This is a Glass Box Media Podcast. Welcome to Human Monsters.

This is part two of the Child Abuse Series.

The Torture of Lauren Kavanaugh by the Parents from Hell, Ken and Barbara Atkinson.

Warning, be advised that this episode contains mature themes.

More importantly, it contains graphic descriptions of the neglect and physical, sexual, and emotional abuse of children that some may find disturbing.

The life of Lauren Kavanaugh is a tragedy,

with even the term Shakespearean being inadequate as an adjective.

She is now in her mid-20s,

for six years from the age of two until she was eight,

Lauren was confined to a closet by her mother and stepfather.

She was rarely fed by them, nor was she permitted to use the bathroom.

When she was removed from the closet, she was used as a human punching bag or as a sexual plaything.

She was rescued when a tip from one of the couple's friends

was given to the police.

If you find this story is disturbing in the introduction,

you will find the details even more shocking.

Lauren Kavanaugh suffers from destabilizing mental health disorders.

It's part of the fallout from having been raised by human monsters.

Lauren's story attracted media attention first at the time of her rescue when she was

dubbed the girl in the closet. Her story was covered in depth years later regionally in a segment on the Dallas Morning News and nationally on the Dr. Phil show.

This episode contains clips from those appearances.

Lauren Kavanaugh was born on April 12th, 1993 in Athens, Texas.

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