Duration | 1988–2018 |
---|---|
Location | Perris, California, U.S. |
Convicted | David Allen Turpin and Louise Ann Turpin |
Charges | Torture, false imprisonment, abuse of a dependent adult, child abuse |
Verdict | Guilty |
Sentence | 25 years to life with the possibility of parole after 22 years [1] |
The Turpin case involved the abuse of children and dependent adults by their biological parents, David and Louise Turpin of Perris, California, U.S. The ages of the 13 victims ranged from 2 to 29 years old. On January 14, 2018, one of the daughters, then-17-year-old Jordan Turpin, escaped and called local police, who then raided the residence and discovered disturbing evidence. Given the number of dependents involved, the degree of abuse, and the protracted nature occurring over decades, the story garnered significant national and international news. Experts in family abuse considered the case to be extraordinary for many reasons.
In February 2019, both Turpin parents pleaded guilty on 14 felony counts, including abuse of a dependent adult, child abuse, torture, and false imprisonment. [2] In April, they were sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years. [1] [3]
David Allen Turpin (born October 17, 1961) was formerly a computer engineer who graduated from Virginia Tech [4] and had worked for Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. [5] [6] He met his wife, Louise Ann ( née Robinette, born May 24, 1968), [7] at Princeton High School in Princeton, West Virginia. [8] The couple married in Pearisburg, Virginia, in 1985, when David was 23 years old and Louise was 16 years old. [9]
The Turpins originally identified as Pentecostal Christians, and as part of their beliefs, the couple had numerous children because "God called on them" to do so. [6] [8] They produced ten daughters and three sons between 1988 and 2015. The couple later left the church and experimented in other lifestyles, including witchcraft and swinging. [10] [11]
The Turpin family lived in Fort Worth, Texas until 1999, when they moved to Rio Vista, Texas. In 2007, the Turpin parents moved 10 of their children into an isolated trailer on their property. David and Louise took the two youngest and left the rest of the children to fend for themselves, bringing groceries on a weekly basis but not enough to feed everybody. [12] One of their daughters, Jordan Turpin, aged six years at the time, stated there was "a lot of starving", and she had resorted to eating "ketchup or mustard or ice". [12] After the family left the Rio Vista property in 2010, [13] [14] neighbors found feces and beds with ropes tied to them, along with dead cats and piles of garbage. [15]
In 2014, the Turpins moved to Perris, California. [16] Neighbors reported that the children were silent unless spoken to, "like children whose only defense was to be invisible"; would skip rather than walk; and appeared malnourished and pale. [8]
One of Louise's sisters later said that David and Louise refused to let her see the children, and another sister said she had been concerned about the children's weight, but Louise's aunt said the family pictures posted on Facebook had made her think that "they were one big happy family." [17]
The children did not spend all of their time in captivity. Photos emerged of the parents and all 13 children visiting Disneyland in nearby Anaheim. The boys and girls were dressed in matching Disney T-shirts. David and Louise had an affinity for Disney and for the park. The vanity plates on the couple's two cars were "DSLAND" and "DL4EVER". [18]
David and Louise had been planning to move the family to Oklahoma at the time of their arrest. [19] Jordan Turpin overheard her parents speaking about the move and decided it was time to call the police. [20]
By 2018, the Turpin children had been planning to escape their parents for more than two years. On January 14, 2018, two of the girls left the house through a window. The younger girl (age 13) became frightened and turned back, but Jordan, then 17, got some distance away and called 911 on a deactivated cell phone she had brought with her; [21] [22] she told the dispatcher that she and her siblings were being abused by their parents and that the smell in the house was so bad sometimes she could barely breathe. She also stated that two of her sisters and one of her brothers were currently chained to their beds. [20] When the first police officer arrived, Jordan showed him photos of conditions inside the house. [22]
Deputies of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department raided the house, stating they were there for a "welfare check". [22] [23] Louise and David answered the door. The sheriff's department said that Louise was "perplexed as to why we were at that residence." [24] Inside, they encountered the stench of human excrement, decaying garbage, dead pets, and moldy food, with every surface covered in trash. Later, they found the other 12 children; one had been shackled to a bed for weeks [20] and it appeared that two others had been shackled until just before officers arrived. [25] Children were found with bruises on their arms, appearing frail, and caked with dirt. [20] The children were so malnourished that deputies thought they were all under 18 years old, when in fact seven were over 18. [26] The house contained hundreds of journals written by the children about their lives. [27]
