http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/...lf-into-policeA man who allegedly held another man captive for six months inadvertently turned himself in by taking the victim to police.
Police allege Mervyn John Ferry beat, starved and forced 26-year-old Nathan Barnes to work as a cleaning slave for him and 46-year-old Paula Diane Morrison at their Gormans Hill home near Bathurst in NSW, the Sunday Telegraph reports.
Police say they only became aware of the situation when Ferry, 41, brought Mr Barnes to Bathurst police station on August 9 to seek medical attention for him.
It is alleged Mr Barnes had been assaulted with a baseball bat and was taken to hospital for injuries including fractured ribs, punctured lung and two black eyes.
"[Ferry] presented him with his injuries and said 'you better look at him'," Acting Inspector Lionel White told the Telegraph.
"He waited at the front of the station while we spoke to him."
Police say Mr Barnes was subject to physical and psychological abuse and weighed just 40kg (88 pounds!) when he was freed.
They were baffled as to how the man was kept captive for six months in the suburban home which had a low fence and was surrounded by other homes.
[...]
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/nat...-1225911055555Police yesterday charged Mervyn John Ferry, 41, and Paula Diane Morrison, 46, with a total of 27 offences, alleging the pair not only repeatedly assaulted their young boarder but also denied him medical treatment after bashing him with a baseball bat on Monday, August 9.
Police claimed that, instead of allowing him to see a doctor, Ferry and Morrison locked the man in a children's cubby house in the loungeroom of the home until the next day.
The young lodger reportedly moved in with the couple in February this year in a suburban Housing NSW home on the outskirts of Bathurst, NSW.
Police allege that his mobile phone was confiscated, he was detained against his will and was repeatedly assaulted.
He was also allegedly forced to perform all the cleaning duties, while being starved.
[...]
He was then rushed to Bathurst Base Hospital, from where he was taken by helicopter to Westmead Hospital.
It was there an extensive number of new and old serious injuries and fractures that had been inflicted over a long period of time, in one case with an iron bar, were identified.
[...]
I had six cleaning slaves and never had to beat or starve a one of them. I'm still upset they grew up and moved out. I don't think I will go this route to replace them, though.
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