A 25-year-old Houston man claims he was brainwashed by his mother to lie about his whereabouts for nearly a decade.
Rudy Farias claims his mother, Janie Santana, brainwashed him to play along with the lie that he had been missing since 2015. Farias revealed these allegations after moving out of the family home.
Santana reported that then-17-year-old Farias had gone missing in 2015 while walking his dogs in northwest Houston. He was reportedly “found” sleeping in a local church parking lot on June 29. However, local activists and neighbors questioned whether he had actually been missing for more than eight years.
The Houston Police Department revealed on July 6 that Farias had, in fact, returned home one day after he was reported missing. Lt. Christopher Zamora said in a press conference that Farias’ mother had maintained the deception that her son was missing throughout the passing years, instructing Farias to use a fake name when he encountered police.
Farias has reportedly moved out of the family home to get away from his mother and is currently staying with a family friend. He decided to speak out in the wake of his mother’s alleged deception.
Farias told KTRK that while his mother did not physically imprison him in the home, she had manipulated him into believing he would be arrested if he left. He also claimed that he had become dependent on his mother after losing other supportive figures in his life.
Farias’ father, a Houston police officer with whom he did not have a close relationship, took his own life in 2014. Farias’ half-brother, whom he looked up to, was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2011, according to KTRK.
“She locked me in there pretty much, mentally,” Farias told KTRK. “She was my only parent, the only person I really ever had besides my brother. When I lost my brother, I didn’t have anyone to teach me how to live, or to have confidence or trust in myself. So I depended on my mom all my life.”
He claimed his mother kept him isolated from extended family members when they came to visit.
“I would have to listen to my family be happy and cheerful on the other side of a door, and I would be like, ‘I want my family. I want people. I just want communication,'” Farias said.
Farias said that over the eight years, he felt emotionally imprisoned.
“It’s like I lived in a jail my whole life. I just wanted to be free,” said Farias. “I wanted to have my own job. I just wanted to live my life. I just wanted to love somebody, have someone else that would actually love me. I struggled to understand my emotions.”
Farias does not yet wish to contact his mother and said he simply wants to live a “happy” life again.
“I just want to live my life,” said Farias. “I want to have a family, a car, a house. I just want to live my life and be happy.”
Santana has denied requests from media outlets for comment.