![]() The couple pleaded guilty to 14 criminal charges. It's not clear if any children will attend Friday's sentencing, but they will be offered a chance to speak or can offer written statements to be read in court.ĭefense attorneys would not say if the David or Louise Turpin will address the court. Attorney Jack Osborn, who represents them, declined to comment Thursday. The seven adult children were living together and attending school in February when their parents pleaded guilty. Investigators found that the toddler had not been abused, but all of the children were hospitalized after they were discovered. I haven't finished first grade," the 17-year-old said, according to Deputy Manuel Campos.Ĭhildren said they were beaten, caged and shackled to beds if they didn't obey their parents. The oldest daughter only completed third grade. They were mainly kept in their rooms except for meals, which had been reduced to one per day, a combination of lunch and dinner.Īlthough the couple filed paperwork with the state to homeschool their children, learning was limited. The house was covered in filth and the stench of human waste was overwhelming.ĭeputies testified that the children said they were only allowed to shower once a year. A 22-year-old son was chained to a bed and two girls had just been set free from their shackles. When deputies arrived, they were shocked by what they discovered. The exterior of their home appeared neatly kept and neighbors rarely saw the kids outside the home. Louise Turpin, 50, was listed as a housewife in a 2011 bankruptcy filing. "The only reason your punishment is less than the maximum, in my opinion, is because you accepted responsibility at an early stage of the proceedings and spared the children from having to relive the humiliation and harm they endured in that house of horrors," Schwartz said.īefore the 17-year-old escaped from the home in a middle-class section of the city of Perris, about 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles, the Turpins had lived largely out of view.ĭavid Turpin, 57, had been an engineer for Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Judge Bernard Schwartz called the couple's actions "selfish, cruel, and inhumane." Louise and David Turpin at a preliminary hearing June 20, 2018ĬBS LA reporter Nicole Comstock via Twitterīut a judge admonished the couple, saying any success the siblings achieved would be in spite of, not because of, their parents. Turpin read the final portion of the statement himself, saying he hoped his children succeeded in school and later, in their chosen professions. ![]() I'm glad we were able to resolve this case without my children being forced to testify." "I'm sorry if I've done anything to cause them harm. "I never intended for any harm to come to my children," the statement said. Her husband David Turpin struggled to give a short statement before his lawyer read a portion of it for him. She said she "looks forward to the day I can see them and hug them and tell them I'm sorry." I only want the best for them," she said. "I'm sorry for everything I've done to hurt my children. Louise Turpin wept as she apologized for hurting her children. "I believe our parents feared if they asked for help, they would lose their children," the girl's statement said. Some of the children, who were not filmed, described still struggling with moving on from the plight, but expressed joy at being able to live new lives and attend school. Louise Turpin cries as she apologizes in a Riverside, California court Friday before she is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for holding her children captive The couple pleaded guilty in Riverside County Superior Court in February to torture and other abuse and neglect so severe it stunted their children's growth, led to muscle wasting and left two of the girls unable to bear children. The girl didn't know what month it was or what the word medication meant, but knew enough to punch the digits 911 into a barely workable cellphone and then began describing years of abuse to a police dispatcher. The "house of horrors" case shocked the country in January 2018 after a 17-year-old girl jumped out a window from the filthy home where she lived in isolation with her parents and 12 siblings. ![]() Some of the 13 children held captive for years in a horrific child abuse case gave emotional statements in court as their parents were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Friday.
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