For years, the parents imprisoned, beat, and strangled their children, allowing them to eat only once a day and bathe only once a year. [7] The older children appeared much younger because of malnourishment; the 29-year-old (Jennifer) weighed just 82 pounds (37 kg). [9] The 12-year-old child had an arm circumference equivalent to that of a 4-month-old baby. [12] Some appeared to lack basic knowledge of the world and had a limited vocabulary, for example being unfamiliar with what "medication" was (in case of Jordan), or who police were. [28]
The case is considered "extraordinary for numerous reasons", including that abuse was inflicted on multiple children (as well as dependent adults) by both parents and the calculated and systematic nature of the abuse and torture. [29]
The Turpins were charged with 12 counts of torture, 12 counts of false imprisonment, seven counts of abuse of a dependent adult, and six counts of child abuse; David received an additional charge of a lewd act on a child under 14. [28] They were held in lieu of bail being posted, which media reported was set at $9 million for Louise Turpin and $12 million for David Turpin. [30] [31] [32] [33] David was eventually charged with perjury in relation to affidavits he filed with the California Department of Education over the years, in which he asserted that his children were being educated in a private school. [34] Louise's attorney requested Louise be placed in a pretrial diversion program for mental health treatment due to a diagnosis of histrionic personality disorder; the judge denied the request on the grounds that Turpin posed a risk to the public. [35]
On February 22, 2019, David and Louise each changed their not-guilty pleas to guilty to one count of torture, three counts of willful child abuse, four counts of false imprisonment, and six counts of cruelty to an adult dependent. [36] Both were sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years. [1] Experts believe they will never receive parole due to the severity of the crime, making it effectively a life sentence. [3]
David was originally sent to the Mule Creek State Prison before being sent to the California State Prison, Corcoran, and Louise is in the Central California Women's Facility. [37] [38] [39]
All the children spent two months in the hospital, after which the six minors were placed in two foster homes. [40] Physicians treated various issues, including heart damage due to lack of nutrients, cognitive impairments, and neuropathy. [20]
In October 2019, five of the younger children were adopted by an abusive family. Allegations included "hitting them in the face with sandals, pulling their hair, hitting them with a belt, and striking their heads". They were forced to eat excessively and then forced to eat "their own vomit", and the foster father was accused of "grabbing and fondling" them and "kissing them on the mouth". [41] The foster family was arrested and charged with abusing multiple children in their care. [42]
In early 2020, the Riverside County Deputy District Attorney reported that the children were living independently, working, and going to school, and that one had graduated from college. [43]
An investigation for the ABC news magazine 20/20 , which chronicled the case for the November 2021 special Escape from a House of Horror, reported some of the Turpin children are now neglected by Riverside County social services, some are homeless, and none are authorized to use the hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to them. [44] The money was placed in a trust controlled by a court-appointed public guardian (Vanessa Espinoza). Joshua Turpin stated that he could not access the funds and was denied the purchase of a bicycle. [45] During an interview with Diane Sawyer for the 20/20 special, Jordan Turpin stated that she was released without warning from a foster home with no life skills, no plans for housing, or knowledge of how to obtain food and healthcare. According to the report, Riverside County has hired a private law firm to investigate allegations of abuse by social services. [45]
In July 2022, the Turpin siblings filed lawsuits in California's Riverside County Superior Court against the foster care agency that placed them in a home where they were allegedly subjected to further abuse and neglect. Two nearly identical lawsuits were filed, with one representing the two older siblings and the other representing the four younger siblings. Riverside County, Foster Family Network, and ChildNet Youth and Family Services were named as defendants in the lawsuit. [46] [47]
The Riverside County sheriff's department had already been investigating the foster home, which included nine alleged victims, since early 2021. [48] On September 19, 2024, three of the foster parents pleaded guilty to the charges of abuse: Marcelino Olguin, to three counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14, one count of child endangerment and one count of false imprisonment; and Olguin's wife Rosa and daughter Lennys, to child endangerment and false imprisonment. [48] On October 18, Marcelino was sentenced to seven years in state prison, and Rosa and Lennys were sentenced to four years of probation. [49]
Tranquility Bay was a residential treatment facility affiliated with World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS), located in Calabash Bay, Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica. The facility operated from 1997 to 2009 and received notoriety for its harsh and often abusive treatment of its students, eventually shutting down in 2009 after allegations of child abuse came to light through lawsuits and highly publicized student testimonies. The adolescents reported violence to their parents, only to be ignored.
