As you may have heard a few months ago the case about the Turpin family had hit the media all across the world, and has been one of the most talked about news pieces for a long time.

About 6 months ago the 17 year old daughter of David and Louise Turpin escaped their home – which was pretty much a jail cell – and called 911 on a disposable phone. The 17 year old sounded like a child on the phone and when she was found by the police, she looked much younger than she was.  She did not even know what medicine was, or the name of her house. She gathered evidence and presented it to authorities, showing pictures of the torture her and her 12 siblings had to endure from their parents. David and Louise Turpin were later arrested that day when cops showed up at their house and found 2 of the children handcuffed to their beds. The 22-year-old Turpin sibling had remained chained, and was so used to the abuse that he told police officers that he and his sisters were being punished for things such as stealing food and trying to watch videos. Other pictures she had taken were of them handcuffed to furniture and the marks on their bodies from the physical torture they all had to endure.

When the 17 year old was on the phone with authorities she said, “I live in a family of 15 people and my parents are abusive. They abuse us and my two little sisters are chained up.” She then continued on saying, “We don’t really do school. I haven’t finished first grade and I’m 17,” the girl said. “Sometimes I wake up and I can’t breathe because of how dirty the house is. We never take baths.”

It had been revealed they were only allowed to shower once a year and were provided with continuous amounts of death threats, mostly from their mother who told them what they want to do. The children would then be physically harmed them if they denied any of the mother’s wishes. The only thing the 13 children were allowed to do was write in their journals, which have been recovered by police and used in court as evidence alongside the photos the 17 year old daughter took. The siblings had been planning their escape for 2 years, and on the day the 17 year old escaped it had been revealed that another sibling climbed out of the window with her, but became too afraid she would be caught, so she returned to the house while the 17 year old went to find help. She also revealed that her father tried to pull her underwear down and kiss her on the lips however it suddenly ended when David heard his wife walking into the room and told the daughter not to mention it. This happened a few years ago, and many times since, and is one of the many charges that David Turpin now faces.

Riverside Hall of Justice Deputy Sheriff – Manuel Campo – came forward in court and testified about the information he got when the children were rescued from the scene. He described that the child told him was that her escape was one of the scariest things she has ever done, and was unsure whether she was going to succeed at all. It has also been revealed that 2 of the Turpin daughters are never going to be able to have children due to the physical torture they had to endure. It has also now been revealed that many suffer from psychosocial dwarfism, a growth disorder that is caused by severe stress.

A spokesman named Anthony Kirchner from the Crowley Independent School District came forward and spoke in regards to one of the daughters school records and said, “We’re not able to access her records to see if authorities were contacted or if counsellors met with parents or a teacher. That’s what makes it tough for us to make any comment.”

Both Louise and David Turpin have since been charged with 12 counts of torture and false imprisonment. They are currently being held on a $12 million bail and have pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. If they are found guilty they will receive a life sentence in prison at the minimum. The children are still on the road to recovery but are making remarkable progress. The adult children, who are aged up to 29 and no longer as underweight as they were like their siblings, are being held in one separate foster home and the minors in another although they all keep in contact via Skype. Some information has been revealed such as how the children do not like to eat burritos but are now big fans of Harry Potter, lasagne, country music, reading, and nature. They are planning to get their education on track and complete school before searching for a job and attempting everyday lives as they should have all these years.

4