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.
(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.
COPS found 13 children shackled to beds in their home in California in a shocking discovery.
Two parents were arrested following the find - but what do we know about them and the children?
Facebook The Turpins and the 13 children who cops allege were found shackled to beds
Who are David Allen Turpin and Louise Anna Turpin?
David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, were arrested and charged with nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment.
The arrests were made after one of the 13 siblings called police and said her 12 brothers and sisters were being held captive.
She was so emaciated cops thought she was 10 years old at first.
The 17-year-old told police some of her siblings were bound with chains and padlocks.
Handout - Getty Louise Anna Turpin, who was arrested by police in California on January 14
What did cops find at the California home?
Police said when they arrived at the property in Perris, about 70 miles east of Los Angeles, they found children shackled to their beds in "dark and foul-smelling surrounds".
The shocking discovery was made on January 14 in the US state.
A statement from the Riverside County Sheriff's Office said: "Deputies located what they believed to be 12 children inside the house, but were shocked to discover that seven of them were actually adults.
"The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty."
Neighbours told local media they had no idea there were children in the house, while others said they only saw them at night.
The six children were transported to the Riverside University Hospital System (RUHS) for medical examinations and admitted for treatment. The seven adult children were taken to Corona Regional Medical Centre for an examination and treatment.
Handout - Getty David Allen Turpin was arrested and charged with nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment
What do we know about Mr and Mrs Turpin?
David Turpin's parents, James and Betty, from West Virginia, said they were "surprised and shocked" at the allegations.
After the pair's arrest pictures emerged of them and the 13 children posing on various day trips.
One showed the couple and the kids at Disneyland, wearing matching T-shirts.
Another showed the Turpin's getting married in a Las Vagas style ceremony - complete with Elvis impersonator.
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The children were gathered around the couple wearing matching dresses and suits.
The girls all had matching hair cuts and the boys all sported bowl cuts.
The pair are due in court on January 18.
The siblings found chained to their beds in their family home begged police for food after they were rescued following a daring escape by their brave sister, it has been revealed.
The 13 brothers and sisters - including the 17-year-old girl who fled the home and alerted cops - were all desperately malnourished and pleaded with officers for food and water after they were freed in Perris, California on Sunday.
Police said the victims were so emaciated they were shocked to discover that while all looked like children, they actually ranged from two to 29 years of age. Seven of them are over the age of 18 and six of them are children.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Office said it was not known how long some of them were chained, padlocked and shackled before they were discovered.
The victims were only freed after their sister - who was so small officers initially believed she was only 10 - broke out of the home, grabbed a cell phone and called 911.
Police arrested their parents David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, and charged them with torture and child endangerment. They are being held on $9 million bail.
It has now been revealed that their parents filed for bankruptcy back in 2011 and were up to $500,000 in debt, despite David Turpin earning $140,000 a year as an engineer for a top defense contractor.
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David and Louise Turpin, seen renewing their vows at an Elvis Chapel in Las Vegas in 2016, have been arrested after 13 of their children were found shackled to beds inside their home in California
Parents David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, were arrested and charged with torture and child endangerment
The siblings were immediately taken to hospital after they were saved from the 'foul-smelling' room on Sunday morning.
'The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty. Perris Station Detectives were dispatched to the residence for further investigation,' police said.
'Child Protective Services (CPS) and Adult Protective Services (APS) arrived to assist in the investigation. The victims were provided with food and beverages after they claimed to be starving.'
The Turpins were between $100,000 and $500,000 in debt when they filed for bankruptcy in August 2011, the New York Times reported.
At the time of the filing, David Turpin was earning a $140,000 salary at defense firm Northrop Grumman where he had been working for eight months. His wife was listed as a stay-at-home mom.
Records show the large family's expenses exceed Turpin's pay by just over $1,000 a month. He previously worked for Lockheed Martin but left the job in 2010.
Their bankruptcy lawyer, Ivan Trahan, told the New York Times that the couple often spoke fondly of their children but he never saw them.
'They spoke about them highly,' Trahan said. 'We remember them as very nice couple. This is shocking.'
They are believed to have moved to California from Texas around 2010. The Turpins lived in Murrieta first before purchasing their current four-bedroom home in Perris in August 2014 for $351,000.
Their house in Perris is also the address of Sandcastle Day School - a private school registered in 2014-15 so David Turpin could home-school six of his children. In the 2016-17 school year, it had an enrollment of six students - one each in the fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th and 12th grades.
David Turpin's parents, James and Betty Turpin, told ABC News they were 'surprised and shocked' at the allegations.
