VANCOUVER, Wash. — A Vancouver couple convicted of starving, beating and imprisoning adopted twins have been sentenced to prison.
On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Barbara Johnson sentenced Sandra Weller to 20 years and gave Jeffrey Weller a 21-year term.
The Columbian reported that the teenage twins sat in the courtroom’s front row.
The Wellers were convicted Feb. 8 of multiple counts including second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful imprisonment and third-degree assault causing bodily harm,
The couple say they were framed.
At trial, the twins and their adoptive siblings testified that the Wellers fed the twins only once a day with moldy food or bowls of canned vegetables served with shortening. The other four children got hot prepared meals.
Jurors were told that the twins were punished if they refused to eat what they were given.
The Columbian said the six children in the family were removed from the home in 2011.
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