Sister-in-law of accused 'house of horrors' torturer makes new allegations against children's father
The aunt of the 13 children found malnourished and shackled to furniture in the "house of horrors" said their father used to watch her in the shower.
Louise Turpin, 49, and her husband, 57-year-old David Allen Turpin, were each held on $9 million bail after police went to the family home in Perris, about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles on Sunday.
They are accused of keeping their children, ranging in ages from 2 to 29, captive in a home that doubled as a private school.
The sister of Ms Turpin said she felt uncomfortable when she stayed with the family for two months in their previous home.
"If I were to get in the shower, [Turpin] would come in while I was in there and watch me," Elizabeth Jane Flores told ABC's Good Morning America.
"It was like a joke. He never touched me or anything."
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Ms Flores said she never told anyone as she was a "scared" college student and said she was treated as one of the children.
"I was treated like one of the kids, kinda, so I had rules," she said. "I thought they were really strict, but I didn't see any type of abuse.
Ms Flores also revealed she never got to know her nieces and nephews and tried for years to get in touch with her sister, but was shut out.
She tearfully said on Wednesday that she and Turpin didn’t have a relationship for decades beyond the odd phone call and was "shocked" by her sister's arrest.
The appalling conditions were exposed when one of the children escaped and alerted police to what was going on.
When police arrived they found children ranging in age from 2 to 29 chained and padlocked to beds and furniture in a house that has since been described as a "house of horrors" and a "torture chamber."
David and Louise Turpin are set for an initial court appearance on Thursday. They have been jailed on suspicion of child endangerment and torture.
