Doorbell video shows malnourished Texas twin teens plead for help
Doorbell video shows Texan twins teens plead for help after escaping from an abusive home where they were handcuffed inside a laundry room and forced to drink their own urine.
A Texas mother reportedly charged with child abuse left her two neglected teenage twins out of videos she posted to TikTok showing her family dancing and goofing around.
News of the abuse surfaced after Ring video footage obtained by KHOU captured the emaciated-looking 16-year-old boy and girl escaping their home in Cypress and going door-to-door asking for help in the early morning.
Zaikiya Duncan, 40, and Jova Terrell, 27, were arrested in Baton Rouge earlier this week. Duncan is reportedly charged with injury to a child and aggravated assault in Harris County, according to KHOU, while Terrell is charged with continuous violence against a family member.
"Me and my Crew," Dunacan wrote in the caption of a 2020 TikTok video showing herself and her children dancing to the "Tootsie Slide" reads.
"Me and my Crew," Dunacan wrote in the caption of a 2020 TikTok video showing herself and her children dancing to the "Tootsie Slide" reads. (TikTok/ @zaikiyaduncan5)
A neighbor let the apparently abused twins inside her home when they went door-knocking and said she could tell they were "kids" who were "so skinny and so frail" and "looked like they had been through a lot," she told KHOU.
The teenager boy reportedly told medical staff at Texas Children's Hospital that Duncan once gave him 24 Benadryl tablets to put him to sleep and he ended up having a seizure. She lowered his dosage to 20 tablets after that day, according to court documents obtained by KHOU.
Abused Texas twins seen escaping their home in Cypress, Texas. (Saheed Olaiya / LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)
Duncan allegedly poured bleach down the twins' throats and on their genitals until it burned, the court filings allege. The twins were apparently handcuffed in the laundry room, severely abused and malnourished, not allowed to use the bathroom, and were forced to drink their own urine, a source told the outlet.
The pair was finally able to escape when the boy reportedly found the key to their handcuffs in his mother's purse and hid it in his mouth. They were able to free themselves from their home and escaped before asking neighbors for help — some of whom turned them down, unsure of their circumstances. The boy was shirtless and the girl used a grocery bag to cover herself, according to KHOU.
When the neighbor who spoke to KHOU eventually let them inside, she wrapped them in blankets, and they began to detail some of the abuse.
Before authorities arrested Dunacn and Terrell, the couple traveled from Texas to Louisiana with five of their children, including a 7-year-old, 10-year-old, two 12-year-olds, and a 14-year-old. The childrens' 18-year-old brother was also believed to be with them, according to Harris County Precinct 5 Constable Ted Heap. Authorities issued an Amber Alert for the five children at the time.
Neighbors said the family had moved into the Houston-area subdivision just two weeks ago. Deputies went to the home but found Duncan and Terrell had fled with five other children, ages 8 to 14, so an Amber Alert was issued. The couple was arrested in Louisiana with just one child with them. The others were later located at a relative’s home. All seven kids were placed in Child Protective Services custody.
Zaikiya Duncan, 40, and her boyfriend, Jova Terrell, 27, are charged with injury to a child. (Harris County Constable Precinct 5)
Duncan had been arrested for child abuse in the past in Louisiana, according to KHOU. Court records said her children were removed from the home back in 2012, but it’s unclear why they were returned.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office and Harris County Constable did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital.
Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
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