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'House of Horrors' children speak for first time as parents sentenced to life

The eldest two of the 12 children starved and shackled in the so-called house of horrors have broken their silence as their parents were sentenced to life in prison.

Since being freed from their prison-like home more than a year ago, the two adult children of David and Louise Turpin described how they have now gained control of their lives.

Despite receiving little education at home, the children were now enrolled in college and learning simple things – including how to ride a bike, swim and prepare a meal.

Two of the 12 children starved and shackled have broken their silence as their parents were sentenced to life in prison. Source: Facebook/David-Louise Turpin.
Two of the 12 children starved and shackled have broken their silence as their parents were sentenced to life in prison. Source: Facebook/David-Louise Turpin

The Californian children are still thin from years of malnutrition.

"I cannot describe in words what we went through growing up," the oldest son, now 27, said.

"Sometimes I still have nightmares of things that have happened, such as my siblings being chained up or getting beaten. But that is the past and this is now. I love my parents and have forgiven them for a lot of the things that they did to us."

The hearing put an end to a shocking case that had gone unnoticed until a 17-year-old girl escaped from the home in January 2018 and called 911.

Investigators discovered a house of horrors hidden behind a veneer of suburban normalcy.

The children — aged 2 to 29 — had been chained to beds, forced to live in squalor, fed only once a day, allowed to shower only once a year and deprived of toys and games.

They slept during the day and were active a few hours at night.

David Turpin sits during a courtroom hearing, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, in Riverside, Calif. Turpin and his wife, Louise, who shackled some of their 13 children to beds and starved them pleaded guilty on Friday to torture and other abuse. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool)
Pictured here is David Turpin in court. Source: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Turpin parents sob in court

As her children spoke from a lectern, 50-year-old Louise Turpin sobbed and dabbed her eyes with tissues.

"I'm sorry for everything I've done to hurt my children," she said.

"I love my children so much."

Her husband, who was shaking and could not initially read from a written statement, let his lawyer speak for him until he regained his composure.

He did not apologise for the abuse but wished his children well in with their educations and future careers and hoped they would visit him. He then began sobbing.

Jack Osborn, a lawyer representing the seven adult Turpin children, said they understood the consequences of their parents' actions and were working hard toward forgiving them.

Some planned to talk with their parents eventually, but others wanted no contact with them for 10 years.

The one who called police was a hero for liberating her siblings, Mr Osborn said.

"Maybe but for that we wouldn't be here today," he said.

The sentence of life with no chance of parole for 25 years was no surprise.

It had been agreed to when the couple pleaded guilty in February to 14 counts each that included torture, cruelty and false imprisonment.

In this photo from video by KABC-TV, Louise Turpin sobs and dabs her eyes as one of her children speaks during a sentencing hearing Friday, April 19, 2019, in Riverside, Calif. David and Louise Turpin, who pleaded guilty to years of torture and abuse of 12 of their 13 children, have been sentenced to life in prison with possibility of parole after 25 years. (KABC-TV via AP, Pool)
Louise Turpin sobs and dabs her eyes as one of her children speaks during a sentencing hearing Friday. Source: KABC-TV via AP

Turpin daughter vows to ‘take life back’

The courtroom fell hushed as the oldest daughter, now 30, entered wearing a blue cardigan over a white shirt and her dark hair in a ponytail.

Her eyes were already red from crying when she began to speak in the voice of a little girl.

"My parents took my whole life from me, but now I'm taking my life back," she said as her mother's lower lip quivered trying to hold back the tears.

"Life may have been bad but it made me strong. I fought to become the person I am. I saw my dad change my mom. They almost changed me, but I realised what was happening. I immediately did what I could to not become like them."

The children with their parents at Disneyland. Source: Facebook/David-Louise Turpin
The children with their parents at Disneyland. Source: Facebook/David-Louise Turpin

There was no explanation from the parents or lawyers about why the abuse occurred, but a letter from one of the children read by an attorney hinted at a home life that veered from birthday celebrations and trips to Disneyland and Las Vegas to severe punishment and disarray.

"Through the years, things became more and more overwhelming, but they kept trusting in God," the girl wrote.

"I remember our mother sitting in her recliner and crying, saying she don't know what to do."

The daughter said her parents did not know the children were malnourished because they thought they had inherited a gene from their mother who was small.

Neighbours had no idea

From the outside, the home in a middle-class section of Perris, a small city about 96 kilometres southeast of Los Angeles, appeared to be neatly kept and neighbours rarely saw the kids outside – nothing triggered suspicion.

But when police arrived, they were shocked to find a 22-year-old son chained to a bed and two girls who had just been set free from shackles.

All but one of the 13 children were severely underweight and had not bathed for months. The house was filled with the stench of human waste.

The children said they were beaten, caged and shackled if they did not obey their parents. Investigators concluded the couple's youngest child, a toddler, was the only one who was not abused.

David, 57, had been an engineer for Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Louise was listed as a housewife in a 2011 bankruptcy filing.

The home where 13 malnourished children allegedly chained by their parents were found in Perris, California, US. Source: Getty/file
The home where 13 malnourished children allegedly chained by their parents were found in Perris, California, US. Source: Getty/file

The teenage daughter who escaped jumped from a window.

After a lifetime in isolation, the 17-year-old did not know her address, the month of the year or what the word "medication" meant.

But she knew enough to punch 911 into a barely workable mobile phone and began describing years of abuse to a police dispatcher.

Although the couple filed paperwork with the state to home-school their children, learning was limited. The oldest daughter only completed third grade.

Referring to the restraints, the oldest daughter's statement said her mother "didn't want to use rope or chain but she was afraid her children were taking in too much sugar and caffeine”.

Life got more difficult after her mother's parents died in 2016.

Her parents tried their best "and they wanted to give us a good life," she said.

"They believed everything they did was to protect us."

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