had a very hard time speaking, had social anxiety, had a hard time reading, had a hard time putting things together, and it just never ceases to blow my mind in situations like this that these monster humans continue to breed child after child when there is so clearly never any indication or intent of taking care of that child, of providing an education, providing a bath,
providing a bed why continue to breed and have these children if you don't even have the basic instinct to take care of them in any sort of way what is the purpose and then you stack on top of that the what 35 plus animals they also had in the house
It is a horrifying nightmare. So as they continued doing all of these evaluations and the children were in foster care and more of the revelations came, three of the children ended up being referred to a nutritionist for being clinically underweight and they had to go see this nutritionist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. During a dental checkup for the six-year-old boy, it was discovered that he had several teeth that needed immediate attention and also a dangerous accident
abscess in his mouth. Another child had visible cavities and had to go through five tooth extractions and six crowns. And yet another child had to have extractions, crowns, along with additional fillings. Just their mouth, their oral hygiene, their total hygiene in complete disarray. At the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, four of the children were diagnosed with poor eyesight and were given glasses.
And then two others had appointments made for them to get glasses. Additionally, a week after the children were taken from the home, the 12-year-old girl had maggots in her hair. The girl also said that the summer before, she had suffered extreme sunburn on her scalp and neck area.
and still was in so much pain that she could not brush her hair. She later had to have her head completely shaved because of how matted her hair was and because of how severe the maggot infestation was in her hair. Similarly, another little girl's hair was so matted that her head had to be shaved. The four-year-old little girl had a ringworm and both of the youngest children were so malnourished that they ended up gaining two pounds within the first week of being placed in foster care.
The neighbor that initially made the police call spoke to the media, and here's what she had to say about it. I've seen them going into the trailer next door here.
and taking some things out, and that's why I called. Tammy DeHaven's call to police on April 23 triggered an investigation, and the children, ages 4 to 16 years old, were placed in the care of the county. Police say Crystal admitted she put a lock on the refrigerator and referred to the kids as garbage disposals with legs. In the course of the investigation, authorities found none of the seven children had any formal education.
and all lack basic knowledge. Some of the children did not know their own birth dates. And the children had extensive medical issues, including at least one who had maggots and needed most of the hair shaved from her head since the damage and infestation was so dire. The parents are currently out on bail but did not come to the door today. It's horrible.
I don't understand how parents could do that with their children. I hope they're better off and they're in a better place. So I hope they're taken care of. So that's what they deserve. They deserve to be children.
Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.
Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.
An official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov slash extra help.
Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Ultimately, Shane and Crystal were booked into jail on May 19th, almost a month after the officers found their children living in complete squalor. They were each charged with six counts of endangering the welfare of a child, all third-degree felonies, and one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. And this was because of their youngest daughter, since she is under the age of six. Just absolutely despicable and unexcusable.
And the audacity for Crystal to say that the children are basically human garbage disposals with legs, yet almost all but one of them were clinically malnourished and three of them were underweight? I mean, what is going on here?
In so many cases like this, we normally see that there may be problems with the parents themselves. Not that it makes it excusable in any way, but usually there's at least some semblance of a possible explanation for how it reached that level of neglect.
For example, if the parents were having extreme drug and alcohol issues or financial issues, etc. However, the cases where the parents don't seem to have any obvious reason for keeping their children hidden from society and completely neglected in this way are truly unfathomable. So what is the deal here? What's going on?
The officers didn't note seeing any signs of drug use in the house, and there weren't any drug charges. We know that they were using alcohol and that it was locked up in the refrigerator. So was that the catalyst in all of this? What is the root cause of this? Or were they just evil, bad humans? So when the two girls had been explaining to the officers that their parents didn't have much money, and they were saying that repeatedly to the officers, remember? Apparently that's why they were in that abandoned trailer and taking things.
So one of my initial thoughts was is this family struggling financially? They're continuously saying that they have no money. They're clearly searching for things in the abandoned trailer next to theirs. Well here's the thing with all of that. Now I don't know all of the ways that bond works or if you are required to sign stuff over but when I read this I was absolutely flabbergasted.
Court records say that each defendant was booked into jail on May 19th and was released the very next day, but only after they posted their $10,000 bail, meaning that their original amount that was set was at $100,000 each.
So, riddle me this: how is it that their kids are quite literally starving, their living conditions are almost archaic and completely atrocious, they have disintegrating walls, they have missing sheetrock, their pipes are exposed, their pipes are corroding, doors are hanging off of the hinges, and the floorboards are actually basically combined with the ground and dirt below the unit.
That combined with an immense amount of filth, feces everywhere, no food, no soap, nothing, yet coming up with a way to address their $100,000 bail each in order to get out of jail was no problem? They could afford that?
