Investigation Discovery’s ‘Evil Lives Here: Locked in the Closet’ chronicles the horrifying torture Jesse Eging and his half-siblings had to endure at the hands of Alice Jenkins. While Alice tortured the children by tying them to their beds, denying them food, and even locking them in a dark closet, their mother, Mary Rowles, did nothing to get them to safety. However, things worsened when neglect turned to physical abuse, and the children were left scared for their very lives. If this case intrigues you and you want to know where Alice Jenkins and Mary Rowles are at present, we have you covered.
Who Are Alice Jenkins and Mary Rowles?
Before she even met Alice Jenkins, Mary Rowles was already a mother to her five children, Darrell, Marissa, Tyler, Jesse, and Caleb. Although all five of Mary’s children were fathered by different men, they stayed with their mother and were quite content with their lives. The show mentioned that Mary met Alice at a gay bar, and the two got quite close. Before long, they became a couple, and the children found themselves moving into a house in Akron, Ohio.
Initially, life seemed normal, but soon the children learned that Alice hated Mary giving anyone else attention. Fixating her anger on Jesse and Tyler, Alice began keeping them tied to their beds whenever she was out for work. Surprisingly, Mary did not protest or try to save the boys; thus, Alice felt encouraged to keep up her torture and neglect towards the children.
Things gradually worsened as Alice began depriving Jesse and Tyler of food and gave them half a peanut butter sandwich for dinner every night. Although they were sent to school initially, Alice and Mary soon took them out and kept them confined to their room for the whole day. Besides, the show mentioned that the other children talked about the abuse at school, but officials never carried out a thorough investigation.
Incidentally, Alice once caught Jesse and Tyler talking to their school friends from the window and began locking them in a small dark closet as a punishment. She padlocked the door and even pulled a dresser up close so that the children could not escape. The months of neglect and abuse led to acute malnutrition and sickness, but Alice did not seem to care. However, when it seemed like things could not get any worse, Alice began physically abusing Tyler to the point of whipping him with a leather belt just for making a noise.
Alice even forced them to eat their feces and took sadistic pleasure in it. It was growing impossible for the children to live in such deplorable conditions where they were even made to sleep in their urine. Thus, in April 2003, Tyler and Jesse, along with Darrell, escaped through the window in the middle of the night. They roamed the neighborhood for some time before coming across a police officer. Thankfully, the officer believed their story, called for backup, and finally arrested Alice and Mary.
Where Are Alice Jenkins and Mary Rowles Now?
Once arrested and put on trial for their crimes, Alice Jenkins and Mary Rowles faced a total of 55 charges, including kidnapping, felony assault, child endangerment, and corrupting another with drugs. Mary was additionally charged with permitting child abuse. Subsequently, they both pleaded guilty as charged and were sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2003.
Several reports in 2019 mentioned that Alice Jenkins was seeking early release after claiming that prison had changed her into a better person. Mary Rowles also filed a request for early release in August 2018. However, their petitions have since been denied, and both women are still incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, Ohio. Alice Jenkins and Mary Rowles are expected to be released in 2033.
Read More: Where is Jesse Eging Now?