Dutch couple on trial for 'caging' and 'abusing' foster daughter, 10
The Peninsula
The Hague: A couple went on trial on Thursday accused of locking their 10 year old foster daughter in an electrified cage and throwing her downstairs,...
The Hague: A couple went on trial on Thursday accused of locking their 10-year-old foster daughter in an electrified cage and throwing her downstairs, in a harrowing case that has shocked the Netherlands.
The girl was taken to hospital in May, unconscious, in a filthy state, with several broken bones and badly malnourished, reportedly weighing just 22 kilogrammes (50 pounds).
She emerged from her coma in July but is unable to sit up independently or communicate, prosecutors said as the trial opened in Rotterdam.
They said she would probably need intensive medical care for the rest of her life.
The couple, named only as Daisy and John, both 37, stand charged of attempted manslaughter for throwing or pushing her down the stairs, among other charges.
