$1M bail for suspect in basement case

PHILADELPHIA (WCAU) - The adult daughter of the convicted murderer who allegedly orchestrated the kidnapping and imprisonment of mentally-disabled adults for profit has been arrested and held on $1 million bail in connection to the case, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

Jean McIntosh, 32, daughter of 51-year-old Linda Ann Weston, was arrested early Wednesday on charges of kidnapping, conspiracy, unlawful restraint, simple assault, burglary, and other related charges.

McIntosh is a co-conspirator in a horrific case in which four mentally disabled people were found locked up in a tiny boiler room in a Philadelphia sub-basement, allegedly so their captors could cash their Social Security checks, the DA says.

McIntosh is the fourth person to be arrested in the case, along with her mother, Gregory Thomas, 47, and Eddie Wright, 50.

It was the landlord of the apartment building at 4724 Longshore Avenue in the Tacony section of the city who discovered the four people, who all have the mental ability of a 10-year-old, in a foul-smelling room that was so small an average adult would be unable to stand up straight in the room.

Police then found dozens of pieces of identification and power of attorney documents for the four victims, pointing to a wide-range fraud scheme.

The bizarre case became more complicated Tuesday when six children and four teenagers were removed from the care of Weston, all having signs of abuse and malnutrition.

Among the children and teenagers taken away was Weston’s niece, 19-year-old Beatrice Weston, who was reported missing in 2009.

“This is a very complicated case," Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey told the Inquirer Tuesday night. "This is a very sad story. It makes no sense. When you look at the kids, the psychological trauma is pretty apparent. It's some of the worst things I've ever experienced."

To add to the bizarre and horrific facts in the case, Weston was convicted of keeping 25-year-old Bernardo Ramos in the closet of her North Philadelphia apartment until he starved to death in 1981.

Reports from the 80s state that Weston and her sister, Venus Weston, beat Ramos with a hammer, tied him up in the closet, fed him only three times over two months until he died because he refused to pay child support for her sister’s unborn child. Weston only served eight years for the crime.

"This is a long-term case. It'll take some time," Ramsey said. "I wouldn't be surprised if we find other things along the way."