Vile couple put 3 orphaned kids through prolonged physical and emotional abuse in West Virginia house of horrors: sheriff

A vile couple allegedly put three orphaned children through years of “prolonged physical and emotional abuse” in their “real-life house of horrors,” according to a West Virginia sheriff.Erica Lynn Sayre, 45, and her husband, Clifford Gale Sayre, 46, tormented the three children about the deaths of their biological parents when they weren’t regularly beating them bloody or starving them in their home in Evans, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.The children told investigators that over several years they were repeatedly hit, strangled, deprived of food and water, denied access to the bathroom — and even had dirty cat litter dumped in their beds and dog feces put on their personal belongings, Sheriff Ross H.Mellinger said.They were even told they’d be killed if they reported the abuse, according to the sheriff, who called it “a real-life ‘House of Horrors.'”“I can’t go back to that home,” one of the visibly emotional kids told investigators — while another said she “just wants a normal life,” according to the sheriff.Erica — who smiled in her mugshot — was behind most of the physical abuse, causing “excessive bleeding injuries” by hitting them with household objects, while her husband stood by, according to officials.One of the kids told investigators that “mom hits us and Gale lets her,” the sheriff said.

If the children had any conflicts with Erica, she would force them to run barefoot on a gravel driveway as punishment.One child recalled that Clifford restrained her hands while Erica forcibly cut her hair with a razor blade, leaving her with visible injuries.The children were covered in scars consistent with their accounts, which also corroborated one another, Mellinger said.Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

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