Parents Locked Autistic Twins in Room Without Furniture, Toilet: Police

A Rockville couple face abuse charges for reportedly locking their autistic twin sons in a basement room without furniture or access to a toilet to use as a bedroom for the past six years, say authorities.

The 22-year-old brothers, who do not speak, were found inside the locked room July 17 when Montgomery County Police were searching their house as part of a drug investigation. Police said the room reeked of urine and had only one window too small for the men to get out through in an emergency.

“It’s sad. Nobody deserves to be treated like that,” neighbor Bruce Drennan told The Washington Post.

John Weaver Land, 57, and his wife, Janice Elizabeth Land, 59, both of the 1600 block of Crawford Drive in Rockville, are the parents of the victims. Both Lands were charged with two counts of second-degree vulnerable adult abuse and two counts of unlawful intentional detention, in violation of common law. 

The couple told police their sons had left the house in the past and could not provide for their own daily needs. The twins reportedly  communicate by pointing to objects that they want, the Post says.

John Land said he and his wife recently removed furniture from the basement bedroom because it was soiled. The parents said they planned to buy new furniture when they could afford it.

According to the Post, John Land told police he usually locked the twins in at 10 p.m. and let them out when he got up at 4:45 a.m. When detectives asked Land how he would know if the sons needed something, he said the pair would eventually make enough noise that he knew he needed to check on them. 

Detectives were alerted to the alleged abuse after a search warrant for a drug investigation was executed at the residence. During the search of the house, authorities found the brothers locked in the room by an external dead bolt.

The single light in the room didn’t work, police said, while a radio played loud music. There were no working smoke or carbon monoxide detectors in the house.

The brothers were taken to an area hospital for evaluation and are now in the care of Adult Protective Services.

The couple was released July 18 on $75,000 bond for John Land and $50,000 bond for Janice Land.

The Montgomery County Police Department offers an autism outreach program. To learn more about the services provided for the autistic community, contact Officer Laurie Reyes at Laurie.Reyes@montgomerycountymd.gov. If abuse of any kind is suspected, call 9-1-1.