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NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Stephanie Grabowski, 40, and Mark Russell, 45, were indicted on Monday, June 26, facing multiple criminal charges including kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, child endangerment, and burglary.
The charges stem from a harrowing incident where two children, aged three and four, were discovered locked in a room smeared with feces, naked, and eating bits of a filthy foam mattress due to starvation. New York City police officers and city workers made the distressing discovery on May 3 when they rescued the children from an apartment in the Mitchel Houses, a public housing complex.
Disturbing discovery at Mitchel Houses
Representatives from the Bronx District Attorney's Office described the scene as an "abused and neglected house of horrors." Grabowski and Russell, who were squatting in the apartment, were apprehended when officials went to clear the property and stumbled upon the malnourished and bruised children. Prosecutors revealed that the girls were found in a room covered in feces, and their hunger was so extreme that they resorted to eating pieces of a foam mattress.
The indictment includes charges of second-degree kidnapping, second-degree unlawful imprisonment, child endangerment, and second-degree burglary against both Grabowski and Russell. Additionally, Grabowski faces two counts of first-degree kidnapping in connection with another case, although it remains unclear if the victims, in that case, are the same children involved in the current case for which she was indicted.
Details about the appalling situation
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D Clark expressed shock and dismay at the situation, stating, "The defendants allegedly kept these little girls in a house of horrors. They illegally occupied the apartment and left the children alone without food or clothing. Fortunately, police rescued the girls, and a nurse discovered signs of abuse for which they are being treated. The situation is beyond the pale." Authorities discovered the dire living conditions when New York Police Department officers and Field Intelligence Detectives arrived at the apartment on May 3 to remove squatters. The apartment was found in deplorable condition, with urine and feces scattered throughout, and a lack of sufficient food, amenities, clothing, and clean diapers.
Inside the room where the children were confined, the doorknob of one bedroom was tied with a cord to the adjacent closet door, indicating their imprisonment. Officers had to forcefully enter the room and were met with a distressing sight. The young girls were lying on a sponge mattress on the floor, surrounded by feces, dirty diapers, and garbage. Shockingly, one of the children was observed eating fragments of the soiled mattress.
Arrest and warrant against Grabowski and Russell
Grabowski and Russell were immediately arrested, and it was discovered that Grabowski had an outstanding Family Court warrant for absconding from the Administration for Children's Services in November 2022. The children were taken to the Children's Advocacy Center on May 4, where a nurse examined them and alerted the Bronx Child Abuse Squad.
Subsequent examinations at Jacobi Medical Center on May 5 revealed significant bruising and marks in various stages of healing, as well as rashes throughout the children's bodies. They were also found to have difficulties walking, standing, and speaking. During their arraignment before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio, Grabowski's bail was set at $150,000 cash or a $400,000 bond, while Russell's bail was set at $100,000 cash or a $200,000 bond. Grabowski and Russell are scheduled to appear in court again on September 13, 2023, as per the Daily Mail.
