On June 11, 2001 police entered the mobile home of Barbie and Ken Atkinson after Ken showed a neighbor that they had been keeping their 8 year old daughter, Lauren Kavanaugh, in a 4x9 closet for 5 years. When police saw Lauren, she was severely malnourished, only weighing 25.6 pounds, the size of a toddler, with matted, lice-filled hair and obvious signs of severe abuse. It was a shock that she even survived, but she lives with the constant trauma of the abuse, and her case is one of the most severe of child-abuse ever seen.

Farwell, Scott. Interactives: The Girl in the Closet. The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved from: http://res.dallasnews.com/interactives/2013_October/lauren/#.XqO17vaSlPZ

Farwell, Scott. 'My life hasn't ever been normal' The story of the girl in the closet-in brief. Retrieved from: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2018/12/20/my-life-hasn-t-ever-been-normal-the-story-of-girl-in-the-closet-lauren-kavanaugh-in-brief/

Lockett, John. (2017, January 26). Horrifying ordeal of girl raped, tortured, ... Retrieved from: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2709088/horror-ordeal-of-girl-raped-tortured-live-in-filthy-cupboard-for-five-years-from-age-of-three/

Vries, Lloyd. (2002, December 13). Closet Girl's Stepdad Gets Maximum. Retrieved from: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/closet-girls-stepdad-gets-maximum/

Emily, Jennifer. (2019, February 28). 'Girl in the Closet' Lauren Kavanaugh Indicted after Admitting she sexually assaulted a teenage girl. Retrieved from: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2019/03/01/girl-in-the-closet-lauren-kavanaugh-indicted-after-admitting-she-sexually-assaulted-a-teenage-girl/

Audio/Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x80u-8yI2GE&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h-C3ph1wWc#action=share

https://youtu.be/9x7we8rPxhI