Twisted parents, David and Louise Turpin, who forced their children to endure years of torture and abuse, had even more egregious stories of animal cruelty. The Turpins were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 2019; the abuse encompassing not only the 13 children, but also to some of the pets.
In January 2018, the children were discovered handcuffed to their beds in Perris, California. The siblings were so malnourished their growth had been stunted both physically and mentally. The children ranged in age from two-years to 29. At the time, David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louisa Anna Turpin, 49, denied 75 charges of child abuse, torture and false imprisonment.
Had it not been for the 17-year-old girl in the family who managed to escape from the “house of horrors” and notified police, how much longer would the egregious abuse have continued? The children had been routinely shackled with padlocks after one of them had tried to escape when tethered with ropes. Most of the time, the children remained chained up and were only allowed to shower once a year. Forbidden to use the toilet, they were forced to urinate and defecate on the floor besides them. If at anytime they washed their hands “above the wrist” they would be accused of “playing with the water” and beaten. Most of the time they were starved.
According to People, Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham, who worked on the case leading to the parents’ convictions, told another painful story of the oldest daughter having to watch as her cat was mauled by feral dogs outside of their Texas home.
The daughter had been caught stealing food from the pantry; her mother ordered her to bring her cat to her. Louise Turpin placed the cat outside and made her daughter watch as the feral dogs ripped her cat apart and killed it. At the time, the daughter was only nine-years-old.
Ironically, the parents’ two small dogs were found in perfect health. The dogs have since been adopted.
The children were never allowed to socialize, never allowed to exercise and were told to either lie down or sit in their rooms while chained. They were not even allowed to stand.
In 2019, the Turpins pleaded guilty to multiple felony counts including torture and false imprisonment.
There has not been much information as to the children’s whereabouts in order to protect their privacy; some are still minors. The older children did testify against their parents, however they prefer to stay out of the public’s eye. In the book, The Family Next Door, author John Glatt stated the kids had been divided into two groups; the young children placed in foster homes around the Perris, California area and two of the older ones are now attending college.
Read the previous coverage of this disturbing case here.
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