When police arrived at a quiet New Jersey residence last May, they weren’t expecting to walk into a nightmare. Yet what they uncovered would leave even seasoned investigators shaken, and prosecutors describing the case in terms usually reserved for horror films.
The truth came to light only after an 18-year-old New Jersey girl managed to escape and reveal the torment she said she had been forced to endure for years. At the center of the allegations? Her own mother, Brenda Spencer, 38, and stepfather, Branndon Mosley, 41.
Image Source: Camden County Prosecutor’s Office of New Jersey
Prosecutors allege the teenager’s nightmare began in 2018, when she was abruptly pulled from school and hidden from the outside world. What followed was years of confinement and abuse that defy comprehension.
According to investigators, she was first forced to live in a dog crate for nearly a year, released only at their discretion. Later, she claimed she was locked inside a padlocked bathroom, shackled, and only freed when relatives visited. At other times, she was held in a bare room with nothing but a bucket in place of a toilet, while an alarm system was allegedly set up to alert her captors if she tried to escape.
New Jersey Teen Escapes Years Of Torture and Abuse
The teenager also told authorities she was beaten with a belt and sexually abused by Mosley. Her ordeal finally ended on May 8. After she escaped with the help of a neighbor, and shared her story with the police.
Days later, Spencer and Mosley were arrested and charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, and child endangerment. Prosecutors said Mosley could face life in prison if convicted, while Spencer could spend up to 30 years behind bars. Both have entered not guilty pleas, though prosecutors have discussed potential plea deals. 50 years for Mosley and 25 for Spencer, according to People.
“Disgusting excuse for a mother. She could have prevented it or saved her daughter, rather than subjecting her to the misery I’m sure the stepdad subjected her to,” writes one angry Reddit commenter.
“There is true evil in the world,” adds another.
When investigators searched the home, they found the girl had been living alongside dozens of animals, including dogs and chinchillas, as well as another child removed from school at Spencer’s discretion.
Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins described the disturbing case as “one of the most despicable” he had ever encountered. What looked like a quiet New Jersey home was really a twisted prison. One prosecutors deem the “house of horrors.” It has been exposed for what it truly was. A nightmare of chains, cruelty, and betrayal that no child should ever endure.
Lola Wheeler 
Nina Franklin 
Hunter Spears 
