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Bonneville Seattle is raising funds for the construction of a second Fisher House at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma and we need your help.Wash. couple sentenced for adopted twins' abuse
March 20, 2013 @ 8:35 pm
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) - A Vancouver, Wash., couple convicted of starving, beating and imprisoning adopted twins have been sentenced to prison.
On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Barbara Johnson sentenced Sandra Weller to 20 years and gave Jeffrey Weller a 21-year term.
The Columbian reports ( http://is.gd/MRknyq) the teenage twins sat in the courtroom's front row.
The Wellers were convicted Feb. 8 of multiple counts including second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful imprisonment and third-degree assault causing bodily harm,
The couple say they were framed.
At trial, the twins and their adoptive siblings testified that the Wellers fed the twins only once a day with moldy food or bowls of canned vegetables served with shortening. The other four children got hot prepared meals.
Jurors were told that the twins were punished if they refused to eat what they were given.
The Columbian says the six children in the family were removed from the home in 2011.
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Information from: The Columbian, http://www.columbian.com
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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