The Misery Machine - The Case of Shane + Crystal Robertson

Episode Date: October 16, 2023

This week, Drewby and Yergy head to Sellersville, Pennsylvania to discuss the case of Shane and Crystal Robinson, two parents living with their seven children in a rural trailer park. After a concerned neighbor called 911 after seeing two children breaking into an adjacent abandoned trailer, it's discovered that the Robinson family is hiding a dark secret within their double-wide... one filled with filth, vermin, and exotic wildlife.  Support Our Patreon For More Unreleased Content: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Join Our Facebook Group: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: misery_podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM #themiserymachine #podcast #truecrime Source Material: https://www.dos.pa.gov/ProfessionalLicensing/BoardsCommissions/Pages/Act-31.aspx https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23826410/robertson-affidavit.pdf https://lawandcrime.com/crime/mom-in-extreme-abuse-case-called-her-7-uneducated-kids-garbage-disposals-with-legs-and-surrounded-her-filthy-bed-with-animal-cages-affidavit/ https://www.google.com/local/place/fid/0x89c41f66c4b06263:0x492776d4be4c9fe1/photosphere?iu=https://streetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com/v1/thumbnail?panoid%3Dif5c_ioZrEAWlYGktf1Mjg%26cb_client%3Dlu.gallery.gps%26w%3D160%26h%3D106%26yaw%3D4.4263463%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100&ik=CAISFmlmNWNfaW9ackVBV2xZR2t0ZjFNamc%3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYhXeQhYxh0&ab_channel=ABC7Chicago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKncGBobLiU&ab_channel=6abcPhiladelphia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xikjjYCIbBc&ab_channel=CBSPhiladelphia https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064967283118 https://www.dos.pa.gov/ProfessionalLicensing/BoardsCommissions/Pages/Act-31.aspx

In the news, sick children found living in filth with dozens of animals and barely any food. On April 23, 2023, at approximately 1.30 p.m., officers Winfelter in Rosenfeld of the Penridge Regional Police Department responded to the Greentot manufactured home community located at 675 Roseanne Lane in Sellersville, Pennsylvania. According to official documents, a complaint had been called in regarding two juveniles entering an abandoned trailer and removing items from it. Upon their arrival, they found a 12-year-old girl in the front yard of 655 Roseanne Lane, which was directly next door to the aforementioned abandoned trailer. As the children in the story were never named, were going to refer to them by the codes that they were given by police and official documents.

They consist of the letters JV to signify that they are indeed a juvenile and a corresponding number to indicate the order of birth. The girl, known as JV3, was barefoot in wearing a sweatshirt when the hood pulled up over her head. She told the officers that she had social anxiety, explained that her parents told them not to go over to the abandoned trailer, and tried to take full responsibility for her actions. She went on to tell the officers that she was only sneaking in to take a blanket to keep her rats warm because her family didn't have much money left. Then, a 14-year-old girl, known as JV2, appeared from behind the abandoned neighboring trailer. She was wearing large workboots that were far too big for her feet, and had to have to be. on clothing that appeared to be dirty. The officers contacted the girls' parents, 47-year-old

Shane and 37-year-old Crystal Robertson, who arrived home within a half an hour. While waiting for their parents, JV2 and JV3 admitted to entering the Darylick trailer several times, and again, stressed that they didn't have very much money. Based on the appearance of both girls, officers requested to see the family's living arrangements. Upon entry to their trailer, Crystal told the officers they were going through so much food that she'd had to put a lock on the refrigerator. She claimed her children were stealing everything from her, as if your own children can actually steal food from you. She then went on to refer to her children as, and this is a direct quote, garbage disposals with legs. Crystal wasn't lying, at least about the

lock. There was indeed a bike lock holding the refrigerator door shut. As the officers needed to see inside the fridge, Shane went off to his vehicle to retrieve Crystal's purse, which was where the key to the lock was located. The lock was removed, very little food was found inside. Shane then called out to his 16-year-old daughter known as JV-1, who emerged from her bedroom at her father's request. The girl appeared on Kempt and Shane claimed that this was the last daughter that he had, but that in fact was a lie. Shane and Crystal Robertson had seven children in total that were crammed inside their filthy trailer. Before long, workers with the Bucks County Children and Youth Social Services Agency responded to address concerns.

of the officers on scene. The responding officers returned to the Robertson home around 5 p.m. that same day after social workers discovered the additional four children hiding in the rear bedroom of the trailer. When the officers questioned Shane as to why he hadn't been truthful about his six daughters and one son, he claimed that he didn't want to get into any trouble. However, trouble was exactly what Shane and Crystal Robertson were in. Hidden inside of the trailer were a 10, an 8, and a 4-year-old girl.

as well as a six-year-old boy. They were known as JV4, JV-5, JV6, and JV-7. As they were all in pretty rough shape, they were taken to Grandview Hospital to be evaluated. According to the responding officers, all of these children, except for JV-2, were clinically malnourished, and many of them were sick. JV-6 had a dangerous abscess in his mouth

and 13 visible cavities, which required five extractions and five crowns. As part of the medical treatment that the children had, there was some significant dental health issues and also some issues with some eye care, you know, and malnourishment. According to officers, the only notable food located in the home was for the animals, which we will get to a bit later. JV5 and 7 tested positive for a virus.

