Part 2 - Two parents are arrested as their 13 emaciated children aged between two and 29 are found chained and shackled

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It may be like Slingblade where they have some babies buried.

Barbara Vinyard was their neighbor in Texas. “I knew they were really strange, but I was willing to get over the strangeness to be friends,” she said. A skinny, pale girl with long brown hair opened the door and just stared, she said. “Her eyes just got real wide. She closed the door back in my face,” Vinyard recalled. “… She came around the back, looked at me and then ran back away into the house, through the back door.” Vinyard didn’t try to reach out to the children again.

After the family left, repo men showed up for their two cars, and their house was foreclosed. Billy Baldwin and his mother bought the house a year later, the interior trashed, the bathroom floor rotted through, he said.

Inside, Baldwin found a handful of Polaroids taken when the Turpins left. One shows a bed with a metal rail that has a rope tied to it, he said.

Ricky Vinyard walked through the family’s trailer at the time, and reading reports from California this week reminded him of what he saw.

“It was waist-deep in filth. There were dead dogs and cats in there,” he said, the smell “rancid.”

He found two Chihuahuas that had survived by eating waste from a mound of soiled diapers. The family’s Ford F-150 truck was heaped with the dirty diapers and empty Vienna sausage cans, he said, “It seemed like that’s all they ate.”

The couple had claimed to home-school their children, and the feces-littered living room had the trappings of a makeshift classroom, he said, including eight small desks, a chalkboard, alphabet and number signs stapled to the wall.

As he moved from room to room, he noticed something odd: “Everything had locks on it: The closet had locks, the toy chest, the refrigerator.”

“There were no beds, just mattresses,” he said, and “There wasn’t a place in that house that wasn’t filthy.”

The Turpin Family. The stuff of nightmares.

OP, when you start a continuing thread, post a link to the original.

Original thread

Accused couple David and Louise Turpin allegedly had a twisted plan for a reality TV show

Parents David Allen Turpin, a 57-year-old computer engineer, and his homemaker wife Louis Anna Turpin, 49, wanted a 14th child and had high hopes of getting their own reality TV show and becoming millionaires.

Louise Turpin’s half brother, Billy Lambert, told the UK Mirror that it was her dream to be famous one day — and they moved to Perris in California in order to be closer to Hollywood so they could potentially make it happen.

“She used to say how they would be perfect for TV and would often ­mention they would be bigger than the reality show Kate Plus 8,” he told the Sunday People in the Mirror.

‘It is the reason they moved to California to be nearer to Hollywood.”

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No wonder they get away with bizarre behavior for so long when freaks like the Duggars (who started out all dressing alike) are celebrated and feted as celebrities.

They better dig up the ground at all of their properties.

There’s a Facebook group dedicated to discussing this case, Just type David Louise Turpin into the search area and it should come up.

Do they have anything interesting to say R11?

It seems to be confirmed that Jordan (age 17) was the girl who escaped.

it's a closed group with rules. I just sent a request to join.

The girl who escaped is also who David Turpin is charged with a lewd act on, according to court papers.

ok I'm in the FB group now. I think if you're interested in the case than you should join.

I'm not on Facebook, R16. Maybe if you learn anything interesting there you can post it here.

R17 - I'm not really on it either. I have a fake account for stuff like this.

....

I don’t know where it was confirmed but the girl circled seems to be the one who escaped. Yes I will be sharing info from the FB group here as I find it. Is there discussion happening on websleuths? That’s one board I can no longer stomach with all the militant fraus.

that pic is sad r20. you know they have to pretend to be happy for those sick parents. Look at the 29 year old in that pic. She's been having to pretend and give a fake smile her whole life for those freaks.

OK - speculation here on the baby who is 2 year sold.

I am betting that the daughter that escaped is the mother of that child. She began plotting the escape 2 years ago. The baby is also 2. She is also the one that the father is accused doing "a Lewd act" on. I'm betting he raped her, she gave birth to the baby. I'm also betting DNA tests have already confirmed he is the father and she is the mother of that baby - which is why he is already charged with "a lewd act". because they already have concrete evidence. She would have been 15 at the time of the babys birth.

When the baby was born she began plotting her escape. Sh didn't want her child to live the way she had.

It's possible,but didn't they say the parents are the birth parents of all the children?

It's courageous that she was able to run away and notify the police

I saw a news report that this had gone on for ten years but there was another report about the oldest being seen in an obviously abused condition when she was in grade three so it has been their whole lives for all of them

* This is a post from someone who was in 3rd grade with the oldest daughter. ————————————— J—— Turpin was the one girl at Meadowcreek Elementary that nobody wanted to be caught talking to. Every grade level had a designated "cootie kid" and she held the title for our year. She was a frail girl, had pin-straight hair with bangs, and often wore the same purple outfit. She was often made fun of by the other third graders because her clothes would sometimes look as though they had been dragged through mud, which she would also smell like on most days. I distinctly remember my entire third grade class scoffing at her one day because our teacher had asked her to discard a scrunchy she had used to tie her hair out of a discarded tin foil wrapper from an old Hershey's bar. After that year, J—— moved away, and she was forgotten about after we moved on to the the next "cootie kid."

Several years later, after high school, I found myself thinking about her again. I was bored at home and was passing the time by facebook stalking old elementary school classmates to see how they turned out, and I remember searching specifically for J——-. Her name was so distinct that there couldn't be any more than a few people who shared the name, yet no matching results came up. I had naturally assumed that J——- was one of the lucky few who hadn't been bit by the social media bug. I also thought somewhere, somehow, J——- was probably living her best life, showing up all of us gawky third graders in Mrs. Llano's class how far she'd come. She was going to be that person at the reunion looking completely flawless and making six figures while the rest of us tried to conceal our receding hair lines and minimum wage jobs.

I feel like we all kind of have that hope that those people who were marginalized growing up (sometimes by our own hands) somehow grew past those circumstances, and essentially grew up to kick ass in real life. That's what I had hoped for J——-. That she had used the insults that we hurled at her, the isolation we provided for her, and the ill-looks we gave her and used it as ammunition to forge a successful path in life. I was so sure that was what had happened, but today I was in for a rude awakening (see articles below).

I've been reading these articles and seeing these statements and looking at these pictures, and I can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame. Of course, none of us are responsible for the events that ensued, but you can't help but feel rotten when the classmate your peers made fun of for "smelling like poop" quite literally had to sit in her own waste because she was chained to her bed. It is nothing but sobering to know that the person who sat across from you at the lunch table went home to squalor and filth while you went home to a warm meal and a bedtime story.

The resounding lesson here is a simple one, something that we're taught from the very beginning: be nice. Teach your children to be nice. If you see someone that's isolated, befriend them. If you see someone that's marginalized, befriend them. If you see someone that's different, befriend them. We can never completely put ourselves in others' shoes nor can we completely understand the circumstances that one is brought up in, but a simple act of kindness and acceptance may be the ray of hope that that person needs. Befriend the J——- Turpins of the world.

J——-, despite being vehemently vilified by her peers, was still one of the most pleasant people I have had the opportunity to meet. She had this whimsical optimism to her that couldn't be dampened, couldn't be doused no matter what anybody threw at her. That cheerful disposition is what makes me certain that J—— will prevail. That one day, I'll remember to facebook stalk her, and see that she is living her best life. That despite being let down by her parents and by her peers alike, J——- rose above it all. And I'm going to be rooting for her, as her peer, as her classmate, as her friend. J—— Turpin: from "cootie girl" to "conquered the world”

She wanted a reality show? This bitch can’t clean her house, won’t let her children bathe and has a 29 year old chained to her bed and she wanted a reality show?

This breaks my fucking heart. How can they recover from this. That mother will haunt them. They are back in court late Feb, the charges will be terrible.

R24 one of the saddest things I've ever read.

Shameful. All these years and nobody, not a teacher or parent stepped up to help. And maybe it's happening to another poor child you see often. Sad.

The whole starvation thing is horrible. I don't want to say that I know what literally starving nearly to death is like, but my mom did punish me by not letting me eat, usually it would only be a day at most, so nothing like these kids. It didn't happen all the time, or as badly as these people but often enough to know how low it makes you feel. Anyway, it didn't ahve physical effects on me or cause health issues, but I can tell you that it's the worst and it basically makes you afraid of everything. I think because food is such a basic need, that when you're denied it on purpose, it makes you feel very unworthy of anything, which is why it was easy for these parents to abuse these kids for so long, even though some of them are adults, and, if not being allowed to eat is a threat, it makes you afraid to do anything wrong in case you're not allowed to have supper again.

All I can hope for is that someone takes cares of all these kids now and that they will get some help and at least know some comfort in life, and I hope they get to stay all together too.

(btw, i made a thread once about being denied food as a punishment and couldn't believe how many people went through that on this site)

Oh, meant to say it's all horrible, not just the starvation part.

Thanks for sharing R24. So unbelievably tragic and heartbreaking. His/her account shows that practicing kindness and compassion, especially to those who seem to receive the least, could make all the difference in someone's life.

Sorry you had to go through that, R29. Some parents can be just horrible.

Yes, thanks for reposting that r24. And thanks for your insights r29. The only food I was ever denied was dessert, for not being able to clear my dinner plate. Begging for pizza when you had friends over, playing video games and watching movies, and being told to "eat some leftovers instead" doesn't count.

The first time I ever encountered anything even close to denying a child food was when my late partner told me about his mother locking the refrigerator. She had grown up during food rationing in England just after WWII and was positively manic about not letting children waste food.

I was never denied food as a kid - I was a fat kid too- until high school. My dad always got us pizzas and McDonalds growing up because my mom was a nurse that worked the evening shift. He was in charge of dinner.

I couldn't imagine being denied food as a kid.

We had to write an essay in elementary school about one time we were hungry, and I had to make something up, it was such a foreign concept to me. Starving is so sadistic, a long term punishment (beatings don't go on for days, though the pain can) that can kill you. They probably did that not only for the control, but to keep them weak, so a twofold win for these assholes.

The teacher(s) failed “J” so hard in R24’s post, just too heartbreaking.

As long as everyone is safe and they get through the syllabus, teachers are let off scott-free when it comes to pastoral care of students. Most don't give a shit.

Not letting them use the bathroom is awful, too. Plus the isolation. They were choking and hitting them, too.

They should really execute them but they won't. They should send them a prison where the other prisoners will get them.

I don't want Diane Sawyer interviewing them with a fake quizzical look. Or Katie Couric or the other parasites.

[quote]They should really execute them but they won't.

Why not?

I don't agree with capital punishment, but California does, and if not for cases like this, then what is the purpose?

Maybe in those dumpsters smelling like death in Texas, they left dead bodies. I don't know.

Does Calif have the death penalty?

California doesn't have the death penalty.

Send them to Texas

I prefer to study them like laboratory rats for the rest of their lives. The more we know about human monsters, the better.

No, they know enough about them. I don't want them to get attention. Shut them away.

Torturing children should be a capital offense. Bring them here to Texas. We’ll give them the needle.

California does have the death penalty, but rarely actually executes anyone.

I'm not really for the death penalty - except in extreme cases like this. There is no reason on earth the tax payers of America should be paying to feed these two for the rest of their lives - or give them healthcare. Hell, the way this country is set up now, we could actually pay for one of those monsters to "transition" seriously- they need the death penalty. The problem is, it takes YEARS. They will still be in prison for many years before getting the death penalty. Hopefully some good old prison justice fellas will take care of these two quickly.

Do you remember that guy who held the 3 women prisoners in his basement for many years. He had them locked up in his basement, one even gave birth to his child while she was a prisoner there. He had called them his sex slaves. Whatever happened to him? Did he kill himself? I think he did.

California voters consistently vote to keep the death penalty.

PA is the same. We have the death penalty but it's never used - it's been years since anyone has been sentenced to the death penalty in PA. I think they just keep it officially to use as a bargaining chip when cutting a deal with a defendant.

these monsters had 13 kids (possibly more) and yet a not-inconsiderable number of americans think gays shouldn't be allowed to adopt children. more cognitive dissonance/hypocrisy from the usual suspects...

California has a death row; Scott Peterson is on it and so is the guy who killed Polly Klaas. He's been there 19 years. But no talk of execution dates in either case.

The Manhattan Wolfpack brothers on the Turpin kids

Ariel whatever (Lopez?) is the guy you're thinking of, r47, and yes, he hanged himself in prison before trial, IIR.

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Ariel Castro r53, and his lawyer had the nuts to say it wasn't suicide, but murder! Like anyone would care if someone offed that piece of shit.

[quote]'It was a very weird thing to me': House of horrors mom had her husband drive her to Alabama to have sex with a man she met online, her sister reveals Ew and the mom wanted to be a reality star? This tale keeps getting weirder and I hope the mother doesn't get a lighter sentence because sounds like she is just as guilty as the dad.

I am leery of the relatives, some of them have been quick to talk to the media and I don't think they would be good for the kids.

