California authorities say they have rescued more than a dozen starving, filthy young people who were chained inside their parents’ home in Perris.
One of the captives, a 17-year-old girl, escaped over the weekend and notified the Riverside Sheriff’s Department that her siblings “were being held captive inside the residence by her parents,” some of them “bound with chains and padlocks,” the Sheriff’s Department said.
Initially, officials believed the “slightly emaciated” teenager was only 10 years old. They confronted a horrific scene at her home, according to a press release.
“Further investigation revealed several children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings, but the parents were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner,” the department said.
“The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty,” the department said.
Not all of them were children: of the 13 victims, seven were between the age of 18 and 29, much to the shock of the Sheriff's Department.
After interviewing both parents — identified as 57-year old David Allen Turpin and 49-year old Louise Anna Turpin — authorities arrested them on torture and child endangerment charges, setting bail at $9m (£6.5m) apiece.
"The kids didn't come out very often," neighbours told NBC Los Angeles. None knew exactly how many children were in the house.
Another, who saw the couple being arrested, said the children "were very, very pale-skinned, almost like they've never seen the sun."
Turpin family: 13 children who were held captive by their parents
9 show all Turpin family: 13 children who were held captive by their parents
1/9 David and Louise Turpin with their 13 children who were being held captive by their parents in the family home in Perris, California. Facebook/David-Louise Turpin
2/9 The home of David Allen and Louise Anna Turpin, where some of their children were bound with chains and padlocks. Reuters
3/9 David Allen Turpin poses for a mugshot after being arrested. Riverside County Sheriffs Department via Getty
4/9 One of the captives, a 17-year-old girl, escaped over the weekend and notified the Riverside Sheriff’s Department. Facebook/David-Louise Turpin
5/9 Perris residents watch as media gather in front of Turpin family home. The Sheriff's deparmtent said "the parents were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner." AFP/Getty
6/9 The children were found in dark and foul-smelling surroundings and "The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty,” the department said. Facebook/David-Louise Turpin
7/9 Neighbours stand outside the home. Getty
8/9 Louise Anna Turpin poses for a mugshot after being arrested. Not all of their victims were children: of the 13 victims, seven were between the age of 18 and 29, according to the Sheriff's Department. Riverside County Sheriffs Department via Getty
9/9 David and Louise Turpin in 2015. Authorities arrested them on torture and child endangerment charges, setting bail at $9m (£6.5m) apiece. Facebook/David-Louise Turpin
California records indicate that a David Turpin received state approval to open a private school, the Sandcastle Day School, which reportedly operated from the family home according to CNN. A representative for the California Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Th Turpins had moved into the Perris home in 2010, but by 2011 had declared bankruptcy.
The attorney who represented the couple, Ivan Trahan, told CNN "there was nothing out of ordinary" about to couple who did not seem distressed about the bankruptcy and appeared to dote on their 13 children, even showing Mr Trahan pictures of family trip to Disneyland.
In fact, the family had taken several family trips - notably three in 2011, 2013, and 2015 to Las Vegas in order for the couple to renew their vows.
In all the family pictures, the girls and boys wear matching clothes, respectively, and appear to be healthy and smiling.
Mr Turpin is listed in the public bankruptcy records as an engineer for Northrop Grumman, making approximately $140,000 a year. Ms Turpin is listed as a "homemaker."
However, the couple came to Mr Trahan with over $240,000 in debt from credit cards and a foreclosed farm in Texas.
All 13 victims are currently being treated in area hospitals. The names of the other adults in the home have not yet been released.
It is unclear whether the Turpins have obtained legal counsel at this time or if they entered a plea.
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David and Louise Turpin projected an image of a picture perfect family on social media.
They posted photos of themselves with their 13 children, smiling as they celebrated birthdays, renewed wedding vows and visited Disneyland together.
In the photos, the couple's children wore identical clothing based on gender and often had the same haircuts.
"They all dressed alike when they went out," Betty Turpin, David's mother, told CNN.
