More than 20 young children found inside Southern California home
ARCADIA, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - More than 20 young children were found in a home in Arcadia after it came to light that the children all came from surrogate mothers.
"The FBI...me and some of the other girls that I'm talking too are currently working with them. I completed a three hour interview couple weeks ago," said Kayla, a surrogate mother from Texas.
Kayla, in an interview with Kallie Fell, Executive Director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture, said she thought she was carrying a baby for Silvia Zhang and her husband, Guojun Xuan, a couple struggling to have a child,
However, months after she gave birth, Kayla learned she was one of many women carrying a child for the couple, and the baby she carried was now in foster care.
"She told me she was in jail for four days, that police took one of her phones for investigative purposes, and that they accused her of selling babies. She swears that's not what she's doing...they just a big family," Kayla shared.
It all unfolded when a hospital called Arcadia Police about a two-month-old baby who came in with head trauma.
When police arrived at the home on Camino Real to investigate, they found 15 children in the home, ranging from two-months to 13-years-old. Six other children connected to the couple were found in the care of family and friends.
Neighbors are in disbelief.
"At home, eating dinner, and we watched the news and we couldn't believe it," said one neighbor.
"Shocked, sickened, especially when there's abuse involved, any type of abuse," said another neighbor.
Police said the home was set up like a school, and cameras they seized showed the kids were being emotionally and physically abused by six nannies, including one woman police are looking for.
Police also said the parents were aware of the abuse.
Zhang and Xuan were arrested and booked on suspicion of felony child endangerment/neglect.
The infant Kayla birthed is in foster care. She's currently working on gaining custody of the baby.
It's unclear if the rest of the children in the household have been placed in foster care.