The couple, who live in West Virginia, said they had not visited the family for four or five years but had spoken to them on the phone, although not with their grandchildren.
The grandparents described the family as very religious and said the parents had so many children because they believed 'God called on them' to do so. They added that the 'very strict homeschooling' would involve the children memorizing long Bible passages and even attempting to memorize the entire book.
Police originally thought all of the victims were children but soon discovered seven were adults. The family are pictured above
'Things 1 to 13': The family are seen in Dr Seuss-style shirts, and all in blue jeans, in a family photo taken in April 2016
The Turpin family, as well as extended relatives, are seen enjoying a holiday at Disneyland in California in 2011
They appear to have had marriage-renewal ceremonies in Las Vegas by an Elvis impersonator at least three times in 2011 (pictured above), 2013 and 2015
The shocking allegations provide a stark contrast to the life shown on David and Louise's joint Facebook page. They appear to have had marriage-renewal ceremonies in Las Vegas by an Elvis impersonator at least three times in 2011, 2013 and 2015.
Their children were present at the ceremonies are seeing posing for photos in 2015 in matching outfits for the boys and the girls. The 10 girls are all dressed in pink dresses with white tights and white shoes, while the boys are seen in suits with purple ties - and bowl haircuts like their father.
Footage of the ceremony posted online showed the smiling children awkwardly dancing and clicking their fingers behind their parents.
Another ceremony with the same Elvis impersonator in 2013 - prior to their youngest child being born - shows the children wearing the same outfits. Photographs from 2011 show the couple by themselves, but impersonator Kent Ripley said the children were in attendance that time as well.
'I'm still disturbed. This is a sad day for everybody, especially the children, I mean they were sitting right around here three different times,' Ripley told Fox5Vegas. He added on Today: 'Nothing seemed to be unusual apart from the fact there was a lot of them. They were well behaved and smiled a lot'.
Other pictures show the family smiling on several trips to Disneyland, while another shows them wearing Dr Seuss-style shirts, with each child's top emblazoned with 'Thing 1' to 'Thing 13'.
It also features several photos of the youngest child when she was a baby in late 2015. She was often pictured posing with her mother, including in a Snow White costume, inside a Krispy Kreme store and at a lake.
The last public images that appeared on the Facebook page were posted in July 2016.
Speaking to CNN, grandmother Betty Turpin said the parents made the children dress alike for safety reasons. She describes how the children would line up according to age and the mother and father would walk in front and back of the line.
'They were very protective of the kids. This is a highly respectable family.'
House of horrors: The victims, all siblings aged between two and 29 years old, were being held captive in a home in Perris, California, police said. Media are seen outside the house
Loved-up: Pictures on Facebook show the Turpins renewing their vows in 2016, with their children next to them at the altar
Playing happy families: The Turpins are pictured smiling at the most recent of their vow renewals, which was conducted by an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas
Tradition: The couple are seen in a picture from 2011, renewing their vows in front of the same Elvis impersonator
More than once: The family are gathered for yet another vow-renewal ceremony in 2013, with the children dressed in the outfits which were then re-used three years later
Neighbors said they family were unusual and reclusive, with some saying they did not even know children lived in the home.
Housewife Wendy Martinez, 41, who lives in a home behind the single-story ranch-style property, told DailyMail.com she saw four of the children kneeling in the front yard late at night at the end of October, looking emaciated and pale.
'They were on their knees, four little kids, and they were just rolling on the grass. It was odd at that time of night.
'Their mother was in the archway, I just remember the mother in the archway, and I said, hi. There was like no movement, not even to look over to see who's saying hi, like if they were told not to speak to anybody. '
Asked whether she thought the children needed help, she told DailyMail.com: 'Honestly, I didn't see they needed help.'
Another neighbor said Louise Turpin was defiant when cops arrived at the home on Sunday. They said she 'smirked' and 'spat twice down at the floor'.
Andrew Santillan, who lives nearby, told Press-Enterprise: 'I didn't know there were kids in the house. I had no idea this was going on.'
Others said they had seen the children digging for food in the garbage bins, but had not taken notice as it did not look sinister.
'Nonchalant, looked like they were having fun like a regular family,' neighbor Nicole Gooding told CBS2.
'The older kids, I thought they were, like, 12, because they looked so malnourished, so pale,' Kimberly Milligan added.
Another neighbor, Andria Valdez, said she had seen the children before, joking that they were like the vampire family in the Twilight books and films because they were 'really, really pale' and 'only came out at night'.
Another local said the children were seen building a Nativity scene in the front yard of their home a few years ago, but were 'weird about it' when complimented on their work.
