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Lancaster Couple Charged With Torturing Sister Who Was Found Locked In Storage Shed

LANCASTER (AP) — Los Angeles County prosecutors have filed torture and other charges against a man and his girlfriend after the man's sister was found locked in a storage shed behind their home.

Sixty-one-year-old Elias Abdurahman and 50-year-old Sara Kebede Tadesse were expected to be arraigned Tuesday in the Superior Court's Antelope Valley branch.

On Sept. 22, sheriff's deputies responding to reports of screams found a 54-year-old woman locked in the shed in the Mojave Desert city of Lancaster. The woman was described as malnourished, with fresh and old wounds.

Other charges include false imprisonment by violence and assault with a deadly weapon, specifically a cane.

If convicted as charged, both defendants face a possible maximum sentence of life in state prison.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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