Three girls who told police they were held captive by their parents in a north-side home were kept in filthy conditions, fed sparingly, under constant video surveillance and subject to blaring music 24 hours a day, according to Tucson police and court documents.
The malnourished girls told investigators they weren’t allowed to use the bathroom very often but instead were forced to relieve themselves in bedroom closets, were beaten with hangers and wooden spoons, and were subject to other forms of physical and psychological punishment by their parents, court records show.
Police said the girls were kept isolated and that neighbors didn’t know they were living in the home.
On Wednesday, one day after the girls were discovered, Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor said investigators are facing a complicated case that could date back years involving the three siblings, their mother and stepfather. He said the two younger sisters, ages 12 and 13, were kept separate from their older half-sister, 17, in the home in the 2800 block of North Estrella Avenue.
“Evidence found in the bedrooms supports their stories,” Villaseñor said at a news conference.
He said the three girls are now in state protective custody, staying together in a group home.
Their mother, Sophia Leeann Richter, 32, and their stepfather, Fernando Hernandez Richter, 34, are in jail, facing numerous kidnapping and child-abuse charges. Fernando Richter is also facing one count of sexual abuse of a minor. A judge set bail of $100,000 for the stepfather and $75,000 for their mother.
The investigation began early Tuesday when two girls jumped out of a window of their home and ran for help, saying their stepfather threatened them with a knife, police said. A neighbor called 911.
The girls told police they were asleep when Fernando Richter broke into their bedroom. They told officers their sister was in the house. Officers found the 17-year-old girl locked in a room.
“They were quite dirty,” Villaseñor said, describing the house as filthy. “They were covered in dirt and grime.”
After they were medically evaluated, the girls were cleaned up, fed and reunited Tuesday night. Villaseñor said it was obvious from their reactions that the older sibling had not seen the younger siblings in some time.
He said the 17-year-old girl had a satchel in which officers found a journal that she had kept hidden from her parents. He said the teen had kept a detailed journal dating back about 1.5 years that detectives are reviewing. He said the girl also kept a picture of singer Enrique Iglesias in the satchel.
Villaseñor said the girl told officers the picture was her “most prized possession.” The photo was returned to the girl and she was “overjoyed,” he said.
Police and court documents detailed serious abuse allegations against their parents that included:
— When they had to go to the bathroom, the girls had to don a black cap, raise their hand and wait for their mother or stepfather to notice them on the video monitor and let them out of their rooms, according to the interim complaint filed with Pima County Justice Court. They were allowed to use the bathroom for short periods just once or twice a day, the girls told police. The rest of the time they had to urinate and defecate in their closets.
— Though the girls could lock their rooms from the inside, they were not allowed to leave, they told investigators, who found the bedroom doors wired from the outside with security alarms. They said they were fed basic meals. Moldy drinking bottles were found in the bedrooms, the complaint states.
— Police found surveillance cameras inside and outside the home, Villaseñor said. The bedrooms also were crudely soundproofed against loud music piped into at least one of the bedrooms where the girls were held. Officers found towels stuffed under the doors and ductwork sealed. Video cameras were pointed at the girls’ beds.
— A search of the home turned up wooden spoons, wires, electrical cords and wooden sticks, the complaint stated. “The girls disclosed that they were whipped numerous times over the years. They were hit with a hand, hangers, wooden sticks, wires, etc. … They would get struck until they bled on their buttocks and back.”
Villaseñor said Sophia Richter made a statement to detectives.
Court documents show that Sophia Richter “initially denied whipping her daughters and said that she disciplined them by taking away music and TV. When confronted about the injuries, she said she spanks them with wooden spoons,” the complaint stated.
In her statement to police, Sophia Richter said she and Fernando “each had two beers last night and went to sleep.” She said that the next thing that she knew, the police were at the door.
Police could find no evidence that any of the girls attended school. Sophia Richter told investigators she home-schooled her children, but there was no evidence of that, Villaseñor said. He said he believed Sophia Richter has “complete culpability” in the maltreatment of her three daughters.
The chief said that officers were previously called to the address on two occasions, but neither dealt with child abuse complaints. Child Protective Services would not release any information, citing privacy laws. However, a 2005 letter from CPS included with custody documents filed with the court shows the agency was in contact with the family.
Sophia Richter was granted custody of her two younger daughters after her May 2003 divorce from their father. But by December 2003, the custody agreement was modified, giving the father sole custody, court documents state.
By 2006, when Richter filed to regain custody, the two younger girls were living primarily with their paternal grandparents and primarily Richter’s mother, grandmother and sister were raising her older daughter, documents state.
In July 2006, affidavits were filed in Superior Court by the younger girls’ paternal grandparents, who were opposed to restoring custody to their mother.
“Sophia isn’t providing a healthy, stable home for any of her children,” the paternal grandmother wrote.
The records are incomplete. Sometime between mid-2006 and 2009, Richter regained custody of the girls.
