KELSO, WA (KPTV) -
Jeffery and Rebecca Trebilcock listened Tuesday as two of their adopted daughters took the stand to testify against them Tuesday.
The girls' adopted parents are accused of criminal mistreatment and abuse against them and their three adopted siblings.
The courtroom received a look inside the Trebilcocks' home, with the prosecution focusing on a motion-sensing alarm setup inside the kitchen that, investigators say, would go off if the kids tried to get more food.
Both girls that testified Tuesday are now 12 years old.
"I didn't get enough food," the first girl said on the stand.
"We had to brush our teeth and get them checked. Then, if we got those done, we got to eat breakfast," the 12-year-old said.
The first girl told the court Tuesday that her adopted parents would make her and her siblings eat outside and wash their clothes with cold water in a bucket.
She said that, when punished, they would be hit with a board or slapped in the face.
"If we cried, they poured water on us," she said.
The investigation began when Rebecca Trebilcock took her then-13-year-old son to a Longview clinic. The boy weighed only 49 pounds and stood 4'4" tall. A dietician told the court that the Trebilcocks' 13-year-old's weight was what a healthy 6 year old should be. The prosecution said he wasn't the only one starved.
"I got toothpaste," the second girl testified today.
When asked why she took the toothpaste, she said, "Because, I was hungry."
The Trebilcocks' defense attorneys said the kids were fed three meals a day and the kids' stories don't match up, but both children who testified today said they didn't like living in their adopted home.
"I didn't really think about how it felt, but now, I think it was the worse place I've ever been," the second girl said.
During cross examination, the kids told the court that they did do some fun things with the Trebilcock family, and have at times missed their adopted home.
Copyright 2012 KPTV (Meredith Corporation.) All rights reserved.