It was for "protective reasons," their grandmother said. When they went out, the couple would line the children up according to age, and the parents took their positions at the front and back of the line, she told CNN.
"It was easier to keep up with the kids" that way, she said.
"They were very protective of the kids," she added.
The parents, David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, are accused of holding their children captive in their California home in filthy conditions, with some shackled to beds with chains and padlocks.
They are charged with torture and child endangerment, and scheduled for a court hearing Thursday. Bail was set at $9 million for each. It was not immediately clear if the suspects had attorneys or whether they had entered a plea.
On Sunday, a 17-year-old girl managed to escape from their home in Perris, California, and called 911 from a cell phone she found in the house, police said. She claimed her 12 brothers and sisters were being held captive inside the home by her parents, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said.
Sheriff's deputies went to the home and found 12 victims who "appeared malnourished and very dirty" with several shackled to their beds "in dark and foul-smelling surroundings," the sheriff's department said.
All of them looked like children, police said, and officers were surprised to learn that seven of them were adults. The adults are being treated at Corona Regional Medical Center in Corona, and the six children are being treated at Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley.
The 13 siblings ranged in age from 2 to 29.
Couple renewed vows in front of children
Neighbors said they knew a large family lived there, CNN affiliate KABC reported, but they never saw any of the younger children. They said the kids would emerge occasionally at the same time to work on the lawn and would head back in together.
One neighbor said the kids appeared "very pale-skinned, almost like they'd never seen the sun."
Their grandmother, said the entire family would go on vacation together and had yearly passes to Disneyland.
"This is a highly respectable family," Betty Turpin said.
The entire family took several recent trips, in 2011, 2013 and 2015, to renew their vows at the Elvis Chapel in Las Vegas. The couple's children joined them for the 2013 and 2015 renewals.
In one ceremony, the girls, wearing the same purple plaid dresses and white shoes, lead the processional, and the boys, wearing dark suits, stand with their father.
An emotional David Turpin can be seen repeating his vows in the video. The children laugh along with the Elvis impersonator, and the couple kisses as their daughters clap.
Bankruptcy didn't seem to upset the couple
The Turpins moved into the Perris home in 2010, public records show.
The next year, they filed for bankruptcy in California, according to court records.
Ivan Trahan, an attorney who represented the couple at their bankruptcy hearing, told CNN "there was nothing out of ordinary" about the couple when he worked with them in 2011. They couple "spoke lovingly of their children and even showed me their photos from Disneyland," he said.
David Turpin made about $140,000 per year working as an engineer at Northrup Grumman, according to the bankruptcy documents. His wife's occupation was listed as "homemaker."
They listed about $150,000 in assets, including about $87,000 from 401k plans from Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman, according to court papers. The documents listed debts of about $240,000, which included mostly credit card debt and a foreclosed farm in Rio Vista, Texas, valued at $40,000.
Trahan said neither of the Turpins seemed upset they were going through bankruptcy.
"They came with a lot of debt. We just knew there was no way they could make their payments," Trahan said.
David Turpin is listed as the principal of the Sandcastle Day School, according to the California Department of Education website. It was operated out of his home, and opened in March 2011.
(CNN) David and Louise Turpin projected an image of a picture perfect family on social media.
They posted photos of themselves with their 13 children, smiling as they celebrated birthdays, renewed wedding vows and visited Disneyland together.
In the photos, the couple's children wore identical clothing based on gender and often had the same haircuts.
"They all dressed alike when they went out," Betty Turpin, David's mother, told CNN.
It was for "protective reasons," their grandmother said. When they went out, the couple would line the children up according to age, and the parents took their positions at the front and back of the line, she told CNN.
"It was easier to keep up with the kids" that way, she said.
"They were very protective of the kids," she added.
The parents, David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, are accused of holding their children captive in their California home in filthy conditions, with some shackled to beds with chains and padlocks.
David Allen Turpin, left, and Louise Anna Turpin, right.
