Vancouver couple convicted of beating, starving twins
VANCOUVER, Wash. -- After deliberating seven hours, a Clark County jury convicted a Vancouver couple of starving and beating their adopted twins.
Jeffrey Weller was found guilty of 14 of the 16 assault and imprisonment charges against him. Sandra Weller was found guilty of nine of the 10 charges.
After hearing the verdict, Jeffrey Weller slowly shook his head and looked down. Both Wellers showed no dramatic reaction upon hearing the verdict. When they were escorted from the courtroom by custody officers, Jeffrey Weller told reporters: "I did not do it and we will appeal this."
After receiving the case at the end of the day Thursday, the jury spent all of Friday deciding on more than a dozen charges. They rendered their verdicts just after 4 p.m.
Jurors heard during the four-day trial that the Wellers starved their teenage twins, only feeding them a porridge substance once a day. If the twins snuck food, they were beaten with a wooden board, prosecutors said.
Authorities recovered the board – which had a reddish brown substance on it consistent with blood spatter – and it was a key piece of evidence during the trial.
The defense maintained the Wellers did not mistreat their children. Attorneys said the twins had mental issues that caused them to hoard food and that they constantly had to be disciplined.
On the stand, Jeffrey Weller admitted to hitting one of the twins once, but said it was out of discipline.
The case surfaced in October 2011 when one of the twins snuck a note to a counselor that detailed the abuse.
My heart goes out to those poor teens. Â No matter what issues they had, beating with a board is NEVER acceptable. Â If there's any justice, these 2 so-called "parents" will go to prison for a long time. Â A cat would make a better parent than these 2 combined.
Wonder what tax credits/rebates this couple got as well as any benefits from the state from adopting these kids.Â
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You even wonder why evil people adopt or act as foster parents for kids? Money.Â
 @lakeview That is exactly right.
If they didn't do it, who did? Â Liars.
Sounds like the beatings I took from the Nuns and the Brothers at Catholic school in the 60's. A leather strap was their choice of torture.
@Telman@
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So true!! It was a whole different world back then. Parents could beat the living snot out of their kids, and if anybody tried to intervene (not that anybody ever did), they were told to mind their own business â by the parents AND the authorities.
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I remember an incident a few years ago where a child threw a screaming tantrum in the store and the mother took the kid back to the car and smacked her. Â A witness in the parking lot called 911, and before you could say âchild abuseâ, the cops had her spread-eagle on the pavement being strip searched while Child Protective Services whisked the kid away to safety.
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Flash back to the 1960âs. My mother and I were walking toward the same store in the same parking lot when she witnessed a similar incident. But she didnât dial 911. Instead, she high-fived the other mother and then turned to me and said: âAnd if I hear so much as ONE PEEP out of you in this store, youâre going to get it TWICE AS BAD as that kid just got it. Understand?â
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Like I said, itâs a whole different world now. (Thank goodness!)
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(OK, this story has been embellished, but only slightly.)
These two need to be subjected to Unspeakable horrors in the Penitentary. Just like they subjected the children to horrors, They should have to begin everyday wondering how and if they are going to survive.
Defense attorneys said, "the children had mental issues that caused them to hoard food." Perhaps they failed to specify that the cause-effect was: They were starved, therefore they hoarded food and had mental issues. Not the other way around for heaven's sake!
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Not so smiley now are they? Ha!
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Sadly the twins are apparently teens, so much of the damage is done. I truly hope that they can get immediate professional help so they can begin to heal.
If you do not have patience, if you do not have the mental capacity, if you do not have a giving heart--don't have or take on children. If they had mental problems, isn't the sensible thing to do is seek the help of professionals?
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I hope these kids can recover and lead productive lives.
@PollywannacrackerÂ
I think any mental health issues these kids may have were CAUSED by their parents.
Ugh....... I try so so so hard to always think of the best in people, but being a parent of twins, this story drives me mad.Â
 @Just my say Being a human this story drives me mad. There were MANY times this could have been stopped but was allowed to continue. Get ready to pay the bill because the State's going to lose another few million dollars in the civil case.
no sympathy from me either
I hope all the involved children can come out of this with a decent life. These two will  rot in prison many years for this and I hope it's hell. Unbelievable.
Praying they get that same treatment in prision. Losers!