Chilling details emerge from journals of tortured 'house of horrors' children
Harrowing details from the journals of the 13 children who were tortured at the hands of their parents have been revealed in a US court.
The accusations against their parents, David and Louise Turpin, are disturbing and detail torture, lewd acts, beatings and taunting the starving children with food.
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin told the court the diaries are “strong evidence about what occurred at the time”.
There are 36 charges in total and both parents have pleaded not guilty.
The court was told the couple's 13 children had lived in a torture chamber since 2010. They were beaten, strangled and abused, and shackled for months at a time.
The children were showered once a year and fed once a day. They were found so malnourished they have nerve damage.
A 12-year-old recorded the weight of a seven-year-old while the eldest, 29, weighs just 37kg.
Mr Hestrin told the court the victims were “often not released from their chains to go to the bathroom”.
He added the parents would buy food for themselves but would not allow the children to eat it. Toys were also found in the house in their packaging that had “never been opened”.
The journals also revealed the group planned to escape for two years before a 17-year-old girl successfully raised the alarm.
"She escaped through a window and took one of her siblings with her,” Mr Hestrin said.
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“That sibling eventually turned back, became frightened and turned back and went back into the house.”
If convicted, David and Louise Turpin both face 94 years in prison.
