An Arizona couple was detained on Tuesday after officials said they imprisoned and abused their three daughters, NBC News reported.
Authorities became aware of the frightening situation after two of the girls, aged 12 and 13, escaped to a neighbor's house around 4 a.m. on Tuesday and told them they were being attacked by their stepfather with a knife.
Once the neighbors called police, they arrived at the girls' home and found the third sister, aged 17, locked in another bedroom. Officials said the two younger sisters were reportedly kept in a bedroom they shared for the past two years.
During a press conference later that evening, Capt. Mike Gillooly of the Tuscon Police said the girls were extremely malnourished and had not bathed in months.
"It was alleged by the little girls that they had been imprisoned in their bedrooms for approximately the last two years," Gillooly said.
"They were kept in filthy living conditions and alleged only being fed once a day," a Tucson police statement added.
The girls' stepfather, Fernando Richter, 34, was immediately arrested and booked in Pima County Jail for charges of kidnapping, sexual abuse of a minor, and physical and emotional child abuse.
Their biological mother, Stephanie Richter, 32, was also charged with kidnapping and physical and emotional child abuse.
All three sisters were removed from the home.
According to a report in the Arizona Daily Star, one of the family's neighbors said she didn't even know anyone was living there. Additionally, a second neighbor said she never saw anyone but heard the sound of children sometimes at night.
