Shocking Truth Revealed About the Turpin Family

 

 

Earlier this year, news of the Turpin family raised concern and alarm across the country. A seventeen year old female had escaped from her own house through a window and had called the police through a deactivated cell phone. When police officers arrived at the scene, she was so emaciated that they thought she was only ten years old. Her esca

pe eventually led to the freedom of all of her twelve siblings, ages 2 to 29, as they were held captive and tortured their whole lives by their own parents.

 

David and Louise Turpin repeatedly tortured, starved, and used padlocks and chains to keep their children captive in their own home. The kids were not allowed to use the restroom when they were chained and were only allowed to eat one meal a day. The children were also only allowed to shower once a year and were prohibited from seeing the dentist. The children also lacked basic knowledge such as what medication or a police officer was as they were homeschooled by their parents. The only thing that the children were allowed to do was to write in their journals.

 

The children had not received the necessary nutrients for their body which led to their stunted growth. Furthermore, the victims were occasionally strangled and denied basic hygiene and medical care. The oldest child was reported to weigh only 82 pounds while the youngest child seemed to have been well-fed. Police were initially shocked to learn that six of the children were minors while the other seven were adults due to their physique.

 

In 2014, the Turpin family moved to Perris, California, but the abuse is reported to have begun while the family lived in Texas. Former neighbors of the Turpins have stated that the children had looked very pale and thin as though they had never seen the sun before.

 

The parents have portrayed the family as a loving and comfortable family as seen from pictures taken during vacations in Las Vegas and Disneyland. In reality, however, the children faced isolation and starvation. The family has been known to sleep all day and stay up all night, as told by a neighbor who reported that the children were seen marching in circles in the second floor of their house for hours at 3:00 a.m. in the morning. One of the sisters of Louise Turpin, Elizabeth Flores, reported that she was never allowed to see the children and that David and Louise were very protective of them.

 

The parents have pleaded not guilty, are each set at a $12 million dollar bail, and are not allowed to see or contact their children directly for the next three years. They must stay at least 100 yards away from their children and can only make contact through their lawyers. The motive is still unclear as to why the children were tortured and isolated so severely. Regarding the children, people have raised over $400,000 for them as they are set on a long and difficult road to recovery.

 

Jennie Kim, Grade 10

Immaculate Heart High School