'Incest cult' family tree of horror as 38 relatives found living in squalor in one home
WARNING: DISTRESSING DETAILS The Colt family were discovered living in squalor in a remote farming valley in Australia, with 38 people all related to one another.
It was a horrifying discovery that left witnesses stunned by the nightmare unfolding within a single household.
An incestuous cult was exposed, tracing back to two great-great grandparents who had established their twisted legacy in an isolated farming valley, hidden from society's gaze in a remote area of Australia.
Their offspring were rendered mute and blind, subjected to neglect and trapped by generations of appalling inbreeding. Social services workers were horrified when they finally uncovered 38 individuals living in deplorable conditions, all connected by blood, reports the Mirror US.
The severely mistreated children were so damaged they couldn't communicate. When placed in foster care, their new guardians observed disturbing hypersexual conduct.
Years afterward, one of the adults shared a sickening Facebook post declaring "Love Makes a Family."
For the Colts - a court-assigned alias - the torment originated with June and Tim, who wed in New Zealand in 1966 before relocating to Australia. They produced seven offspring, with Martha as their final child.
Every individual among the 38 had endured years of sexual assault, committed by siblings, cousins, fathers, an uncle and a grandfather across four generations.
The Colts initially attracted official attention in June 2010. Across two years, seven "risk of significant harm reports" were filed, primarily concerning neglect, failure to obtain essential medical care and failure to guarantee school attendance for the children.
All of the children, except for one, were products of incest
Social services finally gained access to the makeshift camp where the family resided in 2010. The camp lacked basic amenities like running water or toilets.
The children were unable to perform simple hygiene tasks such as combing their hair, using toilet paper, brushing their teeth, and they ate with their hands.
The caravan's cooking facilities were covered in filth, vegetables were rotting in the fridge, and the bedsheets seemed to be stained with dirt. A kangaroo was found sleeping on one of the children's beds.
Many of the children appeared visibly deformed, with misaligned eyes, low-set ears, and looking significantly older than their actual age. Only Rhonda's five-year-old daughter was discovered not to have been fathered by a blood relative.
All other children were products of incest.
The children suffered from neglect
Despite genetic testing proving otherwise, Betty, Martha, and Raylene all deny that their children are products of incest.
Three girls aged seven, eight, and nine claimed their uncle, Charlie Colt, who lived on the property when the children were removed, was also their father. The nine-year-old also alleged that Charlie Colt had sexual relations with her.
It is believed that the family patriarch, Timothy Colt, who passed away in 2009, fathered children with one of his daughters and one of his granddaughters.
Five of the boys who were removed from the property admitted to torturing animals on the farm, including puppies and cats. They also confessed to mutilating the genitals of animals.
Initially the family followed a June 2012 request from social services to improve their living conditions, but a month later authorities removed 12 children - all cousins aged between five and 15 - after determining they faced harm if they stayed at the property.
The children were put into protective care
All of the taken children will stay in care until they turn 18. The case emerged after New South Wales children's court took the rare step of publishing its ruling.
In 2021, evidence from trials of other Colt family members suggested Martha's father Tim Colt likely also fathered his daughter Betty's 13 children.
Martha, who openly shared a "marital bed" with her brother Charlie, had delivered five of her brother's children. Martha's trial revealed her children were likely fathered by Charlie, her own father Tim and another brother.
Three family members, Roderick, Martha and Derek Colt, submitted appeal notices in 2020, all of which have since lapsed. While 80 charges were initially brought against eight Colts – including incest, child sexual abuse, indecency against a child and perjury – many were dropped.
Charlie Colt, who initially faced 27 charges was cleared on two counts and acquitted, with the remaining charges withdrawn. However, his brother Roderick was convicted of raping his niece and half-sister Petra.
During his trial, it was revealed that Petra was also Roderick's half-sister, being the daughter of Roderick's sister Betty and their father Tim.
The adults were arressted and incarcerated
Despite all eight family members being incarcerated following their 2018 arrest, only half have since received custodial sentences.
Like Martha, her older sisters Betty and Rhonda, along with Betty's daughter Raylene, were also charged with lying about the paternity of their children. In 2018, Betty Colt shared a photo on Facebook of herself with two female relatives, captioned "Love Makes a Family".
Rhonda was given a 14-month intensive corrections order (ICO) for perjury, which ended in 2021. Raylene was sentenced to a 16-month ICO for perjury, which also concluded in 2021.
Betty was found guilty of four counts of perjury, one count of lying under oath, and one count of perverting the course of justice, resulting in a 14-month prison sentence.
Her maximum term of two years and four months is set to end in August. Martha, the youngest sister, pleaded guilty to five counts of perjury and one count of making a false statement under oath.