Ugh, R56, so creepy. The details upon details just make it worse. I’d say keep ALL of these family members away from the kids.

Cops are searching current and previous properties for possible buried bodies of children or babies. They remind me of the Wests without the serial murders.

Any details on the "one charge of lewdness"?

That's who I thought of r59. The Wests also had scads of children who they alternated between torturing and neglecting. Why mentally ill people are allowed to have children is beyond me. But hey, even less regulation and oversight by government organizations would be a good thing, right?

r61 I'm all for forced sterilization but apparently eugenics are nazi-esque.

R62, actually eugenics was an American idea. The Nazis were introduced to it from an exhibit that the US doctors did at the Hygiene Museum in Dresden.

something that could have put an end to this at some point would be inspection of "home schools" ...or banning them altogether

They really should not near any of their relatives. Let them decide 20 years later if they want to talk to them.

The charge of lewdness was enacted on Jordan, the 17-year-old heroine who escaped with the cell phone and photos which gave the cops probable cause to come into the house.

The DA spoke briefly to Megyn Kelly today saying the children are providing information that should help convict D< - that they will be able to be witnesses. I read an article stating that the journals the children kept will also be strong evidence. Besides the point, but the girl Jordan is so pretty. She is an absolute hero.

Any details as to what "lewdness" it was precisely? Was he trying to cop a feel? I wonder if Mom would hold the girls down while Daddy diddled them. Maybe it was Jordan's turn to service the patriarch.

The 17-year-old daughter who raised the alarm told cops she was terrified they would kill her if she got caught.

I hate reading British papers and seeing "mum". Drives me crazy.

Turpin parents visited Taco Bell 'almost every day', left starving kids chained up in filthy home

We actually feel bad, we're hungry but our parents aren't fucking creeps.

They are really sadistic and awful.

I assume they would be held in solitary confinement in prison?

[quote]Any details as to what "lewdness" it was precisely? Was he trying to cop a feel? I wonder if Mom would hold the girls down while Daddy diddled them.

No details re: this case, but that charge involves willful touching on any part of a child's body (under 14), with a hand or any other part of the body, either on bare skin or through clothing, with the intent to arouse.

The wording is intentionally vague in order to cover a variety of situations, but there is one constant: willful touching with the intent to arouse.

When "force, threat, or duress" is added, as it was in this case, it adds two years to the sentence. Three, six, or eight years v. five, eight, or ten.

I have a feeling we've only scratched the surface.

Thank you r75

The former neighbors in TX were interviewed by the LA Times. They said the vile bat-shot crazy dad was armed and dangerous, and would in his front yard, shooting at cans with his hand guns. I have zero doubt he killed in front of those kids. Because if he and the wife went to Alabama to have a threesome with the anonymous Huntsville guy, they left the kids home alone. The kids did not run away. The eldest would have been 20. So they were clearly terrified.

Every single thing DLers have speculated regarding this case has been true: sexual abuse, fear for their lives.....

The DA is ordering cadaver dogs to search properties. Also DNA tests to determine identities. I would not be at all surprised if the 2 year old was the 17 year old's kid. How did that 17 year old learn to love?

I don't think the kids look related. A few do. But several don't. They're all shrunken minute people, but physical features in common? No.

That girl at R24, humbled me. I was usually the smart kid ostracized by the popular crowd, so not much guilt. Except I didn't do enough to help the kids worse off than I was. I do feel shame for that. That poor poor Turpin girl.....

Maybe they were all chained when they left the house.

The neighbor said when he practiced shooting he would do it in the direction of the road (where people could be passing etc)

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I think it is photoshopped

ugh r79 just ugh

Tried to find the group, unsuccessfully. Can someone who is a member post the actual name of the group?

r80, if it's photoshopped...which parts of it? The entire background? How would the person 'shopping it not notice OOps forgot an arm! I haven't seen any other pix where the kids have any obviously missing limbs, but most of the photos don't show both arms for the older girls. I was thinking maybe her arm had to be cut off because of damage from the shackles and chains.

I'm not saying eugenics, I'm saying if someone is deeply mentally ill, don't let them keep the baby. Take the baby away for its own safety.

R61.

r84 Unfortunately if someone is seriously mentally ill they could pass on those crazy genes. Sterilize them.

R77 So far it has been reported by several news sources (quoting Louise's sister directly) that the trip to Huntsville AL was for Louise to have sex with another man they'd met online. Her husband drove her there for that tryst but did not participate, according to allegations. Allegedly, one year later to the day, David and Louise drove to that same motel, intending to have sex on the bed where she had sex with the online guy.

Honestly, I don't trust that sister about almost anything she says. That story might be absolutely true, but the sister has an agenda and a measure of it (if not all of it) is all about her, no one else. She is not to be trusted.

I hope she has no access to those kids for a long time, if ever. She is not right - shades of her sister Louise.

R82, it appears the moderators made the Facebook group “secret” and stopped approving people at 4.5k saying they were overwhelmed. They said they may start re-adding people “later”. How stupid.

Edited^. David Turpin and Louise Turpin discussion group is the name. I’d try to add someone as a current member, if possible.

If you just want to read I bet Reddit is better. On that Blaze Bernstein case they had people who knew the perp and said it was him a day or two before he was arrested.

R89 I cannot for the life of me figure out reddit. Any links you can provide?

Sure r90, I just type in the subject (I wrote Turpin family) and then Reddit on google search, this will get you started, in the middle you can find other threads, I don't post on reddit, just read, I don't know how to post on there, it does seem complicated.

Here's a megathread just started a day ago, it seems like it has lots of links. Oh and I guess this sub is Duggar related so they will mention lots of the kookiness of the quiverfull movement.

R91 thanks! I’ve never posted on reddit either, mainly because even with a search, I’m truly lost in it.

Are r90 and r93 very elderly people?

I’m in my 30’s and find Reddit kind of confusing.

R95=39

I’m 43... I usually can find my way around message boards but come on, reddit is a bit unique. It’s so vast that I have trouble sometimes, which frustrates me.

I’m 58 but I’ve been told I look early 30s and I find it confusing.

I don't understand what could possibly be confusing about reddit's interface at all. It's completely straight forward. No hidden elements. It's as bare bones a modern website as you'll find.

R87, or somewhere around there-- it's not a nub, she has her arm outstretched behind her and she's angling away slightly at the waist.

Reddit's design is ugly and the words are small.

I find it to be quite humorless.

So basically two nutjobs found their soulmates.

No I get why people find reddit confusing: it's because each post becomes a thread. Too hard to find newer comments, constantly have to work your way back to original posts. It is not user-friendly. Add to that the utter ass-hole-ness of the average reddit user and you realize it is a giant shitfest.

Does websleuths have any info? I checked there yesterday and there were people defending homeschooling....

R103 Pretty much. Lots of casual misogyny and homophobia, too. That aside, there are some interesting subreddits, so in a sense, there's something for everyone if you dig around enough, and many of the communities are comprised of interesting, knowledgeable and supportive people. The douchy, frustrated neckbeard types tend to inhabit exactly the kinds of subreddits you'd expect.

I only go there for PNL, r104.

Ha r105, one of my favorite things to do to cheer myself up is go to the just neckbeards sub! It's hilarious, m'lady!

Yes there’s a large discussion on websleuths

I’m still in the Facebook group. Someone poster the older boys (27 years old?) class schedule, he was taking intermediate algebra, a into to music class, and a course called English fundamentals - in college.

It’s been a long time since I was in college, but algebra? I took that my freshman year of high school.

English fundamentals sounds like a very basic entry English class that you are forced to take if you don’t have decent test scores (I assume this is community college)

I’m sure he was very delayed in learning. Poor kid.

The list of classes was posted on Websleuths, too. It was Mt. San Jacinto College and he had a 3.93 GPA.

[bold]Spring 2014[/bold]

Math 090 Elementary Algebra

[bold]Fall 2015[/bold]

Engl 098 English Fundamentals

Math 096 Intermediate Algebra

Mus 101 Music Fundamentals

[bold]Spring 2016[/bold]

Mus 125 Guitar 1

Mul 110 Introduction to Multi

Com 100 Public Speaking

Engl 101 Freshman Composition

Math 105 College Algebra

[bold]Summer 2016[/bold]

AUME 100 Basic Auto mechanics

[bold]Fall 2016[/bold]

MUS 127 Guitar 2

[bold]Spring 2017[/bold]

AUME 119 Basic Brake Systems

MUS 214 Guitar Ensemble

AUME 122 Engine Performance 1 *withdrew from class in Feb*

ANTH 115 Intro to Archaeology *B*

I wonder, if the 2-year-old is the son of the 17-year-old that escaped, if it could possibly be her brothers.

I honestly think that once one parent died, the other would have taken the murder-suicide route on the kids.

Thank goodness Jordan got them out.

I was wondering that too, R111. Do you think any of the brothers will end up facing charges?

R109 he couldn't have been developmentally disabled if he was able to maintain a near 4.0 GPA (even if it is just community college). He also passed college algebra.

I'm pretty sure that if a student without a high school transcript is admitted to community college, they need to "work their way up" to college algebra by taking and passing the prerequisite courses (elementary and then intermediate algebra).

I think there will be at least one dead child found. I think that child would be the oldest. Jennifer is 29. I think there was another child, perhaps 1 year older, that has passed away. Probably 2 years ago, which is why Jordan started planning the escape. Also why they are bringing in cardavor dogs to the residence. Louise is 47, and married at 16. She’s been married 31 years. Jennifer is 29. I think Louise got pregnant right after getting married, which gives wiggle room for one more child slightly older than Jennifer. It happens. My brother and I are only 13 months apart, it happens. Plus Louise at 16 would be very fertile at that age... being religious and all - it’s not like they used protection. She probably was knocked up a few weeks after the wedding.

Knowing that the oldest brother is of average intelligence, (he'd have to be in order to maintain decent grades), makes me wonder how much of role he had to play in the family dynamic. He was at college all day long and could have reached out for help there, but didn't. Instead, his ten years younger sister had to plan an escape for two years while he did nothing. I hope they charge him with something. He could have stopped all this, but he chose not to. He can rot in hell with his parents.

R116 that's why I think that the 2-year-old might be his and the sister's.

I wondered that from the beginning too, R117.

Wouldn't it be awful if he's (the eldest brother) being kept with the other siblings and they're too afraid to say anything against him? I hope the authorities are looking into him.

Oh for pete's sake--the mother came with him to college and policed him, making sure he left classes the moment they were done and didn't talk to anyone. One student recalls seeing him scarf food at a class gathering, not talking to anyone. He was being starved with the rest of them.

As for one of the daughters being impregnated--not at those body fat levels. It's pretty clear that the 17-year-old, who's been described as looking like she's 10, hasn't gone through puberty. I doubt any of the girls were doing much in the way of menstruation.

What are their body fat levels? Has that been released? I'm sure the 17 year old has likely gone through puberty. Where are you getting this information from?

R120, thank you for the common sense. The posters on this thread thinking the boys could’ve stopped the abuse or were “in” on it somehow sound like heartless morons.

He had all day without his mother by his side, R120. She went with him in the morning and picked him up at the end of the day so he would have been able to ask for help.

It seems as though the mother did give birth to the youngest child. There is a pic of her pregnant from two years ago, and, more importantly an article that says all the children were born in a hospital.

[quote] All the children were born in hospitals, but they almost never saw doctors and never visited a dentist,

U need a certain amount of body fat to menstruate. If ur starving, that's not going to happen. long distance runners and other female athletes often don't menstruate due to low body fat

The boys are victims just like the girls. Not fair to say that he was responsible for the abuse just because he didn't try to escape. He was probably just as afraid and brainwashed as the others.

Wow, people on this thread really don't understand the effects that prolonged abuse can have on the developing brain. Or the effects of growing up with a parent you know is capable of murder if you disobey (the father owned several guns which he shot all over his property, and his neighbors in texas were scared of him).

[quote]The posters on this thread thinking the boys could’ve stopped the abuse or were “in” on it somehow sound like heartless morons.

Frauen, I guarantee it.

A similar case.

[quote]Frauen, I guarantee it.

Still begging for someone to shit in my mouth!

R121, the original police report described the 17 year old looking like she was 10--i.e. prepubescent. The body fat levels needed for menstruation vary somewhat, but roughly 12 percent is needed. There's a link between body fat and estrogen levels--growing a baby takes a lot of calories, so the reproductive cycle shuts down or doesn't start unless there's enough fat.

The Daily Fail has been running a ton of stories on the Turpins, I believe that's where I saw the one on the son. Long-term abuse does weird things to people. None of these kids had developed the tools to survive independently--certainly not the self-esteem. It's remarkable that the 17-year-old had the guts to escape.

Articles have reported that the children plotted the escape for two years. It wasn't just Jordan. It seemed to be all of them planning it together. Jordan and one of the other girls went out the window but the sister got scared and went back in.

Maybe they starved the kids to keep them childlike and so the girls wouldn't menstruate.

