Malnourished Teen Twins Flee Home After Being Handcuffed, Forced To Eat Feces: Cops

Teenage twins who were allegedly handcuffed and abused by their mother and her boyfriend have escaped from a home in Cypress, Texas.

After the teens escaped from captivity Monday, an Amber Alert was issued by the Harris County Precinct 5 Constable's Office for five of their siblings, all aged between 7 and 14. The children were later located safe, reported by NBC News.

An investigation began after the unidentified 16-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, approached their neighbors asking for help. The teens said they were held against their will at their home by their mother.

The twins had injuries on their wrists from handcuffs and the boy had a fractured bone. The siblings were hospitalized after the neighbor called the cops.

"They had marks on their wrists, pretty deep marks from the handcuffs. They were bruised and malnourished in our eyes," said Jeff McShan, a spokesman for Harris County Constable Precinct 5.

The siblings reportedly did not know their address as they moved into the locality only recently. They were handcuffed inside a utility room of the house and forced to drink their urine and eat their feces, police said.

The officials took several hours to locate the house Monday. When police eventually found the address, the children's mother, 40-year-old Zaikiya Duncan, and her 27-year-old boyfriend, Jova Terrell, had already left. She also took her five other children with her.

An Amber Alert was issued Tuesday for the five siblings and it was later canceled after cops located them. Four of them were found safe at a relative's home near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The fifth child was with the couple when cops arrested them at a traffic stop in Louisiana, NY Post reported.

"The children were found at a relative's house and have been deemed safe by the Louisiana State Police. Their mother and mom's boyfriend are in custody and will be brought back to Harris County," McShan said.

All seven children are now placed in the custody of Child Protective Services. Police believe the children's 18-year-old brother might also be missing. However, his whereabouts are unclear.

The couple will be brought back to Texas this week to face first-degree charges, including causing injury to a child.

Duncan has a history of abuse, according to reports. Around 10 years ago, she was charged with cruelty to juveniles after school officials noticed bruises on her then-5-year-old child's body, which were likely caused by scalding water. Investigators also found signs of abuse on her two other children, who were then removed from the home.

However, it is unclear when Duncan got back custody of the children after the incident.