Woman locked in garage for 5 years by sick couple who ‘fed her porridge laced with soap’

A woman escaped after allegedly being held captive, starved, drugged, and forced to live in a tent and garage for years by an elderly couple. Police say she lost 50kg and was washed with bleach

Psychological abuse, forced captivity, and torture are just a few of the acts an elderly couple allegedly inflicted on a 45-year-old woman for five years.

The disturbing case unfolded earlier this month in the commune of Saint-Molf, in the Loire-Atlantique department, in France, when the alleged victim sought help from neighbours after escaping.

The woman reportedly knocked on the window of a house, stating that she had been held captive for several years in the neighbouring property occupied by two people: a 60-year-old woman and an 82-year-old man.

She claimed that she had initially shared the home with the 60-year-old woman, before being forced to live in cruel conditions.

The alleged victim said that she was made to live in a tent in the garden, before being locked in the garage once the 82-year-old man came to live at the residence, Nantes public prosecutor Antoine Leroy revealed on Wednesday (October 22). The 60-year-old woman was a nursing assistant at the Guérande hospital and, according to France Bleu, met the man at work before bringing him home.

Upon the man’s arrival, the 45-year-old woman’s life quickly turned into a nightmare, as she explained that the pair compelled her to “go live in the garden”, making her sleep on a deckchair either in the garage or in a tent.

The alleged victim would subsequently relieve herself in a chamber pot and plastic bags.

According to Leroy, she ate porridge mixed with dishwashing liquid. When police discovered her, she had reportedly lost 50kg.

The 45-year-old woman was reportedly forced to remain outside “sometimes for whole days, in the rain or cold”, and was not permitted to leave the property.

The prosecutor said: “She is a particularly psychologically fragile woman and therefore in a vulnerable state, otherwise she would probably have defended herself differently.”

He further noted that “She managed to leave the house a few times but she kept coming back.” The couple also faces allegations of psychological abuse and unlawful detention for allegedly making her live outdoors in “extremely precarious conditions”.

Leroy stated that the pair subsequently confined the woman and drained her bank account.

During their police custody, the suspects reportedly confirmed the material conditions in which the victim lived with them, while minimising their share of responsibility, according to the prosecutor.

An investigating judge has been assigned to the criminal charges of detention with torture or acts of barbarity committed from April 2022 to October 14, 2025 (a crime punishable by life imprisonment), as well as the offenses of fraudulent abuse of a person’s psychological or physical subjection from 2019 to October 14, 2025, and the offense of fraudulent abuse of weakness of a vulnerable person from 2018 to October 16, 2025, with requests for the pre-trial detention of both accused, daily French newspaper Ouest-France reported.

The alleged victim managed to escape her ordeal on October 14, when she was briefly permitted outside and sought help by ringing the neighbour’s doorbell at around 9:30pm. She reportedly took advantage of the man watching television to leave the outdoor enclosure where she was locked up.

The neighbours immediately contacted the police. When officers arrived, the woman had lost a staggering 50kg and was under the influence of drugs, Ouest-France reported.

A source revealed: “She was washed with bleach, there was dish soap in her food, she was drugged with medication.” Suffering from hypothermia and in a very weakened state, she was taken to the hospital by firefighters before being admitted.

The investigation was immediately entrusted to the Saint-Nazaire research brigade, as per Ouest-France.The investigations established that there had been no sign of life from the alleged victim since 2022.

Moreover, her bank accounts showed a sudden change in lifestyle and no transactions since that date, the last bank movements corresponding to transfers to the account of the accused, Leroy said.

Searches carried out by the gendarmes corroborated the explanations the victim had given them about her living conditions.

The investigation is still ongoing, but an initial search of the couple’s residence uncovered evidence that supports the woman’s allegations. During police questioning, the couple acknowledged “the material conditions in which the victim lived in their home, while minimising their share of responsibility.”

The pair, who were taken into custody late last week, have been charged with “kidnapping with torture or acts of barbarism,” an offense that carries a potential whole-life sentence. They also reportedly face charges of “fraudulent abuse of a person’s state of psychological or physical subjection” as well as exploiting the “weakness of a vulnerable person.”

Additionally, the man is currently under judicial supervision, while the woman remains in custody.

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