[quote]As for one of the daughters being impregnated--not at those body fat levels. It's pretty clear that the 17-year-old, who's been described as looking like she's 10, hasn't gone through puberty. I doubt any of the girls were doing much in the way of menstruation.

Lots of idiots here.

I hope Welsh ingenue, Catherine Zeta-Jones Douglas, is being considered for the role of plucky 17 year old Jordan.

It also seems the starvation got worse in recent years. Jordan in the wedding photo in the pink dresses looked way closer to 17 than 10.

The baby looks like grey-haired David, the father

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Reports are saying the family was just about to move to Oklahoma due to a job transfer for DT. Within days. I’m still shocked this shmuck had a well paying job. Northrop Grumman nor any coworkers have said anything as far as I know.

[quote]Long-term abuse does weird things to people

Long-term abuse (and I thank you for hyphenating the compound modifier) disables the victim's ability to think and act according to their own interests, even their most basic interest. The effects of prolonged starvation, social isolation, emotional deprivation, physical and psychological violence are devastating. These Turpin offspring are victims in the most incontrovertible, inarguable sense. All of them.

Yes R138!!!! WHY have none of his coworkers said anything? I keep wondering how such a schlub could get a $140K/yr job!!! Wouldn't you think, on the day he showed up, that this guy needs close supervision? Are they paranoid at these military industrial complexes and quash all çomments to the press or on socîal media?

How did they keep buying houses? They declared bankruptcy, had two houses foreclosed on and still managed to buy another house! HOW?!?!

Also, they hook up for a sick threesome with a guy from Huntsville? Military base Huntsville?

I am looking forward to the conspiracy theory this all devolves into!!!!

R140 you’d be surprised how normal people can appear. How many times have serial killers walked and lived among neighbors who have no idea? These cretins—like these parents—knew how to hide their misdeeds and who they were.

So these freaks had the kids memorizing the Bible, like literally the ENTIRE Bible, all the while meeting up with strangers for a threesome. I have a feeling we've only been exposed to the tip of the iceberg thus far.

[quote] Are they paranoid at these military industrial complexes and quash all çomments to the press or on socîal media?

that is probably it

this guy was weird his whole life

Were they memorizing the bible? I have read they were basically illiterate

The Disney stuff seems bigger to them. The wife even dressed as Snow White.

R144 ew, but what if she consideres the kids her dwarves?

who knows what is in their heads? I think the dwarfs would be better treated

Lots of things really don't add up. Like the long term starvation and filth. Those kids in the wedding pics look thin but not starving. And their clothes and grooming in literally ALL of the pictures looks fine.....so I'm not getting the whole "living in squalor" thing either. Maybe there was some other reason their growth was stunted. Maybe the parents were drugging them.

^Also, Elvis was dancing around with all of them at the wedding. He didn't say they smelled bad.

He must have worked from home and has some specialized knowledge. He must have stunk and been socially off if he was in an office. Then again maybe engineers are of the odd sort anyway.

Those of you speculating about the parentage of some of the children, please note that investigators have already announced that ALL of the children are the biological offspring of the David Turpin and his wife.

I agree R147. A lot of things aren't adding up.

I thought they were still conducting tests R150.

R149 The children were only allowed to bathe once or twice a year. There are no reports that the parents had the same hygiene behavior. According to published accounts, David and Louise freely ate whatever they wanted while starving the kids, so it's easy to believe they didn't deprive themselves of hot showers and clean clothes too.

Several posters referred to that trip to Alabama 'to have a threesome.' All published accounts say the husband drove Louise there to have sex with another guy. A year to the day later, husband and wife went back to the same Alabama motel, to the same room, to have sex on the bed where Louise had sex with the other man.

I really hope they are conducting tests R150 to verify that they are all really the parents' children, or if any of the girls birthed any of the kids. Or if there are any dead kids (mom's or daughters') buried anywhere.

All of the children, including the two year old, were born in hospitals, R154. Of course there may be dead ones that we don't know about.

the D.A. said things got worse over time

The videos with the Elvis impersonator were from 2011, 2013, 2015.

They said the 29 year old weighed 82 lbs. She is thin in the photos but that sounds much thinner.

You can see more of the parents in this video. The father is even crying at one point in the Elvis ceremony.

If they could only shower once or twice a year, they probably got to do it before they went out in public. The Elvis impersonator seems like a polite person so he may not comment publicly on smells one way or another.

Here's another photo

I hope they run a whole battery of psych tests on these parents. The whole Disney fixation makes me think they were keeping the kids as young looking as they could by stunting their growth. Perhaps they see themselves as Peter Pan, eternally young. Let's face it, that goofy haircut might support this idea.

I wouldn't trust the kids with any relatives from either side. Both sides of that family are fucked up and auntie might be thinking of $$$ if she takes the kids in.

How did the father get hired with that hair and the deranged look in his eye?

Good question R160. I've been hoping some former co-workers would make comments.

The question of how they generated any income is still unclear. It says he made $140K/yr, but in another story, it said he hadn't worked since 2011. In addition to their rent/mortgage, there were the vacations and they had a large passenger van and 3 new VWs in the driveway.

Another story today said they were days away from moving due to Daddy taking a new job. I wonder if they had credit cards in the adult children's names. They had to have been somehow grifting. Were the kids getting disability?

Do we have pictures of the anonymous AL guy?

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It was earlier than a "midlife crisis." There is that story about the oldest being obviously abused/neglected in grade 3. So that would be going on over 20 years.

I know the parents probably showered and groomed but wouldn’t they still smell if the house is full of piss and shit and who knows what else? How does anyone even conduct themselves normally at work or school under those conditions!

Screwed up people get jobs.

So basically most of this torture happened due to the financial stress they were under, yes? Cut back on food and hot water and you can save a bit. He hadn't worked in years so what $$ were they living on? I'm assuming he was too proud/against his beliefs to apply for food stamps or welfare.

[quote]I know the parents probably showered and groomed but wouldn’t they still smell if the house is full of piss and shit and who knows what else?

They did smell, the servers in the Taco Bell they visited almost every single day said they smelled.

R131, Yes, lots of idiots here and you appear to be one--yes, famine leads to lower birth rates--dramatically lower. You think this hasn't been studied? There's a very good study on the effects of the WWII Dutch famine, the famine in China and the famine in the Soviet Union. Starvation, not surprisingly, is bad for fertility--estrogen levels drop when there's insufficient body fat.

As for Darfur--the famines are seasonal, so body fat levels (and menstrual cycles) vary throughout the year. Even so, the end of the famine saw an uptick in the birth rate.

The Turpin situation is sick enough as it is without incest babies.

[quote]wouldn’t they still smell if the house is full of piss and shit and who knows what else?

I wish we knew what year it started. The house looked clean enough when the 2-year-old was a baby, and the yard seems like it was being maintained. But then I go back to R24 and wonder if they just did some heavy-duty cleaning before taking pictures.

For what it's worth, the Websleuths have decided that the boy second from the right is passed out in this picture while the one next to him has deformed feet, can't straighten his legs, and is smiling a bit too widely. All of them have ligature marks on their ankles. If I were a member I'd tell them that I can see sweet angel-baby Caylee Anthony reflected in the glass.

Wasn't he fired by Northrup after just a few weeks? So the people there must have seen something very wrong with this guy quickly and it was a new job in Okahoma, not a "transfer."

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A neighbor in Texas who worked 3rd shift said he would see the parents bundling all the kids into the van at 1am twice a month. He's also the one who said he saw the children being forced to march in circles inside the house for hours on end. Where were they taking the kids at 1am twice a month? Another thing I saw someone bring up is that, in light of the shower incident with David and Louise's much younger little sister, people are wondering if forbidding the kids from showering was a way of protecting them from abuse by David OR if keeping them small was a way of sating David's sexual desires. But it's also known that Louise was similarly denied food, tv, phone calls, friends visiting, etc. as a kid and has been strongly suggested that her clearly anorexic mother, her younger sisters and herself were sexually abused by their obese husband/father so this scenario may have been what 'normal' looked like to her. People were also wondering why the sheriff's department specified that t-shirt donations specifically not be V-Necks. Ideas seemed to be split between not wanting to expose severely malnourished collarbones and religious modesty, but I was thinking maybe they're all branded near the clavicle.

V - neck t-shirts are ugly.

hopefully they will get real shirts instead of just t-shirts

Where they were going at 1:00 is a mystery

I think the starvation was pure sadistic neglect and greed to keep the money for themselves.

That's the stuff of nightmares R175. What was the shower incident about?

So, Louise's little sister, the brunette, was living with them for a while. She was still a kid. And apparently David picked the bathroom lock and came in while she was showering, several times, and just stood there grinning and smiling and ogling her. According to her, since he didn't actually try to touch her, she didn't complain about it.

I thought he did that to the red-haired one

It's a real life Flowers in the Attic!

Even the person talking about them at R174 is wearing a Disney-themed top.

Looks like they are splitting up the kids, despite them wanting to stay together. Sad.

Where is the new world order troll? Surely everyone in Disney- licensed tacky togs signals some kind of Satanic conspiracy.

Sterilize the lot of them.

That is too bad, R182. I hope they get decent care and can still see each other.

The one with red hair said Louise would unlock the bathroom door with a coat hanger and then she and David would watch her until she was finished showering.

It starts at 4:00.

In many of the pictures, you can see that something is wrong with one of the young girls foot or leg.

One of the articles says all the kids have diminished mental capacity. So disturbing.

“Lots of things really don't add up. Like the long term starvation and filth. Those kids in the wedding pics look thin but not starving. And their clothes and grooming in literally ALL of the pictures looks fine.....so I'm not getting the whole "living in squalor" thing either. Maybe there was some other reason their growth was stunted. Maybe the parents were drugging them.”

R147 - there is no way in hell police would remove 13 kids from that home, without even waiting for CPS, unless there was clear evidence of there was a serious problem.

The pics from Vegas and Disney are a few years old. For any 29 year old woman to weigh 82 pounds - she’s clearly being starved. In this case, not of her own doing, but by these monsters that conceived her.

Whatever they walked into was so disturbing they didn’t even wait for CPS to arrive. They removed the kids and drove the parents van to get them all out of there.

There might be advantages to separating them, as long as they are allowed visits.

The police were disturbed by the smell of the place

Robert Allan Hale (April 7, 1941 – May 26, 2008) — known as Bobby Hale, as well as Papa Pilgrim and Sunstar — was an American criminal who mentally, physically, and sexually abused his wife and 15 children in the Alaskan wildernessA self-proclaimed devout Christian, Hale moved his family of 17 to Alaska from New Mexico in 1998 and kept them isolated from nearly all outside influences, including churches.

A Dark Family Secret Hidden For Years In Alaska's 'Wilderness'

Taha Muntajibuddin, who published the heatening account at r24, is now a pediatrics doctor. Would be nice if he and some of his colleagues could do some work for these children.

They should keep the underage age kids together, now it sounds like they could be adopted out to different families

The baby may well be adopted out, the rest fostered. Do many people want to adopt a 12-year-old?

Hopefully if they are required, the older minors can join their adult siblings in the same assisted living facilities when they come of age.

And hopefully the oldest son can go back to community college, along with the others who are able.

I just heard on the early AM CBS news that the 6 youngest will go to 2 foster families (3 apiece) and the 7 adults will go together into an assisted living group home. That sounds kind and reasonable. Where would you put 13 special needs people as a group?

Terrible to add to those kids' trauma by splitting them up. They've spent every moment of their lives together and are the only ones who will be able to understand each other's pain.

I was wondering if the news was accurate about having them moved into foster care / assisted living.. isn’t it kind of fast?

They are still in the hospital. Those are future plans.

Home schooling needs to be outlawed or at least MUCH more heavily regulated

It's the state's responsibility to make sure kids don't miss out on an education, no matter what their numbskull parents believe.

R198 - just because they are split up doesn't mean they can't meet and talk. It is possible that there are severe dysfunctions between the kids themselves. Who knows? I am not an expert in such matters. Also maybe it is therapeutic if they are surrounded now by 100% normality and NOT 12 fucked up siblings.

I just hope genuine care is involved whatever the arrangements and that they can stay in touch - mentally that will be important for them. They specifically asked for that.. With all the experts in childcare, abuse, trauma, you'd think someone would help them, or be hired to help them - or is all that just about writing papers?

I think I read somewhere that they would be moving in a week - which did sound fast. Shouldn't they physically recuperate first? Or is it all about money and kicking people out of the hospital asap , as usual?

an ordinary foster parent would not have the skills to deal with them even if they were nice people

will the "assisted living" place be decent or will it be another jail? Are they going to be in it for life?

I work with the developmentally disabled. Unfortunately, the future does not look good for them. They will be put on an assembly line with certain expected results that have nothing to do with their condition or their need to heal. Mental health in this country is really fucked up.

that is too bad, R204

I wish the media spotlight could help them to ensure decent care but maybe the system doesn't care

If that girl was smart enough to escape, she can do more than just be warehoused. I wish they had the right people to help them.