They are charged with torture and child endangerment, and scheduled for a court hearing Thursday. Bail was set at $9 million for each. It was not immediately clear if the suspects had attorneys or whether they had entered a plea.
On Sunday, a 17-year-old girl managed to escape from their home in Perris, California, and called 911 from a cell phone she found in the house, police said. She claimed her 12 brothers and sisters were being held captive inside the home by her parents, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said.
Sheriff's deputies went to the home and found 12 victims who "appeared malnourished and very dirty" with several shackled to their beds "in dark and foul-smelling surroundings," the sheriff's department said.
All of them looked like children, police said, and officers were surprised to learn that seven of them were adults. The adults are being treated at Corona Regional Medical Center in Corona, and the six children are being treated at Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley.
The 13 siblings ranged in age from 2 to 29.
Couple renewed vows in front of children
Neighbors said they knew a large family lived there, CNN affiliate KABC reported, but they never saw any of the younger children. They said the kids would emerge occasionally at the same time to work on the lawn and would head back in together.
One neighbor said the kids appeared "very pale-skinned, almost like they'd never seen the sun."
Their grandmother said the entire family would go on vacation together and had yearly passes to Disneyland.
"This is a highly respectable family," Betty Turpin said.
The entire family took several recent trips, in 2011, 2013 and 2015, to renew their vows at the Elvis Chapel in Las Vegas. The couple's children joined them for the 2013 and 2015 renewals.
In one ceremony, the girls, wearing the same purple plaid dresses and white shoes, lead the processional, and the boys, wearing dark suits, stand with their father.
David and Louise Turpin with the children at one of the couple's vow renewals.
An emotional David Turpin can be seen repeating his vows in the video. The children laugh along with the Elvis impersonator, and the couple kisses as their daughters clap.
Bankruptcy didn't seem to upset the couple
The Turpins moved into the Perris home in 2010, public records show.
The next year, they filed for bankruptcy in California, according to court records.
Ivan Trahan, an attorney who represented the couple at their bankruptcy hearing, told CNN "there was nothing out of ordinary" about the couple when he worked with them in 2011. They couple "spoke lovingly of their children and even showed me their photos from Disneyland," he said.
David Turpin made about $140,000 per year working as an engineer at Northrup Grumman, according to the bankruptcy documents. His wife's occupation was listed as "homemaker."
They listed about $150,000 in assets, including about $87,000 from 401k plans from Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman, according to court papers. The documents listed debts of about $240,000, which included mostly credit card debt and a foreclosed farm in Rio Vista, Texas, valued at $40,000.
Trahan said neither of the Turpins seemed upset they were going through bankruptcy.
"They came with a lot of debt. We just knew there was no way they could make their payments," Trahan said.
David Turpin is listed as the principal of the Sandcastle Day School, according to the California Department of Education website. It was operated out of his home, and opened in March 2011.
A 17-year-old girl escaped from her California home to call police and lead them back to arrest her parents after they discovered a house full of horrors.
Here’s what they found at the house:
According to local California law enforcement officials, they discovered 12 children who were malnourished to the point that some appeared much younger than their actual age. Others were chained to their beds.
The girl was so malnourished that police believed she was ten years old when they first encountered her.
Police say they found “several children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings.”
The statement also said that the parents “were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner.”
Of the other children, police say they believed they were all underage, but discovered that some were above 18 years old, but were emaciated to the point that they looked much younger.
Arrested for torture and child endangerment
The couple were identified as David Turpin, 57, and Louise Turpin, 49. They were arrested on suspicion of torture and child endangerment. They are each being held on $9 million bail in Riverside country.
UPDATE: Booking Photos Torture/Child Endangerment Investigation in Perris pic.twitter.com/4IdK7vPB2n — Riverside County Sheriff's Dept (@RSO) January 15, 2018
The children told police they were “starving.” They have been sent to local hospitals for treatment.
Several media trucks have gathered near the house where the alleged abuse took place in Perris. @pressenterprise pic.twitter.com/DZ0StIWoTB — Shane Newell (@journoshane) January 15, 2018
