‘My parents took my life away but I am taking it back... Life is great now’
Children tell of California house of horrors as abusive pair are jailed
A SON and daughter of the notorious California house of horrors couple – who were exposed last year – have told of the devastating impact the ordeal has had on their lives.
The siblings gave emotional victim impact statements in court yesterday as their parents sobbed and were sentenced to life in prison for starving and inflicting years of torture and abuse on their 13 children.
David Turpin, 57, and his wife Louise, 50, were both told they have no possibility of parole for the next 25 years after pleading guilty to neglect and abuse.
Two of their adult children, Jennifer, 30, and Joshua, 27, spoke publicly for the first time since being freed from their filthy home in January last year.
The years of abuse only came to light at the time when David and Louise’s 17-year-old daughter Jordan jumped from a window of their filthy home and called 911 on a barely workable mobile phone.
The brave teenager’s phone call resulted in the 13 Turpin children being freed and landed their parents behind bars.
Following their arrests in January last year, horrific details began to emerge of the extent of torture, abuse and neglect that the children – aged between two and 29 at the time – had endured.
The abuse and neglect was so severe it stunted their children’s growth, led to muscle wasting and left two of their daughters unable to bear children.
And yesterday the parents broke down in tears as they listened to their children speak of the nightmares of being chained, beaten and starved in their home.
‘My parents took my whole life from me but now I’m taking my life back,’ Jennifer said shakily as she was comforted by a Labrador support dog called Raider. ‘I saw my dad change my mom. They almost changed me, but I realised what was happening.
‘I believe everything happens for a reason. Life may have been bad, but it made me strong. I fought to become the person I am. I’m a fighter, I’m strong and I’m shooting through life like a rocket.’
She also revealed she was now at college and living independently. ‘I love hanging out with my friends and life is great,’ she said.
Her brother Joshua said he still has nightmares about him and his siblings being chained up or beaten. However, he added: ‘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.
‘I have learned so much and become very independent.’
The son, who is studying to be a software engineer at college, revealed he had learned to ride a bike, swim and cook healthy meals. He also read a statement from his sister Jessica, saying: ‘Although it may not have been the best way of raising us, I’m glad that they did, because it made me the person I am today.
‘I just want to thank them for teaching me about God and faith… God looks at the heart and I know he sees theirs.’ One of their other daughters, Joy, had a statement read to the court begging the judge to give a lighter sentence because ‘they believed everything they did was to protect us’. The statement read: ‘I want the court to know that our parents love each other and love each of their children.’ She wrote that her mother ‘didn’t want to use rope or chain’ but was ‘afraid’ her children were ‘taking in too much sugar and caffeine’. She added: ‘Our parents didn’t know we were malnourished. They thought we all got the
‘I saw my dad change my mom’
‘I love my parents and forgive them’
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She asked the judge to place the parents in a detention centre nearby so she would be able to visit them and asked for a restraining order to be lifted so she could speak to them via phone.
David and Louise also addressed the court and apologised for harming their 13 children.
‘I thank God for all of my children. Each one of them is a blessing from God,’ David said. ‘My homeschooling discipline had good intentions. I never meant any harm to come to my children.
‘I hope and pray that my children can look out for each other since their mother and father cannot be there with them. I miss all my children and will be praying for them… I long for the opportunity to have contact with them again.’
His wife added: ‘I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to my children. I love my children so much, I’m blessed to be the mother of each one of them. Their happiness is very important to me. I want them to know Mom and Dad are going to be okay. I believe God has a special plan for each of them... I love them more than they could ever imagine.’ The couple pleaded guilty in February to 14 felony counts of abusing and imprisoning their children in their home in Perris, about 110km east of Los Angeles. Their sentencing marks the culmination of a horrific case that has played out publicly for almost 16 months after being shrouded in secrecy for decades.
Before the horror was revealed, the Turpin family had lived largely out of view. David worked as an engineer, while his wife Louise was listed as a housewife in a 2011 bankruptcy filing.
Their home was neatly kept on the outside and their neighbours rarely saw the children outside the home.
In sentencing the couple, judge Keith Schwartz put in place restraining orders preventing the Turpins from trying to contact their children from prison.
The restraining orders will end at different times for each child, based on their age and whether they want to retain a relationship with their abusive parents.
Judge Schwartz told the Turpins: ‘The only reason that your punishment is less than the maximum time, in my opinion, is you accepted responsibility at an early stage in the proceedings, and spared your children the humiliation and the harm [of a trial].
‘Any punishment that is given to you today will pale in comparison with the fact that you will not have an opportunity to spend your years as a normal parent would,’ he said.