Suspect: I'm Glad Shackled Teen Escaped

A woman charged with the kidnapping and torture of a teenage boy says she's glad he managed to escape her California home, News10 reports. Kelly Lau  said she invited the boy and his aunt, Caren Ramirez, to stay with her temporarily, but they never left. Ramirez kept the boy chained to a coffee table and beat him daily, sometimes using a heated aluminum bat, according to Lau. The teen, still with a shackle on his ankle, managed to escape earlier this week.

Lau admits she also beat the boy, partly because she had been told that was how to discipline him and because she feared Ramirez would hurt her own four children. "I'm glad he escaped and I hope he's okay," she said. "I never wanted any of this to happen." Lau's children have been taken into protective custody. She and her husband, who has also been charged in the case, are due to appear in court today. (More California stories.)