Sheriff: 3 abused children rescued from West Virginia ‘house of horrors’

A West Virginia couple is accused of physically and emotionally abusing three children in Jackson County, authorities said.Read more trending newsAccording to a news release from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Erica Lynn Sayre, 45, and her husband, Clifford Gale Sayre, 46, both of Evans, have been charged with child neglect and child abuse.They each were charged with six felony counts -- three counts of child abuse resulting in bodily injury and three counts of gross child neglect causing a substantial risk of death or serious bodily, according to West Virginia online court records. The charges stem from a Sept. 7 complaint, and a warrant was issued on Oct. 9, court records show.Jackson County Sheriff RH Mellinger called the environment the three children endured a “House of Horrors.”The investigation uncovered allegations of many years of “disturbing mistreatment,” the sheriff said.That included children being struck repeatedly, strangled, deprived of food and water and denied b