Revealed: How he left four years of monster father in the dirty house of horror because of the fear of fear that managed to avoid the first police raid, as Ronan O’Reilly reveals creepy clues that ultimately put him in trouble

Last month, police officers crashed into Christian Steffen’s front door, in the middle of a power outage on the Iberian Peninsula. Maybe it was a strange time, but they were investigating a case that sounded more bizarre.

Even so, the officers barely expected that more than five years after the crisis began, they were about to walk into one of the most unusual and disturbing stories to emerge from the pandemic.

In the room, they encounter filthy and dirty stomach scenes. Worse, they found the German-born Steffen son (a ten-year-old and eight-year-old twin) in a pitiful, disoriented and unsurprisingly surroundings – shockingly unhygienic state.

One investigator said that was “forgottenance” of children’s daily world. However, the real tragedy for the boys is that their parents allegedly suffered years of isolation due to their extreme fear of Covid, seemingly completely out of reality itself.

The investigation is in its early stages, but no one knows how Steffen and his American wife, Melissa Ann, started living in Germany during the German crisis, initially responding to the pandemic. But, by the fall of 2021, the couple was so scared that their families were catching Covid that they were determined to put their son in school as the new school year begins.

Fear of losing custody of children prompted families to move when homeschooling is prohibited under German law. Steffen signed a lease agreement for a villa in Toleo in October in the suburbs of Oviedo in northern Spain. He initially claimed that he would live there alone, but moved in two months later with his wife and three sons.

Fast forward to April 14, 2025, when Oviedo police handed a file in Stephens’s family recording unusual activities. It contained so detailed information that it was immediately investigated, which was “unheard of” as local sources described.

The detective put the house under surveillance and soon realized that Stephen (the only individual registered at the address) had only ventured outside for a few yards to collect the supermarket from the gate. At some point, they also pointed out a food order, obviously more than one person. But this was a drop in a large number of diapers, triggering a raid on April 28.

Christian Steffen is a “experienced tech recruiter” and “human generalist” who are willing to take “remote” jobs, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Since settling in Toleo, it wasn’t Steffen, who had no criminal record in Spain or Germany, has attracted the attention of the authorities. The email can reveal that officials of Guardia’s civil forces – an independent national police force – called him in February after receiving tips about his domestic setup. But he managed to disappoint his children by falsely insisting on their school.

However, the 58-year-old was unable to speak this time. Yet, even when a police team demanded laissez-facing at his doorstep, Stephen (described as barefoot and unsatisfied) was sticking to a strict agreement.

He asked them to wear masks before investigators entered. He also asked them to wait outside until the children wear masks.

The officer was stunned by the thing that greeted her inside. Perhaps the least disturbing aspect of all this is that three Steffen’s children – who only speak English because they have never met anyone in Spain – each wearing three masks.

They were also in diapers and had been sleeping in the crib-style bed in the cage. Deeply disturbing pictures showing monsters with serrated teeth scratched on the strips and end panels of the bed.

Meanwhile, Christian Steffen’s picky approach to coronavirus has clearly not extended to basic cleaning and hygiene. Police found dirty diapers were thrown on the countertops of the guest rooms and kitchens, covered with animals. It was all bad in the parents’ room where sanitary towels and tampons were usually lying under the bed.

It is understood that the initial search suffered a 23-hour cut, knocking down power supplies from mainland Spain and Portugal between April 28 and 29. But detectives still found other debris and mounds where drugs were stored. More than 20 jars of Vaseline used by Melissa Ann sit on the bedside table, Melissa Ann is said to weigh 22 stones.

Elsewhere, the upstairs room has been converted into a temporary classroom with three chairs, a table, books on human anatomy and a world map. There are also four air-purified ozone generators that have become popular during the pandemic and are permanently turned on.

Police found dirty diapers and dumped around the house with sanitary towels and tampons, while work surfaces covered by animal feces

Deeply disturbing pictures showing monsters piercing their teeth being scratched on the pole and end panels of the bed

Somehow, the only other testimony to this surreal vision of family hell is a cat with a big tumor in the eyes.

Previous reports say how children start to overventilate when they are taken outside by police. According to an officer, one of the boys knelt on the grass and “stroke it in surprise.” Another investigator noted that all three young people “ignore any contact with reality” and were “very scared around their mothers.”

However, while all of this may sound scary, it may be even worse. If it were not for the purpose of keeping the vigilance of the neighbors concerned, the case may have been unknown and has not been discovered in the coming years.

