ABC interviewed the sister in law, who lived a little bit of time with them. She said the husband would walk in on her in the shower, “as a joke”. She was creeped out, but she was very young and didn’t know what to say or do.
Creepy and sinister!
Just heard on the news that the “children” were allowed to eat one meal a day and shower twice a YEAR.
Oh. My. Goodness. I can’t wrap my brain how on earth someone could do this to a bunch of other human beings. Concentration camps come to mind… 
Most of us found this site because we love our children so much that we are so invested in their higher education. So it’s just almost impossible to fathom denying our kids the basics like food, shelter, access to hygiene, very basic education, etc.
These parents are monsters. They certainly don’t appear to be lacking in access to food.
The “people hoarder” theory is interesting. I recently listened to a podcast about Anne-Hamilton Byrne who became a cult leader of “The Family”. She kidnapped 28 children to build her family. Some of what this couple has done with the kids echos what the podcast said about Anne.
Well…just read a report saying the 17 year old had a mental capacity less than her age. So, it looks like the conditions stunted the “children’s” brain development. And the 17 year old was the one who had the gumption to jump out a window after grabbing photos to prove the abuse and to dial 911 on a “dead” phone. (I never knew that a deactivated cell phone can still call 911; I’ll bet the parents didn’t either.)
I really hope the antibiotics and vitamins they are pouring into them via IVs save the brains of the youngest kids. Maybe …I pray God…the older ones can recover somewhat.
This is going to cost a fortune. I suspect the only asset the parents have is the house., but it may be heavily mortgaged. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to buy it to live in.
The report I read said it was the result of years of malnutrition. Doctors said inspire of all, they seemed emotionally stable.
Would you believe that they had 2 dogs and the dogs are in “GOOD CONDITION?” They fed their DOGS better than their kids! https://www.pe.com/2018/01/17/forensic-team-examines-perris-home-where-authorities-say-13-siblings-held-captive/
The dogs are small and young and were only recently acquired. Since they were in the home for such a short period of time, they were fine.
I hope the same can be said of the two year old.
The parents may have been planning murder suicide
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5370460/why-turpin-family-parents-say-goodbyes-california/
I wonder if .they have DNA tested the children to make sure they are all from the same mom and dad. With older girls in the house, it would be possible that some of the younger children were actually had by the older girls. The youngest is 2 and the “mother” is 49.
@katliamom, I don’t know if people hoarding is a legit diagnosis, but I do know that people hoard animals, and these sick people seemed to have a similar mindset. They dressed their kids all alike, as if to categorize and label them as theirs. They didn’t seem to have the sense that their children were sentient beings, rather than objects to control.
The Turpins lost a previous house in Texas to foreclosure:
http://www.kesq.com/news/inside-the-turpins-former-texas-home/687157256
@3scoutsmom “The Sun” isn’t the most respected news source. I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that they were planning a murder-suicide from the mere fact they said good-bye to someone. They’ve left town abruptly twice before—once when their home was foreclosed upon and again from the house they rented after that. If they owed a lot of money, they might have planned to “skip town.” It doesn’t look like David Turpin had a job as of the time of his arrest; he has been employed in the past, but his job seems to have ended a number of years ago.
The police or hospital spokesperson–I can’t recall which–said that there is no sign of sexual abuse. (Frankly, if there is, I’m not sure I’d make that public.) A 'talking head" who used to be a FBI profiler and now teaches at George Mason U speculated that there would be and said it would be standard protocol to test DNA.
I don’t think that’s the highest priority right now. If the police disagree, they might not have the results of DNA testing back yet.
I also heard–one of those spokespeople–that no psychological testing will be done on the “kids” until they are physically stabilized. The younger children are in a children’s hospital; the older “kids” in a different hospital. The older “kids” are being kept together. The authorities think this is better for them.
UNLESS some of the older “kids” actively participated in the abuse, I think it probably is best for them to keep together.
The older kids are spending a lot of time watching TV, which they’ve never been allowed.
ETA. Charges now public and they were charged with one lewd act in addition to everything else.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/turpin-family-latest-charges-parents-torture-imprisonment-children-david-louise-news-updates-a8166881.html
Thanks, @Massmomm, I was just wondering because the minute I read your insight it sort of made a sick kind of sense. Especially when I read police say that the mother seemed “genuinely perplexed” why officers were at the home. Certainly implies some kind of mental illness…
WTH? This case just gets weirder and weirder…
And my observation has no grounds except as an observation.
In the picture there is one child with an arm on mom as a hug.
That arm was the only arm that looked like a normal weight.
Did they have favorites?
20/20 doing a special now - first new fact for me is they married when he was 23 and she was only 16 - after running away together - her parents agreed to the marriage because they did not believe in sex outside of marriage. So, seems David had control from the beginning, being so much older.
But Louise’s younger sister claims Louise was the one making and enforcing rigid rules when she briefly lived with them, so who knows.
Apparently the children were allowed to keep journals and hundreds were recovered, which should aid prosecutors.