How does that happen? Now I've seen a lot of crazy things in my day, especially since covering true crime. We have seen evil monster parents who hoard their finances to fuel their own drug habit, their own alcohol addiction, their own gambling addictions, whatever it may be. And so because of that, they neglect the children. But then when it comes down to it and they're arrested, they come up with the money.
and they are able to then be selfish in that regard and use that money on themselves like they had been doing for so long.
But it appears that Crystal and Shane never were even using money for themselves. They were living in filth. They were letting their house completely just get disintegrate before their eyes. They, I suppose, were taking care of the animals since there was animal food around, but they certainly weren't taking care of the children, and to our knowledge, they weren't taking care of themselves. So how do they come up with this money after being in jail for just one day?
day. Yet they won't put that money into, I don't know, some 409, some Comet, some McDonald's even for the kids. Make it make sense because I can't. And when we get into the even further details that we're about to be uncovered, it will enrage you even more. If you're not already punching your stereo in your car if you're listening to this or hitting your keyboard out of anger if you're watching this, get ready because it gets even worse.
So these two monsters are released from jail. And after they were released from jail, Shane and Crystal went about their normal lives without their seven children. They went to their court appearances, which great, at least they didn't flee, but God knows what they did in their free time. Shane and Crystal did not speak publicly about any of this at the time, which I guess is to be expected because literally what on earth could they possibly say to even try to justify this?
And just when you think these complete degenerate parents couldn't get any worse, another bomb was dropped on their sorry asses on September 25th, 2023.
They were already facing serious child endangerment charges following the discovery of their house of horrors months earlier. But now both Shane and Crystal have new assault charges that were filed by Bucks County District Attorney's Office. And the details of what the children said they went through are absolutely sickening and just pure evil.
According to their charging documents, on or about September 13, 2023, the Penridge Regional Police Department received new child line reports regarding Shane and Crystal Robertson. Specifically, those child line reports referenced reports of physical abuse within the home by both Shane and Crystal toward their children.
After police were notified of these reports, all seven children participated in forensic interviews at the Child Advocacy Center. During the forensic interviews, the children reported numerous specific incidents of ongoing physical abuse. The children all described that they were hit and whipped by both Shane and Crystal repeatedly, and that most of the time, they were hit using a black belt, cords, or by hand.
The children said that Shane wore this black belt every day. And if he wasn't wearing the belt, it was usually on the floor in his bedroom.
Regarding the cords, the children said that they were hit with any possible cord in sight, but usually it was a gray vacuum cord. Absolutely appalling and disgusting. And quickly, before I go on to the additional details that are equally haunting and horrifying, I want to talk about that belt because I can't remember what case it was. I need to think back on it, but I do remember that
There was a case where there was child abuse happening and the father wore the belt every day and he did this as an intimidation tactic to try to keep the children in line so that every
that every time they saw the belt they would associate it with the lashings and with the beatings so it's no surprise to me that he wore it every day not only because I'm sure it's probably the only belt he owned given the conditions of the house but also as that fear tactic and then when he wasn't wearing it it was just lying there in open sight on the floor it is so cruel and so disgusting
Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy, and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.
An official message from Medicare.
A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov slash extra help. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The 16-year-old daughter also reported that in February of 2023, Shane, her father, punched her in the face, causing her to have a bloody nose. After she was hit, she ran from their home and Shane chased after her. When Shane finally caught up to her, he grabbed her by the hair and physically dragged her back to the house.
Several other siblings cooperated this story too, saying that they had witnessed the entire thing happen. It is so extremely barbaric and absolutely foul and unacceptable. During the 14-year-old daughter's forensic interviews, she said that her parents beat us up. That was a direct quote.
She said that more often than not, Shane was the one who got more physical than Crystal, but that Crystal, her mom, participated as well and would hit and injure the children repeatedly. When Shane wasn't wearing his black belt, Crystal apparently would use it on the children. And in a specific instance, the 14-year-old girl said that Crystal hit her with the belt so hard that she had welts on her body.
She also described another time when Shane attacked her and told her that he was going to suffocate her. Apparently Crystal and Shane were arguing, and Crystal told Shane, "Do whatever you want. Kill them if you want," before she ended up walking out of their trailer and leaving the kids with Shane. Then Shane held a brown fluffy blanket over her face. She said she could feel her face being smashed by the blanket and feeling like Shane was smothering her to death.
Other siblings witnessed and described the same instance and said that they heard their sister struggling to breathe and gasping for air. I mean...
I know I need to keep myself in check right now, but my hands are literally shaking and kind of tightening in a way where I want to wring these parents' neck. Now, I know that's not popular. I probably shouldn't say that. I'm probably going to get a lot of flack for that, but I don't even care because it just fucking enrages me. It really does. I'm sorry. I'm like digging my nails into my hands right now. I'm sure if you see the video version, you understand. It is just so beyond normal.
cruel, and just evil, evil, evil, evil. There was apparently another time when Shane gave the 14-year-old girl a knife and told her to go into the bathroom and stab herself. She said that this knife was normally kept in the kitchen with a blue handle and a blue blade. I mean, advising your child to go and kill themselves? To stab themselves? How much more heartless could somebody be? And why continue to have children? It makes no sense.