I think the system is poorly funded and can't cope, so much as not caring.

It would be nice to think of them living together in a big group home in the country with the outdoors for healing and animals and bikes and books.

But that's a pipe dream.

R205, part of the problem is "good intentions". The end game today is to get everyone independent- in an apartment and in a job. This is not bad as an ideal, but the problem is that people are rushed to meet that goal or forced into that mold when it does not suit them. It really just become a box to tick off. These kids are going to need years and years therapy. That is not goal oriented enough for today's system.

R207, that isn't a pipe dream. That is a Camphill Community.

I think these kids will be getting the best of everything. And once a good lawyer gets involved and finds incidents that should have triggered investigations, government agencies will be sued for hundreds of millions. There will be a book, a movie.

I think these kids will be fine financially. (Jaycee Dugard got a $20 million settlement from the CPS who failed to observe her captivity). The real question is how to give them a sense of serenity and joy, now that this ordeal is over. Take away their siblings? Certain terror. Leave the siblings together? Probably make no inroads in communication. Tough call. I am sure the experts handling their care are having to make hard decisions.

Any word on how the parents are doing in jail? I am picturing anal rapes with apple pies..... Maybe souvenir magic wands from Disney....

I think they will be fine. Income from books and movies and the older son obviously has some smarts. I don’t think they are all mentally disabled.

I don't think they are, either, so I hope they are not treated that way.

A bit of harsh reality.

Money does not equal good care.

The more money there is, the more scammers who want the money for themselves.

Actually, the money aspect my be the *worst* thing to happen to them.

Which is why Auntie needs to be kept away. I don’t trust any of their relatives. They are all religious nuts.

I don't trust them either. "Religious" nuts, fame-seeking, crazy themselves and would talk to them non-stop about their awful "parents." They have to be kept away.

Agreed that scammers could be a nightmare, which might explain classifying them as dependent adults: keeps the money secure.

Still everything is easier with money. So I hope they get plenty of it. And in the meantime, I hope their parents are tortured forever.

By the way someone here said David and Louise Turpin had been definitively identified as the biogical parents of all 13 kids. That is not true. Tbey are testing now. Homozygosity at a high percentage of markers can determine if there was incest. If that is true, I hope those kids get a lot of highly specialized therapy......

There’s a rumor swirling that one of the aunts (LT family) knew about the abuse, made jokes, and is suspected of abusing her own children. I didn’t even think of the money angle, but even more so all of those hillbilly leeching relatives need to be kept far away from the kids!

Also, someone claiming to have grown up with DT remarked on how smart he is - genius level. Which makes it easier to see how he can stay employed as an engineer. Anyway, there is a proceeding today to block the parents from contacting the kids - sad they even need a court order..

I read that Jaycee Dugard sued but lost—so she got nothing.

Never mind @ R217. She initially lost in lower courts but won in upper and received the settlement in 2016. Good

Being separated may be the best thing for them, unfortunately. Years ago, I knew a family that took in a foster child, an 11 year old boy who had become "patentified" due to years of neglect and abuse. The boy basically raised his three younger siblings, looked after his junkie parents, and never had the chance to be a child himself. This kid cooked, cleaned, made formula and changed diapers for the youngest sibling, brought his two other siblings to and from school on a regular basis, and even drove his drunk parents home from the bar, (yes, the parents went to the bar, left the kids in the car, and he drove them all home afterward).

When the four children were first apprehended, they were placed together, but it was soon pretty clear that the younger kids went to him for help with everything and wouldn't seek or allow the help of the adults in the foster home. It's a long, complicated story, but basically the four kids had to be separated for about the first year.

I don't understand why people leave toys, stuffed animals, etc. in front of their old house. That stuff is just going to go to waste because they are not going back there.

Exactly. Ship them to the hospital or donate it to someone local.

I wonder if there’s only one charge of sexual abuse so far because the girl who escaped had less Stockholm syndrome than the others, therefore she was willing to admit she’d been abused. The others might still have been of the mindset that they must protect their parents, and might change later.

Yes, i thought that, too. A lifetime of keeping it in. They would not necessarily say everything to strangers right away or for years.

Good point r222. That’s what I was wondering - also, how they were so quickly able to come up with accurate charges - example, DT has 12 counts of torture, LT has 6, DT has one lewd act, LT abuse on a dependent adult 8 counts while he has 10, so and so on (just making up numbers) - BUT it appears these charges are growing and evolving. Maybe they just needed to get something started to get the process going.

I'm sure they will be able to face time or skype each other if they are feeling sad or miss each other, it's probably best they are apart for awhile but that doesn't mean they won't be in touch.

Virtual tour of the House of Horrors when it was a desirable show home. The escapee escaped from 'Bedroom 5'

^ I should have posted that as a 'Tasteful Friends' thread

Court appearance today - link below

The prosecutor is a guy named Mike Hestrin. He's been running the press conferences. He said these charges are merely the charges they have evidence for now, and that undoubtedly, more will be added. He has refused to comment on a number of issues (why did they do this? What's in those journals, were any of tbese kids close to death? Have any died?) And so I am guessing the horror is unspeakable and will continue to stun till the parents are permanently in prison.

Interestingly, the brother of DT, the one who is president of a college, wants to adopt all 13 kids. He is the author of a book on extreme fasting as a means to religious enlightenment. Am guessing he will be denied.

Disgusting! I do not want either side of that "family" going anywhere near them.

ARE THEY GOING TO CUT HIS HAIR WHEN THEY SEND HIM TO PRISON?

My goodness, R229. Hell no.

Also. I absolutely love the DA. Link to his bio below.

I don't know if there would be a public announcement if one of the kids is the product of incest for privacy reasons. Maybe they would just add charges on to the dad/brother but not elaborate.

So the brother has been charged too I guess? I had a feeling that would happen.

I think that is a hypothetical comment at R233

R225, with all due respect, these kids appear not to have had access to Skype or FaceTime to communicate with anyone, given the closed system isolation to which they were subject for years. Given the trauma of so much change in such a short period of time and the trauma of separation, it might not be the hospital caregivers' choice of means of providing them with mutual communication. Telephone conversations might be more likely.

r236, the aunts and grandparents skyped with them occasionally. That's on the official record. They just didn't have any one on one conversations.

The oldest son who did college courses would have had to submit his assignments online, surely.

Is bedroom 5 the one facing the street? I noticed that some of the decor from the model home remained after the turpins bought it (i saw a pic of all the kids on a sectional in the living room and the curtains seemed to be the same there as in the model home pics).

R237 thanks. I'm just curious, can you provide a link to that information about Skype/FaceTime or share where you recall reading it? Thanks.

R238 yes, good point. I wasn't suggesting that none of the kids were computer literate but submitting class work online doesn't necessarily mean the kids knew how to Skype or do FaceTime. As I said in reply to R237, I am very curious to see a link to the official record about the kids' tech savvy.

Obviously Jordan knew how to call 911, etc but that's not especially different from the straightforward steps using old landline phones, except for pushing the on button to dail or transmit the call when using a cellphone. I'm trying to get a sense of where these kids' awareness lies. We are all curious about the details of their skill sets and limitations. As many links as possible to sources of information will help us understand better or at least discuss things with the same data available to everyone talking here. Thanks in advance.

I read it in the now 6 pt (and growing) websleuths Thread(s) about the situation. They threads are huge. If you search Turpin and Skype maybe it'll come up.

Thanks R237.

I was just about to post that R241. I think there's already 5k posts, though it's probably closer to 10k. I understand why this story has generated so much interest -- it's so depraved to the point of being unthinkable to most of us, though there's also such a surrealness to it -- the Elvis impersonator, the matching Bonnie Jean dresses, that they were living in such horrific conditions in a zero-lot-line exurb. Families were going about their lives while children were being tortured just a few feet away.

The brother hasn’t been charged with anything r234. People are just assuming his guilty of something too. Considering he is emotionally and intellectually behind, was chained up most of the time, starved, beaten and choked he probably wasn’t up to diddling anyone.

I hope the Turpins are tormented by other prisoners every single day in prison. I hope they live in fear and have every single tray of food they’re served knocked out of their hands by other prisoners.

I get chills when I think about the bravery of Jordan the 17 year old who escaped. Now these truly evil fucks are sitting in court and prison where they belong when just moments ago, their decades-long charades went on and on. I wonder if they really thought they’d get away with it forever.

I found this Good Morning America interview with Louise's sister. She alleges that she begged (Louise? David?) to have Skype calls with the children for 20 years, but she infers that it never happened. If she is to be believed, ( I am skeptical of most everything both Louise and David's families say at this point) Skype never happened.

The "star" hanging in the front window is so creepy. I thought it was leftover xmas decor when I saw the news pics, but it's in the same place in the September 2016 Google Streetview shot.

The star was from a neighborhood decorating contest. They left it up.

[quote]Two years ago, the neighborhood watch of the Perris community where David and Louise Turpin lived with their 13 children held a Christmas decorating contest, offering $50 and $25 gift cards to the winners.

[quote]Some of the Turpin siblings joined in, placing a Nativity scene in their frontyard, with hay for the manger and a Nativity star in a window. Santa Claus sat in his sleigh near the garage.

[quote]When the winners were announced at a community gathering, the parents and five of their children were there.

[quote]Louise Turpin spent the evening chatting with a neighbor about her children, about the family's roots in West Virginia and Texas, and about their love of Las Vegas, said Salynn Simon, who lives across the street from the family's home.

[quote]Now, Simon said, she and many of her neighbors are struggling to process what they have learned about what was happening inside the Turpins' single-story house on Muir Woods Road, where the Nativity star from two years ago still hangs in the window.

It's insane that anyone is allowed to have kids willy-nilly. I've adopted several dogs from rescue organizations, all of which required thorough vetting of both my home and my family. Bringing a child into this world (especially one as stressful and overpopulated as it is now) should be a privilege reserved for those who are competent and nurturing.

My apologies, I neglected to mention that the comments about pleas to Skype start a little after 4:00 into the interview.

Don't forget Mickey Mouse and Disneyland, R243

Were they married on Halloween?

R252 I saw they had their most recent Vegas renewal on Halloween 2015, though I'm not sure if that's their anniversary. Yes, the Disney obsession is bizarre in its own right -- that alone should have tipped off someone. I live near Disney World (Orlando), and every adult-aged Disney-loon I've known has been batshit at best. It's but one of the many reasons Florida is so fucked up.

Thanks R249, I hadn’t read that detail yet.

R246 I get chills when I think about the other daughter who escaped a few years ago to a neighbours house to ask for help. And the neighbour brought her back to her parents. I can’t even imagine what they did to her as punishment.

I am acquainted with a woman in her early 30s who is very professionally competent, an excellent mother and a good wife. She seems overwhelmingly normal on the surface. But Disneyland & Disneyworld are her Mecca. She had one Halloween experience in childhood when her candy collecting bag sprung a leak and she lost most, if not all, of her candy. Since that day she has loathed Halloween with the Fire of A Thousand Suns (not the usual requisite 10K Suns.)

Christmas is her favorite holiday; it is a Mecca in very intense competition with Disney everything. She lives in a cold climate so snow is the norm for months on end, but once Christmas Day ends she wants the snow gone entirely. I am being very serious; 'begone, evil snow!' is her true point of view. She is also obsessed with an online game though I don't know anything about her gaming life.

Though she is, from what I've observed over a few years, living a sane and balanced life for the most part, her issues with holidays and Disney and that online game make me feel she is truly off in some significant way. Or perhaps she is simply very shallow though of decent, responsible character, and has had an overall carefree life.

If she didn't have such a large, extended, local, close family maybe she'd go over the edge too.

If one was sexually abused, chances are, all of them were.

[quote]I get chills when I think about the other daughter who escaped a few years ago to a neighbours house to ask for help. And the neighbour brought her back to her parents. I can’t even imagine what they did to her as punishment.

yes, very sad

R225, I wonder if this had something to do with the child's alleged stuntedness or disability. If she couldn't articulate herself well or just sounded "slow" the neighbor would be a lot less likely to believe her.

[quote] Louise Turpin’s sister, Teresa Robinette, recalls how the nature of her video calls with her nieces and nephews changed over time, until she was no longer allowed to speak with them at all.

[quote] “They were very friendly, but it was a very weird conversation every time because they weren’t real talkative,” she said Monday on NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today.” “When she let me video-Skype to them, it got to where instead of having them all together like we did years and years ago, it got to where she would bring in one or two or three at a time, and then she would send them out and tell them to send down so-and-so.”

[quote]Turpin parents visited Taco Bell 'almost every day', left starving kids chained up in filthy home.

No wonder the house smelled so foul.

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What the hell is her diagnosis?

I have this fucked up feeling that the wife gave the daughter the cell phone and may have even been the one to take the pictures of the torture. I think 'going public' is her final punishment for the husband.

I missed this. There are pictures... Of torture?

