New Jersey police arrested three women on Wednesday who allegedly put a shock collar on a 13-year-old girl and starved her.
On March 1, the victim reportedly rang a neighbor’s doorbell and asked for help. The neighbor, Karen Villec, told WPVI that she answered the door and was met by the girl — who handed her a vibrating dog collar.
“I go, ‘Is your dog loose?’ She said, ‘No, they shocked me! They shocked me!’ And she put up her neck and I saw the two marks from the dog collar,” Villec recalled.
Villec reportedly tried to comfort the girl as her husband called 911.
The girl, who was hospitalized, reportedly told police that Kelly Mennig, 42, Rachel Mennig, 20, and Rebecca Mennig, 22, started putting the collar on her for being bad in October 2018. Camden County prosecutors said someone who also lived in the home corroborated her story, according to NJ.com.
The Mennigs are also accused of withholding food and clothing from the girl for three years. The Daily Beast reported that Kelly and Rebecca Mennig denied using the shock collar on the victim.
A day after the 911 call, Kelly, Rebecca, and Rachel Mennig were charged with aggravated assault, child abuse, and neglect.
Authorities have not disclosed how the Mennigs and the victim are related. WPVI reported that the girl has been removed from the home.
The Mennigs are due in court on Friday.
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[Featured image: Kelly Mennig, Rachel Mennig, and Rebecca Mennig/Facebook]