There was another time when Shane apparently gave her the knife and told her to go behind the shed and kill herself there. She also said that Shane and Crystal would frequently punch all of the children, leaving them with black eyes. And that one time Shane punched her in the eye so hard that her eye was black, blue, and fluffy. That was her exact description, which I'm sure we now know and can assume that it's puffy, it's swollen. She used the word fluffy.
It is so extremely heartbreaking when you think of these seven children, ages all the way at toddler age, all the way to teenagers, that were just subjected to ruthless and continuous abuse, scare tactics, starvation, mental abuse, physical abuse,
Again, why have children? It doesn't make sense and it is so evil and heartbreaking. The 12-year-old girl said that the children that were hurt the most were her older sisters that were 14 and 16, herself, and the 6-year-old little boy, and that the other children were not hit as frequently or as hard.
She also described an instance where she and her older sister took one of their dogs outside to play with it, and then the dog ran off and got hit by a car.
Well, afterward, Shane and Crystal relentlessly beat her and her sister over and over because of this, leaving welts all over their bodies. The 12-year-old girl reported that Crystal threatened the children by saying that they would kill their pet rats, and she also said that Shane was abusive basically their whole lives.
There would be times that Crystal would apparently leave while Shane was beating the children, and Crystal would tell Shane to have at it. Again, a direct quote. She described the injuries as red marks, handprints, and welts, and said that her six-year-old little brother was often injured the worst.
She said that both Shane and Crystal would use cords or whatever was within reach to hit the children. The 10-year-old daughter said during her forensic interview that there would be times when she or her siblings were absolutely starving, so they would be forced to steal food out of the refrigerator or out of Crystal's purse. And when they did this, Shane would beat the children with cords, with his belt, or by his own hands, leaving marks and welts on her and her siblings' little bodies.
She also said that she was punched in the face by Shane before too, and remembered times when Shane also punched her little brother. The 8-year-old daughter reported in her interview, and I quote, "...we got beat by mommy and daddy a lot, saying that she didn't get hit as hard as the older children, but she still got hit."
She also corroborated many of her older sister's reports about her six-year-old brother frequently getting hit the worst, and that he suffered from red marks and welts constantly, and that she had witnessed her older sisters be hit as well.
Based on these reports, Shane and Crystal now had several assault charges on top of their previous charges. They were also charged with conspiracy for a pattern of abuse that spared none of their children. This according to the affidavit of probable cause for their arrests.
Shane was also charged with strangulation. When they were arrested and booked this time, they remained in jail. Shane with a $500,000 bail and Crystal with a $250,000 bail. They also face prosecution for neglect of their family's pets, which included the Tegu lizard, the turtles, the rabbits, the dogs, a cat, and the dozen or double dozen rats. It's disgusting, which the SPCA removed most of the animals.
Shane and Crystal had a court appearance on October 2nd, just a couple of days ago, where each of them are still being held on seven felony counts of abuse and neglect. And now they are headed to trial. According to reports in court on the 2nd, two cases against the couple, including attempted suffocation of one child and physical abuse of others, were dismissed by District Court Judge Gary Gambardella.
Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy, and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.
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That's because one of the Roberts and Children in a video interview with a county caseworker was not specific on where some of the abuse happened.
The family apparently regularly moved, and at one time they were living in Delaware. The locations could not be determined to be within the legal jurisdiction of the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. So, like that, dismissed.
After the hearing, a reporter asked Crystal Robertson for comment on the charges, and she replied saying, and I quote, "...they've been dismissed." As Shane was being loaded back into a minivan to go back to jail, he was seen keeping his head down and didn't say anything as he was being loaded into the minivan with Crystal.
Apparently, reporters were able to catch a glimpse of a neck tattoo that he has, which says Crystal in green script. During the testimony of officers and caseworkers, more information was revealed describing some of the instances of abuse which was given in court documents.
One officer said, and I quote, "...they are very difficult to understand. Some of the kids didn't know how old they were and could only guess their birthdays. They described episodes of abuse, both physical and emotional. When an older child told her parents that she was having thoughts of suicide, she was reportedly told to go behind the shed and kill yourself. The kids described belt beatings, and in one case, a girl with asthma described her father pressing a steel-toed boot on her chest."
After testimony, Deputy D.A. Brittany Kern said that the case is heartbreaking and that she spoke with each child and said they were all very sweet kids. She says the children are now living with other family members and most of them are beginning to physically recover and gain weight, saying that they are thriving. Shane and Crystal's next court appearance will be their arraignment, which is set for November 12th.