There were photos of the kids all chained up etc on the phone the daughter called 911 with.

Jordan brought photos to the cops when she escaped, as "proof" in order for the police to have legal cause to enter the house. I assume the photos were on the cell phone, but they could have been polaroids, IDK.

Any word on the 911 call and what was said? How about being that operator

Wow, some of these details are new to me, such as a daughter escaping before and the torture photos. Where is everyone getting their info? Websleuths?

I don't know if it was the same daughter who escaped. The previous escape was in Texas.. I read it in article about their Texas years.

R237 R260 Thanks for that information. So the other sister, Barbara, on the GMA interview alleges she was prevented from Skyping with the kids for 20 years or so but Teresa was able to do so? It sounds like Louise really played her family members for whatever reason or reasons. At the very least Louise gives new meaning to the term 'control freak.'

That said, I am honestly not sure I trust anything that anyone in either of their families says to the media; they appear to be a very dysfunctional group.

R269 if you scroll back through this thread (and the previous thread about this horror show) you will find multiple different sources of linked information (news and video) about this case. Links were often posted as the news was breaking.

Did the girl take the photos of the others chained (as proof for the police), or were they on the phone previously ( possibly taken by the parents?)

R272 did you read R3?

[quote]What the hell is her diagnosis?

Borderline personality will be her diagnosis, co-morbid with narcissism, alcohol abuse and eating disorders. The 'Borderline Witch' and 'Borderline Hermit' sub-types fit Louise Turpin. I posted about these types in the first thread.

Yes, R273. That is at the Texas house. They mention photos of the house, Polaroids.

There would have been different photos that were brought to the police. Did the girl take them with the phone as proof, or were they taken by someone else (parents) as part of the torture?

What I don't get is they said that they didn't know what the police were, yet she was phoning 9-11 and had photo evidence (for the police?)

"What I don't get is they said that they didn't know what the police were, yet she was phoning 9-11 and had photo evidence (for the police?)"

I was wondering the same thing! I feel bad for the kids and all but there is something very ballon-boy-ish about this family. I can't figure out what it is but something just isn't sitting right with all of this.

Obviously the 17-year-old knew what the police were - or at least that calling 911 meant "this is how to contact an authority to help you" = and the younger or mentally disabled kids didn't.

No R278, iirc the police said that the 17-year-old escapee didn't appear to know what police were.

I guess the "parents" and "principal" of the "school" didn't teach them what the police are. I wonder why.

The oldest brother must have known what the police were. Why didn't he do anything when he was in college? I'm really suspicious of him. Given that he was allowed to attend college, he may have been the parents favorite. Maybe he even took part in the abuse too. I can't see how a grown man attending college would have no idea that what was happening was wrong or have no way of contacting the authorities. I don't belive for one second that he, or the middle brother, were abused to the same extent. He was allowed out, every day to attend classes, and there was a report that the middle brother wasn't tied up. It's a gut feeling I have that we'll soon hear that the sons, or at least the oldest son, played a role in the abuse. Maybe that's why they didn't let the siblings stay together??

I think some of you don't understand brainwashing and fear that's been instilled in you since birth. Stockholm syndrome is real and they were taught to fear the outside world and strangers. I don't think the older brother had the strength to abuse anyone.

Mom is batshit crazy as evidenced by that pic at R262. No one who is sane acts like that in court.

R281 if he participated in the abuse he would have been manipulated and/or coerced into doing it and therefore would still be a victim. Child abusers often do make their victims abuse smaller children, it's part of the abuse.

These parents had total life and death control over the children. It must have taken all of their mental and physical energy just to stay alive each day.

Crazy theory at R264, you never know. I wonder if people are getting the stories of the girl who tried to escape in Texas vs the one who just did mixed up. It’s possible the first girl didn’t know what police were. I read she was asking someone “what is a license?” Etc. The one who presumably escaped on her own obviously knew enough to dial 911. I can’t wait to find out the detail there. How she found a phone, and clearly wasn’t restrained in that moment. There were Polaroids found in the home at least one showing a rope tied to a bed. It’s also possible LT/DT treated boys and girls much differently.

[quote]Mom is batshit crazy

Mom is borderline and the prospect of being separated from her enabling co-monster hubby and her possession kids will have sent her into a stress-related psychotic break. That's why she's grinning. She's probably hallucinating that the judge is the Wicked Queen from Snow White.

R264 I disagree. The mother is the instigator in this. It's a folie à deux situation in which her borderline personality (fear of betrayal / abandonment, paranoia, extreme mood swings, violent outbursts, eating disorders) have become assimilated by the partner.

Both of these parents are evil. I hope I don't hear any, "he followed her orders," or "she was an abuse victim, and terrified and the poor woman was a victim too and incapable of abuse." Seriously.

R286 So......she's crazy.

r288 It worked for me!

R281 have you read anything that’s posted or are you so determined to defend the parents in this situations you refuse to read the countless articles on them. The eldest son went to college with his mother waiting outside each and every class he attended. He had to get in the car immediately after each class. He wore the same thing for the duration of his time at college and appeared incredibly undernourished for that entire time. He was chained up and starved with his siblings the rest of the time so when exactly are these boys abusing anyone? Have you ever skipped several meals? I doubt it, because if you had you’d know getting food not sex would permeate your every thought. This is a family who made their kids stay up all night. If he was attending college classes during the day and up all night without food do you think he had the energy to make a break for it? His psycho mother waited outside his class. If he tried to run that fat bitch could have grabbed him. Do you think the Turpins would have sent a child they thought was strong willed to college. They sent a kid they could trust was too broken to say or do anything.

I read a few days ago that the phone the 17 year old took had been deactivated. Thank God federal law requires that even deactivated phones be able to make 911 calls.

I also read that when the mother answered the door for the police she appeared genuinely bewildered about why they were there and what they might want.

Yeah I can't understand that r292, on the one hand, she knew they were breaking the law, but on the other hand, she thought they could be on a reality show so maybe she really didn't get it.

[quote]she knew they were breaking the law

I don't know, r293. Did she?

She knew what they were doing was wrong r292, as the abuse worsened the kids isolation worsened. They clearly didn’t want them to tell anyone.

She probably assumed that if she posted enough pictures of them in matching outfits at Disneyland the tv networks would come looking for her and then she’d clean the house and her perfectly well trained kids would seem like angels in front of the camera. When the cameras left they’d all be tied up again and no one would be any wiser. Her problem was she didn’t know how reality tv worked, not that she didn’t know that what she was doing was wrong. If she didn’t know any better, they wouldn’t have cleaned the kids up and dressed them up for those group photos. She probably lied to herself about the severity of the abuse but she undoubtedly knew it was wrong.

I hope the prosecution rip her and her husband to shreds.

[quote]Another story today said they were days away from moving due to Daddy taking a new job. I wonder if they had credit cards in the adult children's names. They had to have been somehow grifting. Were the kids getting disability?

When I was in college, I had a friend whose girlfriend who were bad with money. She applied for a job as a bank teller. The bank HR interviewed her and then conducted the background and credit checks and told her they decided to stop the hiring process because of the credit check. She later found that her parents had been taking out credit cards in her name and maxing them out. It was mess for her and she filed police reports on her parents. My friend broke up with her before the parents went trial. So we never knew the outcome.

I wonder how Louise is enjoying the fame she so desperately wanted?

To some extent, that these parents got away with as much as they did is due to our cultural deference to people who claim to be "good Christians."

"These kids know their Bible! What a wonderful wholesome family!"

She had to have known to some extent that she was doing evil. The cops showed up and apparently caught her or her husband undoing the chains on the kids. She must have told the cops to wait, which they won't, and run upstairs to do this with the cops following.

Women with BPD often hook up with men who have Narcissistic Personality Disorder--may be what's going on here. She's nuts and abusive and he's too self-involved and egotistical to care. Neither of them would have seen the kids as real people--just extensions of themselves. And neither would be capable of admitting that they were at fault or in the wrong for anything--the starvation and the bed chaining would be rationalized like crazy.

They probably did play the kids off one another at various points--the son taking college classes was probably under the impression that A) if he didn't behave perfectly, he'd be pulled out and B) there is no way that he could function on his own. The starvation and lack of skills made that perfectly true, by the way. The starvation and its affect on the kids means the parents remained in control.

For those who think the son might have reported his parents--I'll just point out that neither Jaycee Dugard nor Elizabeth Smart, both of whom had opportunities to get away, did so. The kidnapper/torturers/parents are seen as all-powerful by their victims.

It really is remarkable that the 17-year-old had the strength to do this. That and her brother doing okay at college makes me hope that at least some of them will be able to live independently and hold jobs.

[quote] Are they paranoid at these military industrial complexes and quash all çomments to the press or on socîal media?

R140, why did you spell “comments” with a cedilla?

Ive read a few news articles but it doesn’t say how the 17yr old knew to call 911. Did she run to a neighbour place who told her what to do? Or did she learn about it while overhearing the parents TV shows? My bf suggested that maybe she saw a sign in a hotel when they were in Vegas/Disneyland? They have the emergency instructions on the back of doors. Can’t wait to find out.

Apparently, if you try to make a normal call from a disabled cell phone it basically gives you instructions saying that it can only dial 911 unless it is reactivated. So, all she had to know were the numbers 9 and 1.

Don’t know about the US, but in other countries phones that are locked or deactivated only display ‘emergency call’ function. Press that and it will automatically put you through to emergency services.

Horrible situation, but as bad as I feel for those siblings, I think that the majority of them are beyond help. I hope none of them go on to have children of their own. Sad to say, but I don't think they will ever be "normal" enough to function in society. I have a feeling most of them will be in care for the rest of their lives. Perhaps that's a good thing though, as much as I feel for these kids I worry that some of all of them will have inherited whatever disorders their parents have. They could well end up being borderline or sociopaths themselves. This may be wrong to say, but I wouldn't want to live next door or have any dealings with any of them.

Do they have bravery awards in the US? In my country she would definitely be nominated for one. She saved her life and that of 12 others believing that if she were caught she might be murdered by her parents. It’s incredibly gutsy and selfless and she deserves to be acknowledged. Another benefit is it would torture her parents who probably see their daughter as a traitor, receiving fame and praise as a hero while they whole world sees them as evil.

Such a hysterical MARY r305. What do you know about any of your neighbours childhoods? Do you think they all had a normal upbringing? Do you think everyone with normal childhoods grew up to be model citizens? You don’t really know anything about your neighbours other than what they choose to tell you. The Turpins, who will probably never live independently, are the least of your problems.

Maybe not, but they sure could become the biggest problems in their children's lives if they have them or anyone who encounters them in the future, R307. I'll say it again, hopefully none of them ever become parents.

I wonder if [italic]To Train Up a Child[/italic] was found in the house.

For those who aren't familiar, it's THE manual on creating submissive Christian children and it used to be pushed heavily by the pre-fame Duggars. The philosophy behind it is that babies come into the world as evil, willful creatures who must be broken as early as possible in order to save them.

The book encourages slapping infants who touch a mother's glasses or hair while nursing; babies and toddlers with a flexible plastic ruler, older kids with a wooden paddle with holes drilled in it, and by the time they're 10-12, anything goes....thick wooden dowels, suffocation, restraining in painful positions, etc.

It's also believed that the normal things a child would want (for example, candy or a toy) are constantly being used by Satan to tempt them, which is where my mind went immediately when I read about the pies left out on the counter.

Once babies are old enough to crawl, they're put on a blanket on the floor and a toy is placed off to the side. When they start to crawl over to it, they're hit with the ruler and put back in back in the middle of the blanket. This is repeated over and over until they're completely broken and, regardless of the temptation placed in front of them, they won't leave the center of the blanket.

Knowing that the brother wrote a book about fasting for spiritual purification makes me wonder if they were being starved as a means of "saving" them.

What’s weird too, is that they had a plethora of potential mini slaves but instead of getting them to clean their house (like those awful Duggers do ) they had them march in formation for hours. The marching is far more monotonous and would add to breaking their spirit since they would have been doing that on an empty stomach, but surely cleaning up shit and urine wouldn’t exactly be enjoyable either. Why live in utter filth when they could get their kids to clean it up? Maybe they didn’t want them having life skills at all, including something as basic as cleaning.

I find myself wanting all the details NOW.

What good does it do to let details dribble out?

Probably a whole bunch of legal reasons r311. As the prosecution why hand the defence any ammunition ahead of time and of course announcing some of the more shocking abuse in court would have a greater impact.

I hope that eventually, with the help of someone, they write a tell-all and it helps fund their life. Some of these kids will never be able to hold down a job so a best selling book would go some way in helping them survive.

[quote]Do they have bravery awards in the US? In my country she would definitely be nominated for one

They do exist here and are sometimes given by law enforcement agencies, municipalities, or non-government organizations or agencies.

[quote]It's a gut feeling I have...

r281 = Frau

How did the daughter know to call 911 yet they said the kids didn't know what a police officer was.

r315 read the fucking thread. Explained.

r306 yes, but not in this political climate. With the evangelical right making all of our policy decisions, a child defying conservatively christian parents would not be awarded. Ellen won it one year while Obama was President.

