Woman Held Captive in Philly Basement: Cops

Regina Bennett, 46, has been arrested
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 19, 2013 8:58 AM CDT
Special-Needs Woman Held Captive in Philly Basement
This is an undated photo released by the Philadelphia Police Department of Regina Bennett.   (AP Photo/Philadelphia Police Department)

It's the kind of story where you don't want the word "again" to come into play. But Philadelphia is once again in the news with the revelation that a woman with special needs was being held captive in a basement there. The Philadelphia Daily News reports that the discovery came in a roundabout way: Regina Bennett, 46, was arrested in the wee hours of Saturday morning after getting into an altercation with her neighbor; police were told there was a young child in her home, but when they searched it, they instead found a 36-year-old woman chained and zip-tied to a bed in "unsuitable conditions," reports MyFoxPhilly.

Bennett's relationship to the victim remains murky: While some outlets describe the women as cousins, others say Bennett was the woman's caretaker. WPVI reports that it spoke with the victim's sister, Alissia Robinson, who puts her mental ability at that of a 10-year-old and says police told her the 36-year-old was found naked. Robinson says her sister began living with Bennett in 2007, and that she hadn't seen her for a year following a fight with Bennett. Bennett is staring down a dozen charges, including aggravated assault, kidnapping for ransom, and neglect of care. (More Philadelphia stories.)

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