An Arizona couple who imprisoned their three daughters was convicted on three counts of kidnapping and child abuse Friday, according to the Inquisitr. Sophia and Fernando Richter, the mother and stepfather of the three girls, aged 12, 14 and 17, who were rescued in Nov. 2013, have been in jail since their arrest. Fernando was also convicted of two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The girls testified at the trial, telling of the horrors they suffered while being held prisoner for the last several years. They were removed from school, physically abused and made to use their closets as bathrooms, since they spent months in their rooms imprisoned.
The 17-year-old was separated from her younger sisters for the last two years in captivity, as HNGN previously reported.
None of the girls ever tried to escape, fearing that they would be killed if they tried. But one day, the two younger girls managed to escape through a window and alert the police, according to Reuters. The police were able to rescue the older sister, who was locked in a room.
The 17-year-old was losing her ability to speak when police found her after enduring such long-term isolation. All three sisters told the same tales to the jury during the trial, about music and static blaring through loudspeakers around the clock, being beaten, forced to march in place until exhaustion, fed rotten food, deprived of sleep and being watched through cameras fixed to the walls.
The jury is deliberating on the couple's sentencing.
