German police are investigating a couple who reportedly kept their son at home in a village near the Bavarian town of Bayreuth for 30 years.
The man, who is now 43, has rarely been seen since he stopped attending school at the age of 13.
Police say he looked neglected but not underfed, and stress they may not press charges.
His mother told local media "he didn't want to go out", and she had only wanted to protect him.
Police were alerted to the mysterious case by a tip-off last month, and took the man from his home to hospital.
He has not been identified because of strict German privacy laws.
They said it was more likely to be a family tragedy than a criminal case.
"We do not know exactly since when the man lived there without regular contact with the outside world, nor do we know what the situation really looked like, for example, whether or not he had the opportunity to leave the premises," police spokesman Juergen Stadter told journalists on Tuesday.
In a later briefing on Wednesday police said the evidence suggested the man had been able to move freely through the house, and had not been chained.
When the emergency services came to collect him, he was reportedly unwilling to come.
"He obviously felt well protected there," said Mr Stadter.
'I cannot repeat such horrible words'
The man's mother, 76, said she and her husband had never locked him in. "He just didn't want to go out", she told local journalists.
He was bullied at secondary school, she said, and she had just wanted to protect him.
No comments:
Post a Comment