Family Reportedly Kept Mentally Ill Man in Chains for Past Seven Years
A man suffering from apparent mental illness has been found in a home where he had been chained the past seven years by his family, the newspaper El Norte reported Friday.
Authorities found Juan Martin Silva, 26, locked into a tiny room in the home in the town of Allende in northern Mexico.
The man’s mother, Rafaela Montalvo was quoted as saying her child had to be chained when he became violent.
“He was a normal boy up until age 18, when he began acting differently. Suddenly he started feeling afraid, look around walls for people he feared were following him,” said the mother.
A photo with the account showed the man naked, except for a blanket, seated on a bed in a tiny room and chained to the wall.
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