Last August, Silvia Gomez Anson caught a glimpse of a young girl she was playing in a neighboring garden. Initially, she no longer thought, assuming that someone might have visited the man next door to bring their daughter.

But Ms. Gomez Anson, a professor of economics, then noticed the movement of one of the windows, while her neighbor (who thought she lived alone) was outside collecting childbirth.

It was at this point that she began to doubt that the child she had seen several months ago – probably one of Steffens’s sons, rather than the girl she imagined – might actually live in the house.

In the weeks and months that followed, she meticulously documented the various fanaticisms and actions next door. She paid special attention to the delivery of food, and was later discovered by the police. It seemed too big and too frequent for a single man living alone.

Other details Ms. Gomez Anson found include blinds in some rooms (it turned out to be children’s bedrooms) that were pulled down every day at 5.10pm. By contrast, the shutters in the rest of the house are falling all the time.

In Oviedo, Spain, children were captured for more than three years

Crucially, Ms. Gomez Anson is also listening to the young voices and is becoming increasingly convinced that there are many children in the house. On April 14, she showed the files to the local Oviedo police.

The photo on Christian Steffen’s LinkedIn page shows a smiling, glasses-wearing man with neat separation and goatee. According to his profile, he is an “experienced tech recruiter” and a “human resource generalist” and is open to “remote” work. It noted that he has served as a “headhunter” since 2008 – initially in the life sciences and pharmaceuticals, but over the past 15 years, in IT in all industries”.

Another online resume said that he was awarded a PhD in philosophy by the University of Hamburg in 2003 and has a separate degree in pedagogy – a study of pedagogy. It also noted that he was “open but disciplined”, possessed “strong empathy” and “perseverance and commitment”.

The email learned that his 48-year-old wife is a Mexican heritage, although she was born in the United States and has a German passport. Online records show that in October, $276 was ordered from Steffens’ address, like a food processor or juice extractor, and sent to Baltimore – suggesting a family link to American cities.

Both parents have been detained since April 28 at 2.45 pm and are the subject of an ongoing judicial investigation. No matter what happens, it seems unlikely that they will return to Spain’s dodge anytime soon.

Toleo is a popular address for itself. It is located in the foothills of Monte Naranco and is home to the Vuelta aespaña (Travel to Spain) cycling race – British rider Chris Froome won the race twice.

Most of its wealthy residents live in the vast house behind the protective safety of electronic gates and intercom buzzers. The lucky ones have panoramic views of Oviedo, which was known last year as Spain’s official food capital.

When the mail visited this week, Steffens’ spacious pink house parts hurriedly erected behind the hoard. Thirty yards in front of the house, a barrier at the beginning of the driveway seems to be half the attempt to stop the sightseeing visitors from coming and checking out. Anyone who leads half a mile away from the road faces a big sign proclaiming “residents only.”

A nun at Carmelite Convent opposite Steffens’ house told me: “We have never seen anyone in the house, we know nothing, so we thought it was empty and the front garden was so inaction.

“The people here live very independently, so it’s not uncommon for people who don’t get noticed, but finding it and being right next to us is terrible.”

Neighbor Rafael Ruiz said: “Honestly, I don’t remember knowing it lived.

‘The shutters always fall down, no noise, no cars. There is nothing to show life.

What about now? If they are convicted of family and psychological abuse and abandonment of children, the Stephens who refuse to bail will face up to seven years in prison.

It’s no surprise that their three sons will remain in state care for the foreseeable future. When they were released by the police, the boys were unstable and had no shoes that fit them.

Worse, they also suffered severe constipation after being subjected to strict regimes, determining when they could use the toilet. The report also said parents bought drugs online that contain the main psychoactive ingredients of marijuana and managed them for children as ADHD treatment – although it is not clear whether any young people have the disease.

According to Flor Gonzalez Muñiz, spokesperson for the Association for Social Education Professionals of the Principality of Asturias, Stephens repeatedly warned their son that the outside world was “harmful”.

The damage done to the brothers was “very serious” but “not irreversible”, she said, adding: ‘They have the chance now; childhood has this flexibility.

“If you work properly, even if there may be a post effect, because it’s something they will always carry with them, they will be able to reach adulthood in a fulfilling life.”

The final point of view at least brings hope for a better future to Steffen Boys. But, unfortunately, this grim story is a clear reminder that even in wealthy 21st century Western democracies, no one really knows what happened behind closed doors.