The couple's joint Facebook page features several photos of the youngest child when she was a baby in late 2015. She was often pictured posing with her mother outside the house
Andrew Santillan, who lives nearby to the home (pictured) said: 'I didn't know there were kids in the house. I had no idea this was going on'
Mr and Mrs Turpin were arrested and charged with nine counts of torture and 10 of child endangerment. Neither of them have a serious criminal record. Camera crews are seen outside the home
Neighbors stand outside a home where a couple was arrested after police discovered that 13 people had been held captive in filthy conditions
The siblings were only found after the 17-year-old girl broke out of the home and called the police.
Officers arrived at the home early on Sunday morning and found several children and adults chained and padlocked to beds in a foul-smelling room.
They were malnourished, dirty and all of them have been hospitalized, police said.
The victims were given food and drinks and Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services will care for them once they are well enough to be released from hospital.
Police initially thought all of the victims were children but soon discovered seven were adults.
Mr and Mrs Turpin were arrested and charged with nine counts of torture and 10 of child endangerment. Neither of them have a serious criminal record.
The couple are being held at Robert Presley Detention Center east of Los Angeles and their bail has been set at $9million. They will appear in court on Thursday.
'THEY SEEMED LIKE THE PERFECT FAMILY': NEIGHBORS
HORRIFIED TO DISCOVER PARENTS' HORRIFIC SECRET Wendy Martinez thought the Turpins were the perfect family Four of the children living in the California house of horrors were seen less than two months ago looking ‘very thin and very albino’, a neighbor has said. Housewife Wendy Martinez, 41, who lives in a home behind the single-story ranch-style property, told DailyMail.com she saw four of the children kneeling in the front yard late at night at the end of October. She said the quartet looked emaciated and pale, and appeared to have been instructed not to respond when she tried to say hello to them. ‘It was about 9pm at night and we came around right here and at the gate, we saw four children inside,’ Martinez said. ‘They were on their knees, four little kids, and they were just rolling on the grass. It was odd at that time of night. ‘Their mother was in the archway, I just remember the mother in the archway, and I said, hi. There was like no movement, not even to look over to see who’s saying hi. ‘No movement, like if they were told not to speak to anybody. The mom, no movement at all.’ Asked whether she thought the children needed help, she told DailyMail.com: ‘Honestly, I didn’t see like they needed help. ‘They were in their yard. It was awkward that it was at 9pm at night but they were in their yard.’ David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, were arrested Sunday after 13 adults and children aged between two and 29 were found inside their four-bedroom Perris home. Some of the children had been shackled to their beds and, cops said, were being held in ‘a foul-smelling room’. The Turpins purchased the house, which sits on a quiet well-to-do street, for $351,000 in August 2014 – later registering it as a school. Sitting within a new development, the house had been a model home and was, said Dennis Cooke, 61, ‘already tricked out with custom fittings’ when they moved in. Cooke, who works at Home Depot in Perris, said he had been shown around the property before the Turpins moved in, adding: ‘This one was very beautiful, it was already tricked out with custom fittings, the backyard done, the landscaping done.’ But he said the spacious four-bedroom home is nowhere near large enough for 15 occupants, telling DailyMail.com: ‘Oh no, no. Absolutely not. I would say a normal family, if they had six children, it could be adequate but 13, no. absolutely not.’ Neighbor Dennis Cooke did not the think the Turpins' 'beautiful' home was big enough to house 13 children Although the Turpins were understood to be running a school from the house, neighbors said they saw no sign of parents arriving to drop off their children – and most said they had no idea that a young family lived in the property. ‘You know what, I drive past this way every day but I’ve never seen the family or anything,’ said nurse Janeece Calhoun, 21. ‘Never anybody coming in or out.’ Neighbor Michelle Walls, 47, added: ‘You would think you would have heard them. In our neighborhood, kids are usually out playing, shooting hoops. Going to the park. ‘I’m surprised I never saw them because most kids need to go outside and play.’ Martinez says she last saw a member of the family a month ago, when she spotted one of the couple’s teenage daughters drive past in a red Volkswagen Jetta, which was seen parked outside the home today. She said: One of the girls was coming in in the red Jetta. They were in and out. I think it was one of the girls, I don’t know which one it was, but as I was going out, she was coming in. She’d been out.’ Martinez added: ‘It’s weird – you never know what’s going on. They’ve got three cars and that [mini]van. They move it, there’s no cobwebs. ‘They’re mobile. I don’t understand why they would wait so long to say something. Looking at their pictures, they seemed like the perfect family.’
