'Model' parents accused of monstrous acts

When John and Linda Dollar were seeking to adopt more children a decade ago, social workers regarded them as model parents - well-to-do, well-meaning folks who raised their five children with love.

"The Dollars love and want to help children. They feel the more children they have, the merrier they are," caseworkers wrote.

Now the Florida couple stand accused of monstrous acts against five of their eight children, who told investigators they were starved, shocked with a cattle prod, beaten with a hammer and had toenails yanked out with pliers.

Their emaciated bodies were compared by police to victims of Nazi concentration camps.

John Dollar, 57, and his wife, 51, live in a spacious home, drive a luxury car and own an upscale mobile home. He is a commercial real estate appraiser and she a former businesswoman with a master's degree in education.