'Nightmare Nanny' Speaks, Claims Family Abused Her And Fed Her Dog Food

The 64-year-old live-in nanny who refused to leave after being fired said the family treated her like an animal and tried to feed her dog food, KTLA-TV reported.

Diane Stretton, or the "nightmare nanny," told the station she was overworked and mistreated while employed by Marcella and Ralph Bracamonte of Upland, California.

Stretton said she worked daily, sometimes for 10 hours straight, cleaning the house and taking care of the couple's three kids. She wasn't even allowed to take lunch breaks, and when she could not work because the job made her sick, Stretton said the family abused her.

"There wasn't a single day I was there, except for the two days I was sick, that I didn't do dishes and about two or three hours of cleanup," Stretton told KTLA-TV.

The Bracamontes hired Stretton in March and agreed to let the her live with them rent free if she agreed to take care of the kids and do housework. But Stretton said Marcella made her do things she did not agree to.

"[Marcella] spends 90 percent of her day on the phone, just like a teenager, and she apparently wanted me to do whatever she was doing, which was making me work way more than the equivalent of the value of the room," the nanny said.

Marcella previously stated that Stratton suddenly stopped doing her job and would stay in her room all day. The couple gave the nanny a letter in early June saying she had to either work or leave.

Less than 12 hours after receiving the letter, Stretton said her cable, Internet and air conditioner were turned off. The family then gave her dog food, the nanny said.

"Right after she served the letter, she gave the kids three cans of dog food and told them to put it outside my room for my food," Stretton told the station.

The Bracamontes fired Stretton on June 6. Stretton said she planned on leaving within 30 days but for reasons still unknown she did not leave.

The family also tried legal matters to get Stretton to leave, but the eviction process appears to be painstakingly slow and it is not clear when Stretton will move out.