Accused Tacony “House of Horrors” mastermind Linda Ann Weston has been pronounced mentally fit to stand trial as a Dec. 19 preliminary hearing date looms for her and three co-defendants.
During a Nov. 16 motions hearing before Municipal Court Judge Sheila Woods-Skipper, Weston’s attorney, George Yacoubian Jr., reported that a psychiatrist examined his client on Nov. 7 and had found her competent to participate in her own defense.
Yet, Yacoubian reportedly described the conclusion as a “close call” and said that Weston will continue to undergo psychiatric treatment. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the attorney said Weston is mentally retarded and shows signs of paranoia.
Weston, 51, and three co-defendants are accused of holding five mentally disabled people captive — including at least four in the sub-basement of a Tacony apartment building — while collecting their Social Security and disability benefit income.
Her co-defendants are Gregory Thomas, 47; Eddie Wright, 50; and Jean McIntosh, 32. Police have described Thomas as Weston’s boyfriend and Wright as a traveling companion of the couple. McIntosh is Weston’s daughter.
On Oct. 15, Philadelphia police raided the apartment building where McIntosh lived on the 4700 block of Longshore Ave. after the landlord reported finding four adults locked in a dark, dirty and damp boiler room beneath the primary basement. Weston, Thomas and Wright were arrested that day in connection with the alleged human imprisonment.
McIntosh was arrested Oct. 19 after authorities discovered a fifth victim that allegedly had been held captive in McIntosh’s apartment and overlooked in the initial search of the apartment building. That victim, Weston’s 19-year-old niece, allegedly was moved from the Longshore Avenue building to a house in Frankford after the initial round of arrests.
All four defendants remain jailed in lieu of bail. ••
