David Allen Turpin, 57, and his wife, Louise Anna Turpin, 49, were arrested last week after police rescued their 13 children, who were being held captive in their own home in Perris, California. The couple have been charged with 12 counts of torture and 12 counts of false imprisonment, seven counts of abuse on a dependent adult and six counts of child abuse/neglect.
On top of this the father, David, was charged with a lewd act on a child, by force, fear, or duress, under the age of 14.
According to the New York Times, a 17-year-old managed to escape the house of horrors after planning her escape for two years and called 911, alerting the authorities to the unimaginable conditions she and her 12 siblings were forced to endure.
The girl’s 12 siblings were aged 2-29, all severely malnourished and claimed to be “starving” as they were fed by their rescuers and admitted to hospital.
Seven of the children are aged over 18, though looked none looked older than teenagers.
Secret journals found
The police have confirmed “hundreds” of secret journals belonging to the Turpin children have been found hidden in the home.
“My guess is that’s going to be powerful evidence about what was happening from the perspective of the victims.”
“We have a lot of evidence to go through. We’ve got the journals to go through, more interviews to do,” Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin told ABC News in the US.
The local police, The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department earlier confirmed that some of the children were being shackled with chains in a statement: “several children were shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings.”
The statement went on to say,”the parents were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner.”
It is thought the children have been held captive since 2010 and police are searching the Californian property for possible human remains of other children from the Turpin family.
Facebook/DavidLouise Turpin.
They thought having 14 children would get them their own reality TV show
Louise Turpin’s younger sister, Teresa Robinette, told the Mail Online the family wanted their own TV show.
“Only last month Louise told me her and David were planning to have another child,” Lambert said.
“I asked her why on earth they wanted more children and she said about wanting a reality TV show.”
Louise Turpin’s half brother, Billy Lambert, agreed explaining:
“She used to say how they would be perfect for TV and would often mention they would be bigger than the reality show Kate Plus 8.”
‘It is the reason they moved to California to be nearer to Hollywood.”
Some had no idea children even lived in the home.
Family members, including the children’s grandparents, aunts and uncles have said they are shocked by the charges.
James and Betty Turpin, the parents of David told ABC news that the family was extremely religious and continued having children as that is what “God called on them” to do. The children’s homeschooling was private, religious and very strict.
“They were very protective of the kids. This is a highly respectable family.”
Louise’s sister, the aunt of the children, has stated she was not allowed to visit the children and had not seen her sister for 19 years.
“‘She never let us talk to her kids. She wouldn’t even accept my Facebook request. We all wondered what was going on,” she told DailyMailTV.
Neighbours of the family told the Dailymail.com they had no idea the children needed help as the family was extremely reclusive.
Some had no idea children even lived in the home.
David Turpin was the principle of a legal “private school” which was run from the couple’s home. The school was listed as having six students enrolled, assumed to be the children of the couple.
Both David and Louise Anna Turpin are being held in jail with bail set at $9 million each.