Now I feel like this is something I say a lot, but seriously, how in the hell do these parents think that they can get away with things like this? I feel like Alexi Treviso's mom when she's like, haven't you seen the news about the girls and them going to jail? Except for these parents, haven't they seen the news about the Turpins, the Ferreters in Florida, and the so many other cases of houses of horrors that almost always make national headlines?
Because each case is straight up deplorable and absolutely unbelievable. They're always in the mainstream media. So how did they not ever see those and think to themselves, uh, hey, we better get our shit together or we're going to get caught. Like,
Like, what exactly did these parents think was going to happen when their children turned 18? There was no formal education at any point. They can't talk. They can't socialize in a normal way. What were they supposed to do with their lives? Or did they plan on keeping these children hidden from society forever, even as they became adults?
I'm assuming none of these parents in these extreme cases, Shane and Crystal included, had much forethought in general, clearly, but it's just so baffling to me. Now, I mentioned a couple cases there, the Turpin case and the Ferreter's case. The Ferreter's case is actually very interesting, but that case, the Ferreter case, happened out of Jupiter, Florida. And I did do a video on YouTube about this case, so I will link that in the show notes below so you can either listen to it or watch the video. But he and his wife were accused of
of holding their adopted son captive in an eight by eight room for months and this case was horrifying too because again it begs the question rather than continuing to breed children why are you outright adopting children and then locking them in a room and it's sick and they were trying to claim some sort of defiant disorder and i'll i have to go back and get the exact name that they were using on that but i'll link it in the show notes but it was a horrible case
But then also the Turpin case, which I'm sure most of my listeners are familiar with because that is now a household name. Luckily, Jordan, the girl who saved all of her siblings essentially, is like apparently thriving. She's all over TikTok. She seems to be very happy. From what we know, all of the kids are doing better. There was a really big issue in the beginning. So just to kind of summarize, they were in a house with their parents who they were just harassing.
horrific to them. There were chains on the beds. They would taunt them with food. They would leave food out on the counter but not allow them to eat it. And they would leave it just taunting them on the counter so long that maggots would come into it. They would feed them disgusting things. There was filth. There was feces. I mean, you name it, that's what happened.
So after Jordan escaped one night and called for help, everybody was essentially rescued. However, they were put back into different care facilities, different foster families and such. And a handful of them ended up going to a foster family that continued to abuse them all over again. And not just horrific torture and abuse, but actually make them relive the experiences that they had with their biological family. I will link those episodes in the show notes below too because it is fascinating.
fucking haunting and disgusting. These people.
fostered these kids who were finally probably thinking, oh my gosh, we're finally going to a home where it's not going to be as horrible as the home we came from. We're being rescued. We're being saved. Hopefully we'll be loved. Not only do they inflict their own form of sexual abuse, physical abuse, taunting, emotional abuse, but they also would make them do like reenactment circles of what they went through at their biological home. Make them relive it. It was really sick and deranged. Honestly, truly awful.
It was one of the most horrifying things I've heard. So much so that I actually was... It's in Riverside County, which isn't far from me. I was about to go there for the hearing of this foster family and sit front row and like...
I don't, not that I could do anything. It's just, it's so infuriating. I always get worked up about these cases and I know a lot of you guys do as well. So I'm curious to know what you guys think about cases like this. So if you're listening to this on YouTube, comment and let me know or let me know on the review section if you're listening to this on the podcast app.
This case was a hard one, so I appreciate you sticking with me because as you know, some of these cases that are the hardest to get through are the ones that really do need the most attention and awareness. So I appreciate you sharing the link to this podcast, the link to this video, because the more awareness that we can generate, hopefully the more likely there is for change in situations like this. Change with the system, change with the families, I mean, you name it.
so please take a quick moment share this podcast with somebody share the video over on youtube with a friend just let's create as much awareness as possible guys because these cases they're happening way too frequently as a reminder if you are listening to this on a podcast please take a quick 30 seconds to leave a rating on your way out and if you have an extra five seconds please just type a quick review what you like about this podcast what you want to see more of in the
pivot and evolve and give you the content that you're looking for.
All right, guys, thanks again. I appreciate you sticking with me. I will see you bright and early on Thursday for Headline Highlights, where we talk about all of the breaking updates in true crime this week and new cases that have emerged this week and when we break it all down over there. So I'll see you bright and early on Thursday for that. And if you want even more true crime and you're looking for a further true crime fix, we also have our bonus episodes every single Friday. They are ad-free. You can access them either through the Apple Podcast app
or through Patreon, which is in the links below. So there you go. I will be talking with you guys again very, very soon. And thank you again for sticking with me today. I know it was not easy. All right, guys, I am signing off and I will talk with you soon. An official message from Medicare.
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