Now, Ermina Errico is charged with third-degree neglect.
The girl's mother was so afraid of germs, investigator say, she made her husband and daughter defecate and wash up in a laundry room sink.
Ed Errico, who pleaded guilty, was unwilling to spare his only child from his wife's madness. He admitted he wouldn't even let his own daughter see a doctor or eat enough to stay alive.
Ermina allegedly controlled the amount of food her daughter ate and forced her to wear trash bags as clothing. Emily, who was also left in a crib through childhood, was never allowed to leave the house or socialize.
Neighbors describe the 62-year-old Ermina as severely mentally ill.
Malnutritioned and developmentally stilted, Emily would remarkably get a degree from Kean College with honors, but moved back to her parents' house of horrors after graduation in 2004.
Then, she did not leave the house for three years, and she became weaker and weaker. The upstairs neighbor never even knew she existed.
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WEB PRODUCED BY: Bill King
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