By JOSEPH G. LARIOSA

(© 2013 Fil Am Extra Exchange)

C HICAGO (FAXX/jGLi) – After more than two years of suffering from physical abuse, starvation and beatings from the iron hands of their adoptive parents, 16-year Filipino twins – a boy and a girl – left a note to their therapist, saying their father was beating them.  

Child Protective Services Social Workers Margie Dunn and Kim Karu of the advocacy Arthur D. Curtis Children’s Justice Center in Vancouver, Washington state, who were notified about the note, sought a backup from Vancouver police officers Sandra Aldridge and David Jensen to investigate a domestic violence report at the residence of Jeffrey Wayne Weller and wife, Sandra Doreen Weller, at the 14100 Block of 17^th Court NE in Vancouver on Oct. 7, 2011.

COUPLE TO GET “SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER SENTENCE”

B ut Richardson added the Wellers “could receive substantially higher sentence because the jury found aggravating factors” when they are sentenced on March 12.

Sandra Weller adopted the Filipino twins when they were two years old some time in 1997 in California when she gave birth also to a pair of twins, also, a boy and a girl, who both died stillborn. Sandra was still married then to Tim Graf and they later broke up, leaving Sandy a single mom to take care of her child with Tim and the Filipino twins, who never recalled “any better times or good old days.”

In 2005, Sandra met Jeffrey, who also had two children from his prior relationship, and together Sandra and Jeffrey had a biological child.

The male Filipino twin, known only as “C.J.T,” and his twin sister, known only as  “C.L.W.”, and are now 17 years old, feel that they were not treated like the biological kids.

He calls Sandra the “more dominant parent in the home” while Jeffrey was Sandra’s “puppet.”

A typical day for the twins started at 6 p.m. when they went to bed. They made sure that they were not taking a lot of liquids because they could not get out of their bedroom to go to the bathroom. Their bedroom, which had no bathroom, no lights and no electricity, could only be unlocked from the outside. A pounding on the door at 4:30 in the morning would rouse them from bed to start their chores as the rest of the children, except two, prepared to attend public school. The children were eating while the twins did their chores.

Afterwards, the twins, who were not sent to school, were told to get back in their room even without eating.

During daytime, because their room had no clock, they could only tell the time from the shadows of the trees thru a window, which they could not open because it was locked.

Sometimes the male twin slept on the floor in the bedroom of two other boys “for show in case CPS or somebody came to the residence.”

1” X 2” X 42” STICK

If the twins messed things up, Jeffrey would use a “stick (1”X2”X42”) that was more long and slender” to beat them up. The beating count was from 20 to 30. When the stick started to fall apart, Jeffrey would replace it. There had been four sticks that the male twin could remember.

The twins were usually fed once a day. When they ate, they were standing. While the rest were seated.

When the twins got into their room, they were searched for food that they stole from the cabinets. When they got out of their room, they were also searched for empty cans or containers from food they had stolen.

When they were caught with food, the female twin took the blame. Punishment was usually a beating with the stick for both of them before Jeffrey would go to work to his graveyard shift. It was followed by hours of lecture and a broken-record question that they had to answer: “Why did Michael and Brenna (the stillborn twins) have to die, but you lived when your Mom wanted you dead?”

When the male twin would answer, “I don’t know,” Sandra would say, “I don’t know doesn’t cut the mustard.”

The twins were not allowed to seat on the couches or tables because they are “skuzzy.” They were allowed to bathe every one or two weeks usually before a visit to a doctor or therapist.

Two weeks prior to the visit of the CPS and the Vancouver police, the twins were caught sneaking food to their room. The female twin used “Oneida” silverware to load the food they stole and took it in their room.

When Jeffrey got home from work at about 6 a.m., Jeffrey punished the female twin by beating her with a stick for 20 to 30 times. When Jeffrey woke up at 5 p.m., Jeffrey resumed the punishment for the same offense.

The stick with blood traced by DNA from victims was presented as evidence as did the bike lock.

“STOPPED MAKING SOUNDS AND APPEARED NOT BE BREATHING”

J effrey hit her with a bike lock/cable that he used to lock the refrigerator and pushed her down to the floor. When she fell with her hand and knees, Jeffrey stood over her, grasped her neck with both hands, and shook her by the neck.

The male twin noticed that the female twin “stopped making sounds and appeared not be breathing.” Sandra hit Jeffrey on the back and told him to stop.

Jeffrey backhanded Sandra and told her not to interfere. Sandra told Jeffrey she was just trying to keep him out of jail. Jeffrey replied back that ‘this would be worth it.”

Following the strangulations, the female twin had bruises on her neck in the shape of fingers. She was coughing and choking after Jeffrey let her go and she spoke with a raspy voice for hours.

After the strangulation, the twins purposely talked loud enough for Jeffrey to hear that they planned to report the abuse to the CPS or someone to stop Jeffrey from further beating them. It worked for about two weeks leading to their visit to their therapist on Oct. 6, 2011.

Because they were worried that Jeffrey would still make good their threat to beat them, the twins decided to leave a note on a chair in the therapist’s office, hoping the therapist would make the report.

When asked where he got the idea to leave a note, the male twin said because Sandra was always watching a lot of TV program, “Law and Order,” he often eavesdropped and enjoyed watching it if he could. From one of those episodes, he heard that a teacher or therapist was required to report child abuse.

Sandra rarely called the twins by their names. She called them “the Filipinos.” She also called him “faggot” and called her “whore.”

The twins are now in the care of the state. While Sandra’s child with Tim Graf is now under Graf’s custody, the rest are in the custody of the state.

The Wellers denied the charges against them and are appealing the adverse ruling. (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)  # # #