MADISON COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) – There’s no one home at 2328 Fletcher today because police arrested three people in the home Thursday.
Three people who police say had been holding 65-year-old Anna Turner, a victim of dementia, hostage.
Police say the woman was held in the home for at least six months by Luigi Amalfitano, his son Louis Amalfitano and Louis’s girlfriend Stephanie Cole, who admitted inviting Turner to come live with them.
The trio would only let her out of the house to accompany them as she cashed a monthly check which they kept. While inside the house, Turner was locked in a windowless utility room, her only furniture, a urine soaked mattress. She was given water in a bowl on the floor, food from the garbage, her only toilet a plastic grocery sack – hung on a doorknob and overflowing with feces.
Neighbors didn’t know she was there. One man, who walks by the house nearly every day didn’t want us to show his face.
“Obviously none of the neighbors knew about her or even cared,” he said.
Turner was only rescued after police responded to an anonymous call to the Adult Welfare office. Officers asked to look around in the house. Luigi Amalfitano first told police Turner was away at the store.
When police showed up, the suspects kept officers away from the kitchen. One of the officers kept pushing Luigi to open the door. Finally the officer opened the door and discovered Turner.
“They kind of kept them away from the kitchen area. The officer said what about this room here. It was kind of a utility room with a hasp lock He said there’s nothing in there. The officer opened the door and out popped the victim
During her ordeal, Turner lost a third of her body weight from 120 pounds to 80. Court documents show she was often beaten by the father and son, and sometimes by juveniles also living in the home. Those children, ages 16, 12 and 18 months were also taken from the home.