Sexual grooming is the action or behavior used to establish an emotional connection with a minor under the age of consent, and sometimes the child's family, to lower the child's inhibitions with the objective of sexual abuse. It can occur in various settings, including online, in person, and through other means of communication. Children who are groomed may experience mental health issues, including "anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and suicidal thoughts."
Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) is an American women's California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison located in Chowchilla, California. It is across the road from Valley State Prison. CCWF is the second largest female correctional facility in the United States, and houses the only State of California death row for women.
Child protective services (CPS) is the name of an agency responsible for providing child protection, which includes responding to reports of child abuse or neglect. Some countries and US states use other names, often attempting to reflect more family-centered practices, such as department of children and family services (DCFS). CPS is also sometimes known by the name of department of social services, though these terms more often have a broader meaning.
The Orkney child abuse scandal began on 27 February 1991, when social workers and police removed children—five boys and four girls, aged eight to fifteen and all from the families of English "incomers"—from their homes on the island of South Ronaldsay in Orkney, Scotland, because of allegations of child abuse. The children denied that any abuse had occurred, and medical examinations did not reveal any evidence of abuse.
Marcus Fiesel was an American 3-year-old child who was murdered in Clermont County, Ohio, in August 2006. Fiesel had recently been removed from his mother's care by child protective services, and placed into foster care with David and Liz Carroll in Union Township, where he died from hyperthermia after being restrained and neglected in a closet for a two-day period. On February 21, 2007, Liz Carroll was convicted of murdering him. On February 26, 2007, it was announced attorneys for David Carroll had reached a plea agreement.
Eunice Spry is a British woman from Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, a Jehovah's Witness who was convicted of 26 charges of child abuse against children in her foster care in April 2007. She was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment and ordered to pay £80,000 costs. In sentencing, the judge told Spry that it was the "worst case in his 40 years practising law".
A familicide is a type of murder or murder-suicide in which an individual kills multiple close family members in quick succession, most often children, spouses, siblings, or parents. In half the cases, the killer lastly kills themselves in a murder-suicide. If only the parents are killed, the case may also be referred to as a parricide. Where all members of a family are killed, the crime may be referred to as family annihilation.
Children have been accused of witchcraft, both historically and in contemporary times, in societies that harbor beliefs about the existence of witches and black magic. These accusations have led to punishment, imprisonment, torture, and execution of children.
Philadelphia basement kidnapping, also known as the Basement of Horrors, describes the discovery of four people, being held against their will, in conditions of deprivation on October 17, 2011, in the basement of an apartment building in the Tacony neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward or a non-minor, typically aged 18–21, who volunteers for placement, is placed in a relative placement, a non-related extended family (NREFM) placement, a community family home, an institution, or a group home. Relative, NREFM, and community caregivers certified by the state are typically referred to as "foster parents," "kin caregivers," "resource parents," or other local terms. The placement of the child is usually arranged through state or county social services. The institution, group home, or caregiver is reimbursed for the expenses related to caring for the child. The state via the family court and child protection agency stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions, while the caregiver is responsible for the day-to-day care of the minor. Even while their child is in Care, typically birth parents retain Education and Medical rights and the right to contact with their child unless parental rights are terminated by the Court.
