Lavonia, Georgia (The Weekly Vice) -- Raymond Daniel Thurmond, a 36-year-old Lavonia, Georgia man has been arrested after police say he raped his wife and imprisoned his family in a filthy, roach infested, single-wide trailer for YEARS.
According to police, a woman and her four children lived in a prison of fear and squalor for three years. Trapped within the confines of a single-wide trailer, the family was held captive without food - in rooms that were cluttered with debris and crawling with thousands of roaches.
Police say Thurmond imprisoned his wife and children beginning in 2005 and did not allow them to go outside except for a single trip to North Carolina for Easter.
When investigators discovered the family, the home was so infested with roaches - police say they covered every part of every room. Roaches were found crawling through drawers, cupboards and furniture. Roaches covered the walls, clothing and carpet. Roaches were even found crawling through clumps of human hair that were strewn across the floor.
Authorities found stacks of dirty dishes, dozens of plastic soda bottles, empty cans of food and bags of garbage all strewn about the house. Investigators say they have filled two dumpsters full of trash and have yet to clear the home completely of it's debris.
The family was found malnourished and underweight. The children were deprived of food and medical attention. The only food found in the home was rotted fast food that had been discarded. One child was found with a serious medical condition that had gone untreated, according to Bruce Carlisle of the Lavonia police department.
Mrs. Thurmond, who's name has not been revealed, told police that she had been repeatedly raped over the years and was ordered to not clean house. The children (aged 14, 13, 12 and 9) had never been to school except for the 14 year old child who attend school until the 2nd grade.
Police say the family was discovered when the wife was able escape the home and call for help.
"Mr. Thurmond decided he needed to carry on an extra-marital affair. When he did that, his wife escaped and took the children with her," said chief Carlisle.
Authorities arrested Thurmond at work Wednesday morning on one count of rape, four counts of child abuse and five counts of false imprisonment. More charges are likely to come forth in the case, said chief Carlisle.
The Weekly Vice Opinion:
While this case has not yet hit the mainstream press to a large degree - this case is one of the most horrific abuse cases we've profiled in quite a while. We're cutting some details out of the article in the interest in keeping it as brief as possible, however the case file is absolutely huge.
We hope this twisted bastard enjoys the same kind of hell in prison that he imposed on this family. It will take a lifetime to recover from this level of horrid living.
Danny Vice
The Weekly Vice
http://www.theweeklyvice.com
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6 comments:
I don't mean to sound completely heartless but I can see two windows in the picture , why she and her children didn't find their way out of one , the first time he left is a mystery. He had to make money some how to afford the fast food . so why not leave when he does? Like I said I'm not trying to be "that guy" but Wtf? why let someone abuse you when all you had to do was open a window?
I'm unsure if those windows are boarded up or if that is just really ugly brown curtains - but police said the woman was suffering from battered wife syndrome.
I'll never understand things like that. How one person could intimidate another person so completely that they'd live their whole life as a victim in filth is beyond me
Uh, this story was reported on CNN and other national news sites in August 2008. There hasn't been any follow-up on the story because I don't think Ray Thurmond, the scumbag in question, has been brought to trial yet. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter what prison they throw this a**hat into--it won't be as bad as the hellhole he forced his family to live in for years.
Denali, you're correct. This story hit the wire on Aug 13th initially. I'm not sure how I missed it then, however it's a pending case - so we'll keep it up and try to update when there's a verdict.
Yes, I see the window's too. However, I have a different perspective on why she didn't flee with the children. All though I agree that these women should take whatever means necessary to escape, sometimes they are so scared of their partners that they do not see the writing on the wall or in this case the window as a means of escape. I feel sorry for the people here who some how think that it is her fault for not getting out, who believe that maybe she really wanted to live this way. You obviously have never been, or known anyone in such a situation. My mother was married to my father for 11 years. The 1st few years were "great," I suspect she didn't realize that he was slowly alienating her from her family, and close friends. He even got her to change churches because he wasn't 'happy' there (but more likely it was because the people at the church saw the signs of abuse and he thought that they might try to take away what was his). You see he viewed my mother as his property. So much so that by the time she got pregnant with my oldest brother, he had complete and total control of her life. He felt she was his property and he could treat her how ever he chose. By this point she had been pushed so far down she didn't even realize the dangerous situation she was in. That is when he started to beat and verbally abuse her. It was always her fault, he'd say 'if you had done as you were told, and not made me angry I wouldn't have done this to you. Or I wouldn’t have had to punish you.' So she tried to make him happy but nothing she did was ever good enough. The beatings and verbal abuse continued. She felt she had no where to turn and no place to run, (this was the 70’s and in our town there was no crisis center and domestic violence was not taken seriously by the police, it was seen as a family matter that should not have law enforcement involvement) because she had not been in contact with her family or friends in years. It took her a few more years beyond the birth of my brother and 3 more children but she finally got out when she got pregnant with my younger sister (there‘s 4 children from there marriage). My dad didn't want any more kids so he tried to "halt" the forth pregnancy by beating my mother into unconsciousness, My brother was able to find my grandmothers phone number in the phone book, he called her and she came right away. She took my mom to the hospital and the 3 of us stay with our aunt while she kept vigil over my mom at the hospital. The beating didn't work, and my sister was born full-term and thankfully healthy. It was at the time of her hospitalization that my mom finally found the courage to leave with my Grandmother's help, along with the help of her sisters and her father. My grandmother took us in and helped my mom threw her divorce, she was upset not specifically at my mother but upset that she (my grandmother) didn't recognize sooner that something was terribly wrong (my dad was a charmer, everyone out side of our house thought he was a great guy & most had a hard time believing he would do such a thing until they saw the burn scars, and the other scars and marks from the continual beatings). We didn't see my dad again for a blissful 7 years during which time my mom met fell in love with and married a great man. They have been married for more than 20 years and have 1 child (my youngest sister) together. However, she never sought any type of counseling for her self, and is still a very scared, unhappy lady, who trusts no one but her kids (not even her own husband). All though he tries, and loves her very much, she cannot bring her self to be as close to him as I think that they both would like. This is just my experience with abuse, and there are many, many other people out there with similar stories I'm sure, Both male and female. Please don't judge what you don't know, fear is a debilitating consequence to abuse. Please pray for the mother in this story, you condemnation will do her and her children no good. Thanks for listening to the prospective of the daughter of an abuse survivor.
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