"yes, but not in this political climate. With the evangelical right making all of our policy decisions, a child defying conservatively christian parents would not be awarded."

Ridiculous. Do you really believe that majority of conservative Christian parents would be totally ok with starving and chaining kids to beds?

[quote] Do you really believe that majority of conservative Christian parents would be totally ok with starving and chaining kids to beds?

Absolutely.

The scumbags probably threatened to hurt the younger ones to keep the older ones from escaping. Since all they had was each other, that would be a very effective means of control.

r316 I know she took the cellphone but how did she know what 911 is if the kids didn't know what a police officer was. Some things don't add up considering the kids went to school for a time.

R320 they didn’t say which kids didn’t know what police were. Could have been one of the very young ones.

R318 you could argue that except in this case there were periods where they abandoned religion all together. When Louise Turpin went interstate, driven there by her husband, to have sex with an anonymous stranger she wasn’t exactly following the tenements of fundie religious cults that say women are to only ever have sex with the man they marry regardless of how many people he’s banging.

These two chopped and changed their beliefs to fit around their desires. She wanted to be a reality star so probably thought it looked better if she were a Dugger type fundie.

So who was keeping watch over the kids while the parents were away? Why didn't they try to escape then? Clearly some of the kids had to have been acting as minions for the parents.

r322 judeo-christian theists are mentally ill sadists. Consistency between their behavior and beliefs is irrelevant. They all cherry pick. They're all hypocrites. And, collectively, they are the biggest threat to the future of civilization, our species and the planet. They all should all be ejected into space.

They were probably tied up for the duration r323. Do you think they let them go and told them to help themselves to the toys and food? Some of you make endless excuses for those fuckers.

Not making excuses for the fuckers R325. Just trying to sort all of this out. If not the kids, maybe someone from their families came and watched over the kids...I don't trust anyone in those families, bullshit they didn't know what was going on in the Turpin home.

r326, they refused to give their relatives their addresses. No one knew where they lived. No one watched them while they went fucking their way through Alabama, if that even happened.

[quote] They were probably tied up for the duration [R323]. Do you think they let them go and told them to help themselves to the toys and food? Some of you make endless excuses for those fuckers.

Many of the "kids" are adults, R325. Some of those siblings surely were "minions" of the parents, probably the older sons, perhaps others. Two people can't control several adults without help. Not saying that the older kids weren't victims too, but they could have been brainwashed into helping their parents.

r328 you seem to have not read anything about the case nor looked at any pictures of what the older children looked like. The 22 year old son, who was still chained up when the cops came in, appears to be about 14 years old and has sticks for legs. The eldest daughter may or may not be missing an arm. The cops thought the 17 year old escapee was 10 years old. Do you know what prolonged severe malnutrition during childhood does to a human brain and body? Do you know anything about psychology? Do you know words?

R318 you nailed it. This situation is boilerplate pure devout God-fearing Evangelical Christian cognitive dissonance at work and at some level involves great pressure to normalise such things as the status quo. The inherent indoctrinaire bullying and railroading of vulnerable or multi-generationally indoctrinated bible-belt people to enter or never leave the flock, is classic.

I hear so many posts on this thread trying to make sense of this by presenting a theory of complicity by the eldest son, or suspicions about Jordan's understanding of who police are or who might show up to help or other points of view about neighbors being delinquent reporting odd behavior.

Most posts in this thread are caring and/or poignant because this situation is so horrific beyond their personal experience of life; they are earnestly grappling with any reason, explanation and/or circumstance to explain this horror. Perhaps some here, as well as some of those those media reporters, are desperately, understandably, masking personal childhood trauma or anecdotes they heard around town at some point. Acting outraged, deeply disturbed and empathic about the stories they report can be a mechanism by which they deflect their own personal pain (whatever its origins.)

I honestly feel that a lot of really well meaning people are posting here and trying to equalise the Turpin situation with their own understanding of what horror like that might seem like and there are stretched out theories of what that looks and feels like to those kids. (EG, Eldest son should have alerted authorities, aided and abetted abuse, etc.) The posters' theories and opinions might be with really good intent to get to the truth, are well meaning, and applaudable within that very specific context. I am not calling out or bitching at anyone who has posted here or on the previous linked thread.

However, if you have never dealt with pathology at the Turpin level, and unless you are willing to stretch your brain, psyche and emotional boundaries to get what these kids (and their parents) lived inside, your questions and/or theories won't give you the answers you seek. At some level, you want a normal person run amok, to which you can fundamentally relate at some removed level. But to really sit with this discussion at its most fundamental levels it might be beyond what you can handle psychologically and emotionally, and I do not say that as a criticism in any way, shape or form. I hope that the internal operative reality within which Louise and David operated, and perhaps still do, in a universe that allows no one else - their need, pain, suffering - never gets into your own head simply trying to puzzle out this tragedy. Be grateful for that distance from their inner world. The way their reality can get to you is if and when you try to analyse their thinking or world on your analytical terms. It will never work. I simply mean it will disturb and depress the living fuck out of you. Wait for forthcoming FBI profiling and go from there.

Look at the careful distance the FBI profilers work hard to maintain to insure their own somewhat healthy survival in that pathological realm. Let them take the heat of this monstrosity.

r326 and r328 I think I mentioned in the other thread the girl in the box, Colleen Stan, who was held hostage under a bed in a married couple's house for 7 years. She was a hitchhiker and it's safe to say she was probably pretty street wise yet even though they allowed her to go home and see her family for a weekend, she WENT back to them! An adult, who didn't even know them and was probably somewhat savvy. Now we're talking about kids who loved their parents and knew them and probably had been told horrible things about the outside world, just look at it like Stockholm Syndrome and you will have your answers.

They are emotionally and intellectually delayed r328. They’re “adults” in age only. They’re not adults in any other sense. Why is this so hard for you to understand? Are you shackled and starving and find basic concepts difficult? Should we send help?

Why have anyone watch them r326, they’re shackled to furniture (and at times hog tied) and their parents feel no obligation to feed them or let them use a toilet. Why would they want anyone watching them and rake even the smallest risk getting exposed?

All this sympathy for a bunch of deplorables. Where's the same sentiment when it comes to other victims of abuse, rape, sexual assault? Y'all make light of other victims, all the time, but somehow, you're all standing up for these ones? Face it, in a few years any of these Turpin children that aren't totally delayed will turn into a bunch of trumpkin rethugs with no sympathy for any of you.

R18 nailed not a damn thing. And you sound like an idiot supporting his suggestion that ALL conservative Christians would even think of treating their children so horribly. The children were treated the way they were treated because of the parents' desire for power and control. And probably sexual deviance. Sadly, they used religion as one of the means to accomplish this. I'm sure we will be hearing a lot more of the sordid details in weeks to come.

R334 were you trying to reply to R18 or R318 ? I am being serious and respectful. R18 's post sounds detached, not advocating any position. Thank you for clarification.

So Jordan has been plotting this escape for 2 years. Presumably she has the phone all that time with just enough charge to call 911. So why did it require escaping from the house? I am guessing they were downstairs in a dark basement or upstairs in one of the 5 bedrooms? Were the kids going to turn on her if they saw or heard her make the call?

I really hate how the details of this whole story are kept from the public. I remember when John Wayne Gacy was discovered to have interred 17 victims in his crawlspace in suburban Chicago. ALL Of the details were splashed all over the newspapers for weeks. His trial was not affected. He was sentenced to death.

This case seems equally clear-cut. what is the point of all of this secrecy? It will clearly not affect the case against the parents. Given what they have been through, I have a hard time believing this handling of the details helps their recovery. Speculation and confusion just exacerbate the despair that stems from this extreme insanity.

Why don't they just get on with it? Must we wait for Dr. Phil and Nancy Grace?

Geez there’s secrecy because there are MINORS involved. Even the 17 year old is a minor.

Sorry. Did not refer to the parents with this sentence: meant to refer to the children.

'Given what they have been through, I have a hard time believing this handling of the details helps their recovery. "

R336

R334, R18 here... I didn’t mention any Christian aspect. Frankly, considering the wife was banging some guy she met on the internet, I don’t know how religious they truly are. All I did was mention the Facebook group, that I was able to join before they stopped taking new members. I’m actually very behind on everything that’s been posted about this case. I’m trying to catch up. There is just so much. I can’t even get through the websleuths posts, there are thousands.

First of all, I never suggested the kids' names be divulged, only the details of the crimes that the parents engaged in. Perhaps the possible mental illnesses leading to such cruelty could be discussed. Secondly, there are ALWAYS minors involved: John Wayne Gacy's victims, Jaycee Dugard, Elizabeth Smart, etc....

How does that change anything? Is the speculation apparent even here LESS damaging than the truth? The oldest son believed to be "in on it". Are his interests protected by this secrecy?

I am just saying, this is an extreme aberration. The authorities ought to recognize a need to understand it.

Was it specified that the Turpins drove to Alabama? Or did they just drive to a motel in CA to meet the guy from Alabama?

R340 it maight take some time for these kids to explain exactly what happened, they’re impaired socially, intellectually and emotionally. Just because you’re gagging to know won’t make them communicate much faster. I’m sure that’s horribly inconvenient, but try to hang in there.

I am genuinely curious - how many, if any, of the readers here who are on Websleuth started posting at the 300, more or less, mark? If you've been here prior to that when did you start following this case?

R343, I started ed following the case once it hit the news - and the part 1 thread on DL. I’m not a websleuths regular by any means, but I was on there for the Cosmo case because it happened in my town and I wanted to read as much as I could. so I checked Websleuths again, to see if they had discussion on this case. Which hey do, but wow he threads are so long!

Interesting development on the Facebook group. It appears by discussion, and also by David Turpins bankruptcy filing, he actually claims 4 sons in two sets of paperwork. We are only hearing about 3 sons - where is son number 4, is he dead? Was me beaten and starved to death? Where is this boy?

Sorry for all the iPad typos above

r344, hm, that is interesting. Hadn't heard about a 4th son before. When did he start claiming the 4th son as a dependent?

Oh that's juicy R344. What else are they saying?

i'm on the facebook group too, its really where you can get the most up to date news on the case. I cant handle websleuths anymore either. I only go there if i have a specific interest in a case.

I can't find the Facebook group, is it totally hidden?

They are saying he lists having 4 sons on hi screen bankruptcy paperwork, and also another piece of paperwork (not sure which I’m just getting caught up)

There is also a pic posted from many years ago, when the kids are younger that looks odd. Th girls are dressed in different outfits than the boys. The boys outfits show that there are 4 boys in the picture. One being a baby held by the mother. This was an older picture so it’s not the current 2 year old. Very bizarre.

I think the Facebook group is now hidden from view r349. They stopped taking new members a few days ago, not sure why.

I’ll try to see if I can post the pics

I mean on his bankruptcy paperwork

Answering a question above, I read they drove 700 miles to Alabama.

Pic: boys in yellow shirts. 4 yellow shirts including baby

More from Facebook group posts

Thanks R350. Are the admins of the group Stephanie, Kendall, Olivia, etc?

Datalounge is the only place I can say this: something looks wrong with that baby...

She probably needed to be far away enough from the house to have the courage to call them r336. Those kids are so unworldly she probably had no idea how this would pan out. What if she called the cops, they arrived, dismissed the whole thing and then left her there with her parents? Her other sibling was returned when they made a break for a neighbours house years earlier. God knows what those two monsters did to that kid after that. Jordan said that she believed her parents would kill her for this, so she must have known when she made that call she could never going back. Her sibling, who jumped out with her, was so afraid of her parents retribution she returned to the house. Obviously they had doubts that anyone would come to rescue them and then they’d be left to pay the price.

I can totally understand why she felt she had to be far away from the house when she made the call, if she was caught she believed she would die.

I’m not convinced that’s a 4th boy blurred in the middle and there’s no way to tell the gender of the baby. I do think that the girl in the gown is Jennifer because of her build. Louise’s sister is shorter and has a differently shaped head. I’ve also wondered if Louise’s youngest sister is actually her daughter because 1) the incest allegations against an unnamed male member of their family (only male family member is their father) 2) Louise looks way more like someone who recently gave birth than her mother does in photos with the youngest sister as a baby 3) the youngest sister was allowed access to Louise’s children that everyone else was denied and 4) the youngest sister looks just like Louise if her eyes were on her face upside down which I don’t know maybe that happens when your dad is also your grandpa.

I don't trust the extended family either and think they are embellishing stories to get attention, like how the brother said his sister wanted to be a reality star. I hope they keep the children away from all the relatives.

Sorry, this is a different case. A 14 year old boy tortured by his step father and tied up in the bathroom for 18 mins.

anyone in Kentucky? The man who tied this boy to a toilet, for 18 months, and abused and beaten him, is running for senate .. Steve Maynard

Don’t vote for this asshole. He ran in 2016, but someone posted that he’s planning to run again.

