CA couple charged in the torture of their 13 children

Mr Hestrin revealed the 17-year-old girl who escaped the house to alert police had plotted her escape for two years.

A woman who now lives in the house once owned by Louise and David Turpin told WFAA the family lived in the house with more than a dozen children.

“These were a form of punishment meted out on these children and these adults“, Mr Hestrin said.

Aunt Elizabeth Jane Flores told ABC News’ Good Morning America that she tried hard to get in touch with her sister, Louise Turpin, but Turpin would always shut her out.

They told the Southern California News Group that their grandchildren all called each other “sweetie” when they visited their home in Murrieta, California six years ago, and none of them appeared malnourished. Authorities are now combing through them.

They found several children in the home.

Officers say numerous victims, who range in age from 2 to 29, do not look their age because of their levels of emaciation.

When authorities arrived to search the home, they discovered some of the children shackled to furniture, Time said. They say some of the captives were so malnourished and dirty, it took them a while before they found out some of the children were actually adults between 18 and 29 years old.

The statement went on to say,”the parents were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner”.

He said: “The parents would apparently buy food for themselves and not allow the children to eat it”. Both pleaded not guilty to all counts in a court appearance Thursday afternoon.

All thirteen children were sent to nearby hospitals for medical treatment. Now, authorities are trying to untangle this horror story, and find answers. At that time, Turpin worked as an engineer at Northrop Grumman and earned $140,000 annually and his wife was a homemaker, records showed.

David Turpin had named the school the Sandcastle Day School and it had six pupils enrolled in the last academic year, according to The Guardian. The couple is described as “deeply religious”, and believed God called on them to have so many kids.

Neighbours in Perris, where modest but well-maintained homes are tightly packed on suburban streets, said they were stunned by the arrests.

They could each face 94 years in jail if found guilty.

This photo was posted to a Facebook page for “David-Louise Turpin” on July 10, 2016. All of the children were in attendance.

“They didn’t say a word”, he said.

The parents are due to appear in court on 23 February.