Where were the Turpin family children found in Perris, California, and where are they now?
TWISTED David and Louise Turpin were caged for life after 12 of their 13 kids were found shackled and emaciated in a squalid California home.
So what has happened to the children since being rescued from their festering, poo-filled home in Perris, Riverside County ?
What happened to the children found in Perris, California?
David and Louise Turpin's children had been chained to filthy beds and forced to live in squalor.
They were cruelly fed only once a day, allowed to shower just once a year and were deprived of toys and games.
The evil Turpins had starved them to the point that they stopped growing, and suffered from muscle shrinkage.
The kids lived on bologna and peanut butter sandwiches while their parents ate take out, reported People.
While the parents ate well, they cruelly tormented their starving kids by leaving apple and pumpkin pies on the kitchen counter, but not letting them have any, said Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin.
They had to sleep during the day and were active for only a few hours at night.
The Turpins imprisoned the children in a house that appeared neatly kept outside, but festered with filth and reeked of human waste.
Cops discovered the kids in a dark and foul-smelling house about 70 miles east of Los Angeles on January 14, 2018.
The victims were severely underweight and hadn’t bathed for months.
They described being beaten, starved and put in cages.
The children spent most of their time locked in their room.
Shocked authorities said they had been confined to the house of horrors – chained to furniture, starved and often deprived the use of a toilet.
Some of the victims were so detached they didn’t understand the concept of a police officer or medicine.
Investigators concluded that the couple’s youngest child, a toddler, was the only one who was not abused.
Riverside County Sheriff's Office said in January 2018: "Deputies located what they believed to be 12 children inside the house, but were shocked to discover that seven of them were actually adults.
"The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty."
Pictures showed filth-caked carpets and doors covered with the kids' scratches.
All the children's names begin with the letter J, according to court documents that didn't provide their full names.
After they were removed by cops, more than $500,000 in donations were raised by local groups for their care.
The funds helped provide medical and dental care, educational assistance and other services for the abused siblings.
How old are the children and where are they?
The siblings' ages ranged from two to 29 years old when they were rescued from their house of horrors.
Child Protective Services (CPS) and Adult Protective Services (APS) were called in and the siblings were given food and drink after they were found emaciated.
Six of the youngest kids were moved to the Riverside University Hospital System (RUHS) for medical examinations and admitted for treatment.
The seven adult children were taken to Corona Regional Medical Centre for an examination and treatment.
In 2019, Associated Press reported how two of the older kids described gaining control of their lives since being freed from their prison-like home.
Despite receiving little education from their cruel parents, they had enrolled in college and were learning simple things, including how to ride a bike, swim and prepare a meal. But they were still thin from years of neglect and malnutrition.
“I cannot describe in words what we went through growing up,” said the oldest son in court.
“Sometimes I still have nightmares of things that have happened, such as my siblings being chained up or getting beaten.
"But that is the past and this is now. I love my parents and have forgiven them for a lot of the things that they did to us.”
In 2020, the Desert Sun reported that the Turpin children were able to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, as they had been forced to spend most of their lives indoors and avoiding other people.
Jack Osborn, the adult siblings' attorney, said: "Covid-19 makes it challenging but they're in school and just living normal lives.
"They grew up not going outside. It's weird for them now, but it's something they're doing OK with."
The paper reports that he adult Turpin siblings still live in areas across Southern California.
They were said to still be adjusting to to "traditional lifestyles after years of abuse and imprisonment at the hands of their parents".
"Little information about the six younger siblings has been disclosed because they're minors," the Desert Sun adds.
“They’re all happy,” Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham told People in 2020.
“They are moving on with their lives," he said.
How did police find the 13 children?
Two of the Turpins' imprisoned children made a bid for freedom early January 14, 2018.
However, one sibling became too scared and returned home, while the second, their 17-year-old daughter, called 911 for help.
The teenage daughter who escaped had jumped from a window.
After a lifetime in isolation, she did not know her address, the month of the year or what the word “medication” meant.
But she knew enough to punch 911 into a barely workable cellphone and began describing years of abuse to a police dispatcher.
“They will wake up at night and they will start crying and they wanted me to call somebody,” she said in a high-pitched voice.
The girl added: “I wanted to call y’all so y’all can help my sisters.”
She had planned the escape for two years, Riverside County authorities said.
The then-teen was hailed as a hero for liberating her siblings by Jack Osborn, the lawyer representing the seven adult Turpin kids.
Police said they initially assumed she was just ten years old, because she was so emaciated.
She told the authorities her 12 brothers and sisters were being held captive and that some were bound with chains and padlocks.
Twisted David Turpin and Louise were given 25 years to life behind bars after pleading guilty to the hideous abuse and imprisonment of their kids.
What was the Sandcastle Day School?
David Turpin had been an engineer for Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
Louise Turpin was listed as a housewife in a 2011 bankruptcy filing.
Although the parents filed reports with the state that they home-schooled their children, the oldest child only completed the third grade.
"One of the things that was interesting was, he (Turpin) set up his own home school so the kids were accounted for and not really seen by anybody,” said Sherryll Kraizer, a child-abuse prevention expert and the founder of the Coalition for Children.
The California Department of Education lists the Turpin address, where the family had lived since 2014, as the location of the Sandcastle Day School, with David Turpin as principal.
It was said to have not been inspected by officials after being listed as a private school.
In the 2016-17 school year it reportedly had an enrolment of six pupils.
Authorities said there was no indication of anyone else being enrolled there.
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