Woman Who Locked Daughter In Basement To Be Released; Husband Held For Psych Evaluation
UPDATE: (Aug. 3, 2018) A Lake County judge has ordered a woman charged with locking her 10-year-old daughter in her basement in Waukegan released on her own recognizance, and her husband kept in custody, pending a mental health evaluation.
Randy and Katherine Swopes were arrested last month, charged with unlawful restraint and child endangerment. Police and prosecutors said they kept their 10-year-old daughter locked in the basement, believing she was possessed by a demon.
Details from earlier coverage below:
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A North suburban couple, accused of keeping their 10-year-old locked in a basement because they believed she was possessed by demons, appeared before a judge Tuesday. CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reports Randy and Katherine Swopes chose to represent themselves in court.
They have already requested a new judge to hear the case and filed a motion to dismiss the case, all of which will be ruled at a later court date.
Randy and Katherine Swopes appeared before a Lake County Judge, asking the court to preserve all evidence collected.
The couple was arrested earlier this month after being accused of unlawful restraint and child endangerment, allegedly locking their 10-year-old daughter in the basement of their Waukegan home for at least a year. They said they believed she was possessed by demons and a threat to the entire family.
"She slept there and that was her bed. She stayed there, ate her food there," said the girl's brother.
CBS 2 got an inside look inside the young girl's living conditions. Her brother says the 10-year-old used a training toilet and slept on a cot supported by buckets, rarely leaving the confines of the basement. He says his parents made the decision to lock her in the basement for the family's safety.
"Then she was found with knives and other weapons like hammers and stuff in her room like stashed around places," he said.
More information regarding the Swopes family is being revealed, including possible warning signs.
A certified letter was sent from the Waukegan Public School District, dated October 21, 2016, requesting a birth certificate for the girl.
"If you do not present an official copy of the birth certificate to House 8 by October 31, 2016, I am required by state code to contact the Waukegan Police Department and report this case as possible child abduction," the letter stated.
Katherine Swopes replied with a three-page, hand-written letter accusing the school and a faculty member of harassing her and not giving her enough time to provide a birth certificate.
Swopes' letter said, "Once she placed the letter in the mail, its full intention was ill-motioned, not an error, nor mistake; I do not want or take her apologies. I want a report done to prevent harassment from the city of Waukegan in its various agencies."
The outcome of that dispute is unclear.
"That was the time they took them away," said a former neighbor, who doesn't want to be identified. The neighbor says it was at an apartment complex where the now 10-year-old girl was first taken away from the Swopes and placed into foster care at just four-days-old.
The Swopes were well known to the Department of Child and Family Services. At one point, all eight kids were taken away from them and then returned.
The Swopes will have another court appearance on Friday.