“Ghost children” were found on an Italian farm (3 photos)

Due to the threat of flooding, residents of the Lauriano district in the province of Turin had to be evacuated. And on a remote Italian farm, rescuers encountered something that shocked even experienced ones. In a half-destroyed house, they found a nine-year-old boy and his seven-year-old sister, the children were in diapers and communicated only in their primitive language.





The children, believed to have been born in Germany, had never been to a doctor or attended school. Dirty, scared and unknown to local authorities, they became a sensation in the Italian media. Journalists called them "ghost children."

Wearing diapers, the boy and girl communicated in a primitive language that no one but themselves understood.



When police arrived, they found a house littered with rotting furniture, rusty trampolines, and piles of trash. The family lived in poverty and did not observe even basic hygiene.

The father, a reclusive 54-year-old Dutch sculptor, was adamant about keeping the children hidden from the public.

"I love my children and I wanted to protect them," he told Corriere Torino, adding that fears about infections, including Covid, had forced his family to isolate.

He claimed that his son and daughter had access to laptops, musical instruments, and even went skiing and horseback riding, but authorities quickly realized that the children could neither read nor write.



A Turin court has ordered the children to be removed from their family.

"There are facts that indicate that the minors are deprived of proper care by their parents or relatives," the judge said.

The children's 38-year-old mother, also from the Netherlands, is homeless and showed little concern when her son and daughter were taken away.

Mayor Mara Bakkolla said the incident had shaken the community.

"It's not an easy case," she said. "But now the children can have a decent life."

The official described the father as "very withdrawn" and not speaking Italian.

Locals knew the farmhouse had changed hands, but no one had heard or seen the children.

The children are currently in state care and a foster family is being considered.