The incarceration of women in the United States refers to the imprisonment of women in both prisons and jails in the United States. There are approximately 219,000 incarcerated women in the US according to a November 2018 report by the Prison Policy Initiative, and the rate of incarceration of women in the United States is at a historic and global high, with 133 women in correctional facilities per every 100,000 female citizens. The United States is home to just 4% of the world's female population, yet the US is responsible for 33% of the entire world's incarcerated female population. The steep rise in the population of incarcerated women in the US is linked to the complex history of the war on drugs and the US's prison–industrial complex, which lead to mass incarceration among many demographics, but had particularly dramatic impacts on women and especially women of color. However, women made up only 10.4% of the US prison and jail population, as of 2015.
Peter Gerard Scully is an Australian convicted murderer and child rapist who is imprisoned for life in the Philippines after being convicted of one count of human trafficking and five counts of rape by sexual assault of children. Scully was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2018. In November 2022, he received a second conviction and was sentenced to an additional 129 years in prison.
The Hart family murders was a murder–suicide which took place on March 26, 2018, in Mendocino County, California, United States. Jennifer Hart (37) and her wife, Sarah Hart (38), murdered themselves and their six adopted children: Ciera (12), Abigail (14), Jeremiah (14), Devonte (15), Hannah (16), and Markis (19). The murders happened when Jennifer intentionally drove the family's sports utility vehicle off a cliff. Jennifer was in the driver's seat, and Sarah was in the front passenger seat.
The Fantastic Adventures scandal was a 2019 scandal involving the YouTube channel Fantastic Adventures, run by Machelle Hackney Hobson of Maricopa, Arizona, in the United States. The scandal began when one of Hobson's biological children contacted the police after witnessing her adopted siblings being systematically abused by her mother. Hobson and the channel garnered worldwide media attention, given the degree of Hobson's child abuse.
On May 24, 2013, Gabriel Fernandez, an eight-year-old boy from Palmdale, California, who had been abused and tortured over a period of months, died due to a beating from his mother, Pearl Fernandez, and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, two days earlier. Pearl Fernandez and Isauro Aguirre were charged and convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances of torture. According to prosecutors, Aguirre allegedly abused Gabriel due to his perceived homosexuality. Pearl was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and Aguirre was sentenced to death.
The 2021 Munster abuse case, contemporaneously reported in the media as the Munster abuse trial, refers to a criminal trial that took place in Ireland between 2021 and 2022, pertaining to five adults who were found guilty of a plethora of offenses committed against five of the children of two of the accused, between 18 August 2014 and 28 April 2016, in several different counties in the province of Munster, Ireland.
Ruby Franke is an American former family vlogger who ran the now defunct YouTube channel called 8 Passengers. On August 30, 2023, Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested in Washington County, Utah, and charged with six counts of felony aggravated child abuse of two of Franke's children under Utah law, four counts to which she pled guilty. She was sentenced to serve between four and thirty years in prison on February 20, 2024.
Jordan Elizabeth Turpin is an American social media personality. She gained national exposure at the age of 17, in the Turpin case, when she escaped from her abusive parents' home in Perris, California. She alerted local police who discovered disturbing conditions in her home, where she lived in virtual captivity with her parents and 12 siblings, ranging from 2 to 29 years old.
She tells Megyn Kelly that she hopes her 13 nieces and nephews can one day lead a happy and normal existence. 'I hope to put my arm around them and tell them they have a family that is not deranged.'
The Turpins' case is extraordinary for numerous reasons – particularly as the allegations are against two parents who had multiple children together. Prof Browne, director of the Centre for Forensic and Family Psychology at the University of Nottingham, says it is more common to see cases where there is one child and the parent or parents cannot cope, so the situation spirals out of control. Dr Bernard Gallagher, a child protection expert at the University of Huddersfield, says: "I see a lot of cases of neglect, where children are not washed or fed properly, but you don't often get cases of children being tortured, where the abuse seems calculated."