Wtf is wrong wih people?

Typo: 18 months (not minutes)

Fuck that asshole r360. He should be burned at the stake.

A neighbor of mine subleased her London flat to a couple who turned out to be in a master/slave situation. There was some issue with a pipe and the landlord discovered the slave handcuffed to the bathroom radiator, where he'd apparently happily been for over a year at that point.

And the moral of this story is: Ask questions, if you're going to sublease your apartment. And, for even your most fucked up fantasies, there is probably someone who actually *wants* to do whatever it is, so there's no need to commit crimes to get your creepy rocks off.

R337, when did Jordan say she was afraid they would kill her?

That baby in the yellow shirt is wearing a dress.

Looking at the faces of these kids, it is hard to see resemblances between each other and with their parents. The prosecutors have the DNA by now. What's the story?

My personal feeling is that mainstream media is controlling information flow, to optimize their own profits, which is disgusting.

This is the frauiest thread that ever fraued in the history of DL.

enough, r365. I'm not a frau and I'm quite interested in this case.

I think we will hear about at least one dead child in this story

I agree r367. There is a reason they took cadaver dogs the the homes.

I am interested in what is on the dad's computer and if the children were being photographed for torture porn.

Unrelated case, but somewhat similar. This time, the family tortured only one child. The boy was wrapped in a wire fence and locked in a closet, starved, beaten, urinated on, had feces rubbed in his face......he survived and seems like he's turned out well all things considered. The interview with him as a six year old is heartbreaking.

His father and stepmother only served four years in prison for torturing the poor kid.

Yeah, the idea that these kids are forever doomed is concern trolling. They'll always be affected by what's happened to them, but people survive some pretty terrible stuff and go on to have okay lives. The boy who went to community college had a decent GPA and seemed to be studying auto mechanics and music. Don't see why he wouldn't be able to work in an auto shop down the road. Some of the younger ones, with good intervention, will be able to attend school and start to catch up. It sounds like they have basic literacy.

A couple of posters here seem to be really relishing the idea of this being as awful as possible. Ugh.

Yeah I think the kids will be fine. My heart breaks for that little boy that was wrapped in wire and kept in a closet. This is one of the very rare times I support vigilante justice.

That poor Clayton kid. Sounds like Dad got mixed up with an evil step-mom. He said his Dad didn't start that shit until he met Carmen.

The Clayton Moss case reminds me of the Adrian Jones case in Kansas. Adrian died after being tortured and starved by his father and stepmother. There were several other kids in home that weren't abused or starved. The Jones family lived in a rental house and when the landlord went in after the arrests the place was damaged.

R370 thanks for posting that video of Clayton. I couldn't watch it all but he said one of the two main reasons he decided to speak out, besides to show others you can recover from abuse and trauma, is to let people know to be aware and look into things that don't seem right - because people around him knew he was there but seemingly didn't question it when he wasn't around anymore. I think that is so important and I know it has been mentioned on this thread, too. Imagine how Clayton feels when he hears these stories???

I was surprised to read on the daily Mail, that the son who was going to college is a different boy than I thought. I thought it was the older taller one with poofy hair and glasses. But apparently it is the son that looks blind? Really dying for more details in this case like someone wrote above. They are not back in court until February 23

People are saying in the FB group that the daily mail got it wrong R376, and that it was in fact the oldest boy (tall with glasses) that was in college.

No surprise there about the Daily Fail. Thanks for clarifying.

The blind one is also the one who the parents didn't even bother unshackling when the cops came in. The much younger brother is taller than him and he also appears to be one of the thinnest. I wonder if he was the most defiant so got the worst of it.

Do we know for sure that one of the boys is blind?

We don't know anything "for sure".

Oh so the Sandy Hook / Moon Landing Hoaxers think this story is a hoax as well.

Even though all the children were being starved and mistreated, it's likely that some kids were scapegoated and mistreated more than others that's how those twisted family dynamics work. The scapegoated kid or kids will be in the worst shape.

I wonder how much of this is true, I think people are just judging them harshly because they're not conventionally attractive.

^^^^Oh look DL we have a new troll.

California House of Horrors: Rescued Children's Condition is 'Heartbreaking,' Says Hospital CEO

. “During class he would get up and just go stand in the hall.

“I saw he was not going to have friends, so I talked to him,” Faith, who admitted she too did “not have many friends,” said. “I do not like to see people lonely.”

On the second night after class, she went out to the parking lot where she saw his mom waiting for him.

“He asked her: ‘Mom, I met this girl and she doesn’t have any friends either. Can we be friends? Is that okay?'” Faith explained.

“She looked at me and looked down and said, ‘what’s your name?’ I told her my name and she told him ‘sure, sure, whatever.’ They got in a large van and left. Never showed up again.”

What did he do in the hall?

It’s nice that his “friend” is selling him out.

well, some of it could have been phrased more diplomatically, but the important part is being a witness to the control and abuse of the parents

That brother sure sounds creepy af too.

Jesus Christ r391, are you dense or are you trolling? They are probably ALL creepy as fuck, look how they grew up? Are you guys being deliberately obtuse?

R391 It isn't fair to call a kid living in those overall circumstances creepy af. He was subject to inhumane home circumstances and treatment by his parents. That he was able to function at all in a classroom setting (he had taken various other classes and maintained a very good GPA) is astonishing.

I wonder if this is going to catalyze more research into the effects of fasting on aging. Neither of the parents look young for their ages so the children don't have a genetic predisposition to appear a decade or more younger than they are. I suppose that their having been mostly kept out of the sun with the forced nocturnal schedule might also be playing a part. Does halting puberty, in general, cause people to not just stay physically small but to actually look much younger than they are? Have we seen this in children who are gender transitioned?

That is another child abuse story in the making, R394.

He has no social skills r391. No one taught him you don’t talk to yourself in public. It’s not that difficult to understand.

R394 starvation can delay puberty which means little or no body hair from growing, testosterone doesn’t kick in so balls don’t drop, stunted growth, prevent girls from having periods and breasts etc. Basically it denies the “adult” hormones from kicking in and if they don’t kick in you’re not going to look like an adult until much much later.

If you think back to high school there were always a few boys who started puberty after everyone else. They were shorter, they looked younger, their voices broke after everyone else. While the rest of us were shooting up they looked like our kid brothers.

The long term impacts of starvation is some of the Turpin kids, especially those who have already hit adulthood may have their height permanently stunted and makes them at far greater risk of heart problems and obesity.

Does anyone really need to be taught not to talk to themselves in public? There's something creepy about him. He must have been horribly distracting to the other students in class too.

Woman who bought the Turpins' Texas home found feces everywhere

Someone commented that they do not know the way the world works. They have just had isolation, and abuse. No concept of sanity or society. It is amazing that they seem to be well-behaved in the Elvis videos.

The oldest son may have found sitting in a class hard when he probably wanted to walk around. Sitting still would have seemed perhaps seemed like confinement.

Maybe so, R400, but that doesn't mean it was fair to the other students in class.

No, but that is going on in other classes , too, Versions of it.

The delay of puberty may have also wreaked havoc with fertility. The oldest boy does show some signs have puberty--the height and the growth of the jaw.

One report said the doctors were most concerned about the condition of the oldest daughter--the 82-pound one. She may have been the one who tried to escape back in Texas. She had at least some outside schooling, since there's that description of her in third grade.

It didn't sound very positive though, R403.

The talking to himself may have been how he kept his sanity if he was confined by himself.

They gave the boys the Dad's hairstyle. Ugh.

Yes r398 not talking to yourself is learned behaviour. Little kids do it all the time. They narrate their games, talk to imaginary friends, count out loud, sing. The more socialised they become the less they do it. By the time we’re adults we don’t do it all in public. Unless of course no one has ever taught you no to.

Yep, one of the big goals in preschool is to teach the kids to sit quietly in a circle and pay attention. It's not instinctive, it's taught.

Even homeschooled kids without insane parents often have little social issues. I remember visiting a church once and hearing the most discordant,awful children's chorus practicing. Turned out it was a choir of homeschooled kids. One of the things you do in a chorus is listen to others and make sure that you're in unison with them. Homeschooled kids aren't used to having to be on the same page with 20 other kids.

Besides being evil monsters, the Turpins were incompetent. The mother was very young and nuts when she started spawning. I suspect the father thought she was supposed to handle it all, though he was supposed to be in control. The abuse and the filth became more and more normalized as time went on.

I have a couple of friends who are nice, reasonably well-adjusted people outside, but their homes are god-awful. No one in chains, but it amazes me how they live the way they do--but it's like they don't really know how to look after themselves by picking up things and making sure the dishes are washed instead of growing mold in the sink.

So add incompetence to insanity and there you go--Turpin territory.

"“He asked her: ‘Mom, I met this girl and she doesn’t have any friends either. Can we be friends? Is that okay?'” Faith explained."

This may be one of the saddest most pitiable things I have ever heard.

We live in an insane world.

They just needed a clean corner, r172. It's so terribly sad , the neurological and physical damage done to them. So poignant that the poor girl, Jennifer, may have been , if thin and dirty, a schoolgirl when she was very young, and after decades of abuse, may be very physically damaged....she had a "whimsical optimism," it tears the heart strings. I think she's the girl who walked down the road and asked about driving in Texas, spirited girl then. I so hope she's able to enjoy her optimism finally coming to fruition.

I thought so too r409. I’m such a MARY! And then as punishment for even dreaming of having a friend, they yanked him out of school.

I hope every day for their rest of their lives they live in abject misery. I hope it eats them alive that even though they kept the whole world locked out to avoid being discovered, the call for help came from inside their own bubble. I can’t even muster up an iota of compassion for those two.

Hoping that a couple more details are going to be released this week on the case. I’m very curious how the children are doing.

I cannot get over the fact that Louise Turpin is smiling and chatty in the photos of her in court. Her kids were beaten and STRANGLED (by her?). I cannot imagine being almost killed by strangulation at the hands of your parent. Yeah R411, I'd like to give that bitch something to think about. She'd never smile again.

I think the smiling in court might indicate she is not functioning at an adult level.

Could be R414. She looks like she's "special" and she was married off young and also grew up in a weird religious household. They tend to turn out very sheltered, dumb kids.

I think she’s smiling to try give the impression that she’s sweet. “Look at my smiling face you guys, do I look like a mean mom?” She’s been trying to manipulate the public forever, “smile for the camera kids, so no one knows the horror you live” Except when Louise does it court she just comes across as simple instead. I’m sure her lawyers are loving it.

But she’s evil and complicit and I don’t give a shit about her shitty childhood. Her daughter was abused her whole life and new nothing else but abuse, yet was still able to work out that the situation she was living in was wrong and that there had to be a better life out there. So if jordan knew, who is probably both socially and emotionally impaired, her awful parents knew.

You can be completely guilty and backward-stupid-mental at the same time. I think she is both.

Hope the children get justice and happier lives.

A Duggar wants to adopt them....or maybe just meet them.....or, never mind, hopefully someone else will.

Well, there goes [italic]that[italic] reality show.

[quote]I just texted Dillon and told him I wanted to adopt all 13 Turpin children. I would love to show them true love and have a beautiful life and provide a secure and stable home for them. #ifonly #houseofhorrors God can restore what the devil has stolen😭

[quote]I do not consider myself a celebrity. And in no way would I harm them in any way. I just have a huge heart for hurting children. I worked with handicapped/ abused children in shelters in highschool. I know they need true love , patience and care.

[quote]I have no idea how to reach out to the these precious Turpin Children or who to contact, could someone help me? Dillon and I want to meet them😓💔💕💕

[quote]This isn't a publicity stunt for all those haters out there. My heart is just breaking for them. I am sincere with my words and actions. ♡

[quote]I know there is no shortage of people who want to help these kids. I hope they will be given to a good home, with proper care and support where they can reach their full potential.

The last thing those kids need is to be on a reality show, though they're going to need money, so I wouldn't rule it out from happening.

no, they have to be protected from the TV parasites - all of them

Disney, Tinkerbell, Mickey Mouse, Las Vegas, Elvis and Rodeos

Usually when people have a massive litter of kids, it's so they can show them off and get praise for their great parenting skills, Christianity, whatever. To have a zillion kids only to hide them away and torture them does not compute.

yeah - I think they are insane

They tortured them and revelled in themselves, celebrating their wonderful union over and over, feasting on pizza and taco Bell ( I bet they didn't cook, or eat in that filthy house)

And it didn't have to be r424, that's the weirdest goddamn part, I don't have kids but if I did, I'd make them clean the house all the time like my mom did with us.

The messy house shows they are crazy

This family, especially the infuriating red-headed twat, claim they are not like this, never knew anything was wrong. And yet 7 of these 13 kids were adults. Did they never question the outcome? Did they never say, "What is jennifer doing? Is she seeing anyone? How about Jeff? Where are they applying for college? What are their career plans?" They were perfectly ok with knowing there were now SEVEN adults who appear to have become furniture?

