A
man who was locked up by his father and step-mother for 20 years has
regained his freedom after policemen found him in an isolated room.
Armando de Andrade after he was saved
A 36-year-old Brazilian man who was allegedly held captive by his
father and step-mother in the basement of their home for at least 20
years has been rescued. The man gained freedom from captivity after
policemen in Brazil came across Armando de Andrade by accident while
searching homes looking for members of a drugs gang.
According to Dailymail,
the rescued man disappeared at age 16. He was reportedly spotted by the
officers tied to a bed in a tiny, windowless room of the house in Sao
Paulo.
He was found with 'enormous' toenails and fingernails and a long
beard which had grown to his knees, according to witnesses, while police
officers who found him described him as 'malnourished'.
Police believe he lived in virtual darkness for two decades in a
room without light fittings, while the floor was reportedly covered in
human faeces.
Police chief Celso Marchiori, who is investigating the case, said of the moment policemen found him: 'He
got up, very impaired and didn't speak a word. We took him outside and
he still didn't say anything. We didn't know if he was scared or
drugged.
'He wasn't able to identify us as police officers. We called for help and he was taken straight to hospital.
'It's difficult to believe he was in that place for 20 years.
It's a very insanitary place, he wouldn't have survived. There's no
light at all.'
Neighbours in the Guarulhos district of Sao Paulo, southeast
Brazil, recalled how Armando was a normal 16-year-old, who liked
skateboarding and playing the guitar, when he suddenly disappeared.
Never seen again by his friends, Armando's family always claimed he had moved to another part of Brazil and was 'doing well'.
One neighbour, Aparecido Rocha Brasil, said he believed the
teenager's father and step-mother decided to lock him in the room after
he started experimenting with alcohol.
He told Brazil's Globo News TV channel: 'Every teenager is
curious about these things. But for some reason, when alcohol entered
into his life, his family decided to take this approach, and kept him
locked up for all this time.'
Ederson Silva, a childhood friend of Armando, said: 'Whenever
we asked about him they always said the same thing, no, he's living in
the northeast, he's well, he's working, he's building his family there.
That's all they said to us.'
Armando's father Amancio de Andrade denied the allegations,
claiming that his son left home aged 18 and returned last week, and
asked him to lock him in the room as he wanted to get clean from drug
addiction.
He said: 'He's a grown man. He never got in touch. Then last
week I opened my door and he was there. He gave him food and let him
stay in the basement room. He asked me to lock the door so he couldn't
get out.'
Armando is being cared for in the psychiatric ward of a local
hospital, where he is reportedly too traumatised to speak. Police have
launched an investigation while Armando's father and step-mother, who
have not yet been arrested, have reportedly fled their home following
aggression from angry neighbours.
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