Riverside County Sheriff’s Office
Louisa Anna Turpin had been identified as the mother of 13 malnourished children who were chained to beds in a Perris, California home. Riverside County sheriff’s deputies arrived after one of the children, a 17-year-old, escaped and called 911.
According to reports, The Turpins have lived in Perris since 2014, and all of the children, ranging in age from 2 to 29, were homeschooled. Investigators have yet to determine how long the children had been living in those conditions. When Sheriff’s deputies arrived, they gave food and water to the children, who said they were “starving.” They were transported to hospitals for treatment and their conditions were not released.
Furthermore, investigators said that there was no “immediate information” to suggest sexual abuse and that there was “no indication of mental illness” in the Turpin family.
via ABC:
The 17-year-old girl called 911 from a de-activated cell phone after she escaped through a window, Fellows said. The teen showed deputies photos of the conditions in the home that led them to respond to the residence and interview David and Louise Turpin.
The grandparents of the children told ABC News that David and Louise were deeply religious and believed God had called on them to have so many kids. Fellows, however, said he had no information on any religious organization that may have played a role in the parents’ motives for the abuse of the children.
According to Fellows, the condition of the chained-up, malnourished children and the filthy home were a shock to investigators. “There was a very foul smell inside the residence. It was extremely dirty,” said Fellows.
The Sheriff’s office did not indicate how long the siblings had been held captive.
The parents of the children, Louise, 49, and David Allen Turpin, 57, were both arrested on nine counts each of torture and child endangerment and were being held in jail with bail set at $9 million each.