BUMP

What R427 said.

Well it’s possible they lied r427. Yes Jennifer’s dating but it’s nothing serious. John is doing well at college. Josie is working. Judy and Jack moved out of home but they come around for dinner once a week. Who knows. It’s not outside the realm of possibility, since they’re entire life was a lie.

Every single one of them, including extended family members, are weird anyway. Louise’s dad refuses to believe any of this, despite overwhelming evidence and the fact that she point blank refused to let her parents visit her. They all seem like a bunch of simpletons who are easily bamboozled.

^^I didnt mean the kids are simpletons by the way. I mean the extended family members clearly are.

Who are you talking about, R430?

I like the way some people are so fascinated by this case they know everyone's first names including the extended family.

BUMP

Hey asshole don't bump threads. Fuck you.

My family might be different. But if there are 7 siblings over the age of 18 (and a family with 14 ids in it to boot????), no matter how may stories the parents came up with, relatives would have pushed their way in. Weddings, graduations, funerals. These are all events at which people expect to see each other and if 10 years go by and no one is seeing these kids? The aunts in my family would have raised hell. And this bullshit about not having people know where you live? But you talked to them on the phone OFTEN? My family would have asked WTF was up with that? No matter where I have lived, family always comes to visit. ALWAYS. And stay to catch up and see the sites. Always.

And yet the siblings of these insane torturer parents never came to visit, hand d no details of the lives of the kids..... that whole extended clan, ON BOTH SIDES, seems so strangely intimidated by these 2 nuts. Why didn't any of these people investigate?

They didn’t give out their address r436 to family. When Louise’s father turned up in the state with an intention to visit her, she refused to tell her where she was and he had no choice but to go home. And although their entire family seem like utter morons, this is on the parents. And perhaps it’s a little on society and peoples desire to “stay out of it”. Neighbours saw weird things, like kids marching during the night and scavenging in bins, but didn’t say anything. One kid rocked up on a neighbours door begging for help and was walked back home. One of the daughters attended school, and even though she stank, not a single teacher notified authorities. They were “homeschooled” but there don’t seem to be any regulations in place to have someone go out there to check the kids are learning anything. If someone had checked on them unannounced just once they would have been caught years ago.

I know, R437, that they didn't give their address to anyone. But Louise Turpin spoke regularly to her siblings on the phone. They DID have contact.

Those siblings do not now get to say "we had no idea" because in a normal family, they (David and Louise Turpin) would have been called out on this weird behavior or they would have been shunned. I don't get to know where you live? WTF? What's so bad about me? Fuck you, bitch!"

And we are talking about 30 years here. Sooner or later they'd have been found out. I am sure they sent emails. You can locate an IP address to a street address. If I were her sibling, I'd have done that --- if for no other reason than to have the correct police department to call to report her as a danger to herself or others.

What is WITH those people?

And the idiotic red-haired sister who had the two of them walking in on her in the shower after jimmying a bathroom door lock with a hanger? Yeah, I would have called the cops that day. That whole entire family is bat shit crazy.

So what's going on with this? Haven't heard anything and media outlets have not mentioned it lately.

Apparently on Dr Phil they said when she went to the hotel to have sex with the guy from Alabama the husband was there and watched

r436, this is clearly shocking to you, but not everyone's family is like your family. In fact, I'd hazard to guess that most American families are not like your family. Just because people are related doesn't mean they're close and, as this story illustrates, sharing genes doesn't automatically mean mutual love, either. And I think we can also assume that Louise's sisters knew her well enough to realize that if they got any more invasive with their questioning that she would cut them off, as it seems she did from time to time. Louise is much older than her sisters. I'd like to know more about what David's relationship, if any, was like with his brother. They're around the same age and both suffer from religious delusions so it would seem they could have been close because of shared interests and experiences. But perhaps not. With over a dozen kids, even if what you're doing is torturing them, a person probably doesn't have much time for other relationships.

I gotta agree with r441, I just have one niece and while I enjoy hearing about her studies/pursuits and seeing a picture once a year, I really don't have any desire to visit, I'm not big into kids and if my sister had 13 I would definitely NOT visit. I don't think it's that weird. Plus they are weird, homeschool, quiverfull type, I imagine that kept family away also.

Ditto R442.

R436, not everyone has a family full of meddling, pushy fraus who don't respect others' privacy or boundaries.. And not everyone likes (or can afford) to travel. I wouldn't want to spend the few weeks a year I get off work to go visit these loons in the middle of no where. Not if they make zero effort to visit me.

On a similar note, I was messaged the other day on Grwlr by a man in Connecticut who said he wanted to “own” me, and keep me “collared” in a “cage.” I exchanged a few messages, and he showed photos. When I pointed out how the whole proposition was impractical for me, I added my observation of drug paraphernalia, including a crack pipe, on the coffee table in one of his photos. That shut him up, and shortly after I blocked him.

But it made me wonder if others had fallen for his claims, and how many had occupied that cage. Is this another depraved serial killer, lurking in Connecticut?

Better be careful, boys.

You can locate an IP address to a street address, r438? How?

Seriously, I didn't know that was possible for a regular citizen (i.e., non-NSA and without a court order). I really want to know how that works.

BUMP

They will have another hearing in a couple of weeks, so probably no news until then

the dogs were adopted

A California Couple Abused Their 13 Kids—and Weak Homeschooling Rules Helped Them Do It

The California parents accused of torturing and starving their 13 children will be in court Friday for a procedural hearing. For the first time, lawyers representing their seven adult children are revealing how their recovery is going, and what their dreams are for the future.

The children were rescued from a home in Perris, California, nearly six weeks ago. A source tells CBS News the younger six are split between two foster homes. The seven adult siblings are in a nearby medical center, where they're being exposed to everything from Harry Potter movies to iPads

As the legal case against David and Louise Turpin moves forward, the children they allegedly imprisoned for years are moving on with their lives and making decisions on their own for the first time, reports CBS News' Mireya Villarreal.

"That in itself is a new experience for them, understanding that they do have rights and they do have a voice," said attorney Jack Osborn.

Prosecutors say the siblings spent years in captivity, sometimes chained to their beds and severely underfed. But now they're free to make their own choices.

"That's a big deal, deciding what they're going to read, deciding what they're going to wear, these are all things that are decisions they make every day that are new and empowering," Osborn said.

The older and younger siblings have not yet reunited, but they communicate using Skype. In the short term, the attorneys say the older children simply want to go the beach, the mountains and the movies. But over the longer term, they want to attend college and pursue careers.

Ah, another pointless Part 2 of another baby-fucking/baby-killing thread. BFBK is so DataLounge! I always go to a gay site for my national BFBK news updates!

And it was bumped today (R450), after being ignored for over 2 weeks! Who could it be?

And yet you have it in your thread watcher and care enough to comment r451, you know the drill, don't like it? move it along, toots!

Aww the kids are getting sunshine and skyping with each other!

Well that Yahoo article confuses me in it cheery optimism. I thought most of them were brain damaged and also seriously body damaged. Now they are planning on college????

I think only a couple of them are brain damaged r454.

It was also suggested they had little to know general education. And suddenly they qualify for college? Well, a lot of these truths won't get out until after the trial and until these victims are strong enough to tell their own stories.

little to no....

R451 is a troll who doesn’t like anything not gay specific wreaking havoc on the board.

Onward. I think the college concept may just be a future hope or dream the children mentioned.

My question is that the younger ones are already in foster homes. I hope they fully vetted those people. The next hearing is March 23.

And there are community colleges that kids can take classes at, no? Like a pottery class or something, they might not mean they are actually getting their degrees, just something to get them out and mingling and learning.

For some reason, the oldest boy was allowed to attend community college for a little while and actually got good grades (GPA above 3.5).

There are different levels of brain damage--the father was supposed to be very bright, so it's possible that even with the diminished capacity resulting from long-term starvation that several of this kids could be capable of functioning somewhat normally in terms of being able to learn and work. The boy who was allowed to take community college classes was a good student--took guitar and auto shop.

And the kids did plan the escape--figured out the emergency phone number trick and took pictures so as to have evidence.

R452

It really is strange that they let the oldest boy go to school at all-- even if it was just for a little while. I mean, what was the point since they were obviously not planning on letting him go? And considering the fact that he probably didn't even go to middle or high school, it actually is pretty remarkable that he was doing so well academically. As R461 says, there might be a silver lining in that the kids inherited the brains of their fucked-up, but intellectually gifted father.

That brings up another disturbing question--what exactly was the parents' endgame in all of this? Children outlive their parents, after all. A few posters on the other thread seemed suspicious of the oldest boy—since these religious wacko types are so obsessed with the idea of a patriarch/male leader/authority figure, I wonder if there was a possibility that the parents were grooming the oldest boy as a "Kapo" and planned to have him take over in supporting and controlling the rest of the children once they were too old to do so themselves.

But then again, most likely they didn't bother thinking that far ahead at all. Like most nut jobs, they were like dogs chasing cars (To quote the Joker from the Dark Knight).

Riverside County District Attorney spokesman John Hall told reporters after a brief court hearing that each Turpin is facing three additional counts of child abuse. An additional felony assault charge has been lodged against Louise Turpin

I just read the girl who escaped had You Tube videos and an Instragram account. If these children were cut off from the outside world, as the media wants us to believe, where did she get knowledge of social media and how did she have a device that allowed her to take pictures and video and post them?

Here's the link to the article

R465 Some people are saying the new discovery of the youtube videos and other accounts were leaked by the defense. Google Lacey Swan and you'll see pictures of the 17 yo. This story keeps getting weirder.

Thanks r467 I'll google that name

Well r467, even if the girl did have a youtube presence, that doesn't mean the young kids weren't locked up and beaten, etc. What a disgusting man to bring that up but I guess he is a defense attorney.

I just googled and the videos are gone?

Where did she get the makeup, etc? This is a strange and fascinating case.

The Instagram account is gone now too

Here is one of her playing with her dog. You can't see her but you can see how dirty the house is. I'll post more when i find them

It's not that surprising, given that the parents had some weird fantasy about being reality-TV stars. The treatment of the kids had become normalized within the family. The idea was probably to go viral with some cute images of a large, lovable family. I'm guessing that the accounts were supervised.

Also, the parents loved movies, so it's of a piece.

Also, the effects of long-term starvation can't just be summoned up out of nowhere.

If they parents dreamed of being discovered and becoming reality TV stars with their large family, they probably wanted the kids to look as small and thin and young as possible, so they'd look good on camera.

We’re not told what psychological f*ckedup games those kids were forced to play. I’m sure they were horrendous.

The mother sounds clueless and it sounds like the father knows he is guilty (or in trouble)

I think it was just neglect, R475. They were insane and did not know how to be parents.

R478 Deliberately starving your children while feeding yourself is cruelty, not just neglect.

Definitely, r479, if it's true -- as was reported -- that the parents did things like buy pies and treats and leave them out while forbidding the kids to touch them.

ugh I'd forgotten about these sick fucks

It’s just dawning on me piece by piece, how their bodies are fucked up. A child needs a percentage of fat on them to grow and trigger puberty. With minimal nutrition, the women wouldn’t be having their periods. The men would be under developed without puberty as well. They may not have a choice about having children, or sexual relationships.

I agree, R479 and R480

R480 leaving the pies out where they could see them was just mental torture on top of the physical torture of depriving them of food. No decent parent allows their children to go hungry. If you have no money (which they did) then you go to a food bank, apply for assistance, go hungry yourself. They are disgusting pieces of shit and I hope they get maximum sentences and beaten up in prison.

Agree r484, think about parents in the holocaust who starved to feed their kids the allotted shitty bread or whatever they got. Fuck these scumbags!

R478 one news article I read said that when the cops showed up, the mother was in the midst of frantically trying to undo the chains on the kids because she knew the police were on the way. If that's true, it kind of blows a hole in the theory that they didn't realize what they were doing was wrong/illegal.

I googled Lacey Swan but as everyone knows, fucking Google no longer lets you source images. Is the teenage girl with long, dark hair who uploaded the YT video titled "Lacey swan not for today" Jordan Turpin? The actual video has been removed, but the screenshot can still be seen on GIS.

I have a woman friend who did time in Cali, she said they will be fucked with hard, and the guards will let that go down. I can't wait.

But R486, she thinks she is going to get out of jail. She could have known that it would look bad, but she thought it was ok , too- something like that. They thought that what they were doing was ok, but to the outside world it was about appearances and they knew outsiders (i.e. police) would know it was wrong. Schizoid thinking, but I bet it was something like that.

R487, I've always wondered how women who are doing time for child abuse or murder do in prison with all the women who are in there being kept away from their own children.

That's exactly what my friend mentioned r489! That some angry black woman who is away from her kids would have some not so kind words for this bitch.

So the parents have been jailed for life.

Here is the 911 from hero Turpin daughter.

I was wondering what had been happening to these kids. The Devonte Hart case reminded me of them.

....