Wednesday, August 13, 2014
A Mississippi couple at the center of a manhunt that began in 2009 have been caught in Oregon.
Ramon and Janet Barreto were apprehended in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday. The couple was on the U.S. Marshals Service's list of top 15 most wanted fugitives. They are being held in an Oregon jail.
The Barretos are accused of illegally adopting children from Guatemala and torturing them. They were arrested in 2008 after a 2-year-old girl they adopted died.
After the 2-year-old was killed, eight other adopted children were found living in the roach and feces infested home. Federal agents say the children were duct taped to their beds, punched in the stomach, and their heads were forced underwater.
“Janet Barreto is a malicious individual who allegedly abused innocent children on multiple occasions and forced them to live in appalling conditions,” William D. Snelson, U.S. Marshals Service Assistant Director for Investigative Operations, said in a 2013 statement. “Through her alleged crimes, Barreto demonstrated a blatant disregard and lack of respect for life other than her own. Adopting children and bringing them to the United States only to abuse and neglect them is a horrific crime."
Following their 2008 arrest, the couple fled after being released on $450,000 bond. Investigators began pursuing them in 2009.
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