Malnourished teenagers found locked up in Australian home

Brothers, aged 17 and 19, reportedly discovered wearing nothing but nappies after father dies

Two malnourished teenagers were reportedly found locked inside a bedroom at a home in Brisbane after their father died suddenly.

Police were called to reports of a “medical episode” at a property in the northern suburb of Stafford on Wednesday morning, where they found the body of a 49-year-old man.

While at the scene, officers reportedly heard noises coming from behind a bedroom door and discovered a 17-year-old and 19-year-old, thought to be the man’s sons, locked inside.

The youngsters were said to be underweight and wearing nothing but nappies when they were found, according to the news.com.au website.

They are both understood to have non-verbal autism and are thought to have been cared for by their father alone for a number of years, Daily Mail Australia reports.

Paramedics assessed the brothers at the scene before they were taken to hospital.

Queensland Police is not treating the older man’s death as suspicious and a post-mortem examination is expected to take place.

Di Farmer, Queensland’s minister for child safety, described the incident as “horrific”.

Neighbours have described the squalid environment the youngsters reportedly lived in, claiming their living conditions deteriorated in recent years.

Pictures of the home’s back garden show items scattered across the grass, including clothes, toys, a microwave, paint buckets and a cardboard box.

Other images, reportedly taken by a concerned neighbour at the end of 2018, appear to show two boys wearing nappies playing inside a room which has dirt up the walls and a mattress on the floor.

Images captured by local media show neighbours dropping off floral tributes and a note attached to the property’s fence which reads: “We will miss you Pauly.”

One woman from the area, who said she babysat the two teenagers when they were younger, claimed the father had been told he did not have long to live.

Gayle Smith said she believed the father was also a “victim” and should have been given more government support.

She told Daily Mail Australia the man loved his sons but that he may have been “too ashamed to admit he couldn’t look after them anymore”.

“I’m just so sad that people are going to think the dad was a monster,” she added.