JV1 and JV7 had low kidney function. JV2, JV3, and JV5 had fevers and were diagnosed with acute viral syndrome. JV1, JV2, JV3, and JV5 were deemed to have poor eyesight and in need of glasses, and JV3 had maggots in her hair. It was learned during the summer of 2023, JV3 suffered a sunburn to her scalp and neck, and could not brush her hair due to the pain. She eventually could not brush or wash her hair and it became matted. Upon discovery of the maggots, JV3 had most of the hair shaved from her head since the damage

and infestation was so dire. child had to have most of her hair shaved off due to it being matted as well. JV7 was ultimately diagnosed with Ringworm. It was later found that none of the seven children had any formal education and all lacked basic knowledge. Some of the children did not even know their own birth dates. Four of the children suffered from speech impediment. All of the children struggled with reading, writing, and spelling. They all exhibited social anxiety and disclosed they did not like being in public or around other people. Essentially, Shane and Crystal kept seven feral children as prisoners. Thankfully, all seven of them were placed in the

foster care. It's been reported that during their first week in foster care, the younger children gained two pounds each. According to official documents, Shane and Crystal's bedroom had a bed in the middle of the room with several animal cages surrounding it. The sheets on the bed appear to not have been washed in several months. The floor was littered with garbage. I'm sure it smelled wonderful. Apparently, the place was infested with bugs as well. No surprise here. The back bedroom adjacent to Shannon Crystal's bedroom was blocked off with a broken washing machine. This room did not have a door and was cluttered with dirty clothing and garbage all over the floor.

The trailer home was in such a dilapidated state that Crystal fell through the floor in the front of her bedroom a few months prior. In fact, the floors were all bare plywood that would sink down in certain areas so far that you could see the dirt below the trailer. In addition, the walls were essentially disintegrating. The third bedroom had feces on the floor in front of the entrance. A filthy mattress lay in the center of the room with a dirty blanket on it. The responding officer found feces on the blanket while photographing the room. In addition, the room also housed approximately two dozen rats that were located in two different cages. They also found two dogs, two turtles, two rabbits, snakes, toads, and a tigoo in other parts of the home.

If you don't know what a tigoo is, we'll have one on screen for you. now. In addition, police claimed that there were no cleaning products in the trailer, which included self-care items. According to official documents, the bathroom did not have soap, toothpaste, or any other hygienic products for the occupants of the home. The cabinets were in very bad shape, and the oven appeared as if it had never been cleaned. At this point in our story, none of this surprises me anymore. Shane and Crystal Robertson were arrested and charged with one count of second degree endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the maltreatment of JV7, as she was under the age of six, and six counts of third degree endangering the welfare of a child

for the rest of their children. These charges are all felonies. It is unclear what happened to the family pets as the Robertsons were not charged with any animal cruelty. The couple were booked into the county jail on May 19th, 2023, and were released the following day after they posted their $10,000 bail. I guess they really did have some money after all. Their preliminary hearings were scheduled for May 29th, 2023, but were pushed back to August 7th. As this case is still developing, we'll keep an eye out for updates as they become

available. We quite literally just covered the case of Katie Koch and Joel Mankey and thought that case was horrible enough, but to find two in the same time period that are so similar is absolutely horrible. In the previous case, concerned citizens were quick to act when they sensed a problem, and thankfully

a handful of neighbors were quick to act with the Robertson children as well. But who knows how long this must have been going on for. Police are thankful, a concerned neighbor who saw one of these children called 911. Mother of four Tammy De Haven became concerned after she saw a neighbor's child who appeared malnourished and going into an abandoned trailer last month here in Sellersville. So she called police. I figured the trailer park couldn't do anything about it. So I figured I'd call the police and see if they could come in and do something. There's something you could tell those parents. What would you say to them?

I, I, I, how? How could you do that to a child? I hope they're taken care of. So that's, that's what they deserve. They deserve to be children. It's horrible. I don't understand how parents could do that with their children. So what do you think should happen in this case? If this is truly a case of poverty, then how were Shane and Crystal able to post-bail and afford all of these exotic animals?

Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below. Let's