Officers report nightmarish scene in house where kids were chained
LOS ANGELES — When Riverside County sheriff ’s deputies entered the Perris house where a married couple was said to be holding their 13 children captive, they found a horrific scene.
There was a strong, foul smell. The house was filthy. Three young people were chained to pieces of furniture. Children were badly emaciated.
And yet, Riverside County Sheriff’s Capt. Greg Fellows said Tuesday, the children’s mother was surprised to see authorities.
Sheriff’s deputies had never received a call from the house or about suspected child abuse, Fellows said at a news conference. A county child protective services official said this was the “first chance we had to intervene.”
Authorities on Tuesday released more details about the nightmarish scene they found at the house on Muir Woods Road and about the conditions of the 13 siblings who appeared to have undergone years of abuse.
A 17-year-old girl called 911 early Sunday, saying she had escaped from her family’s home, where her parents had been holding her captive.
Riverside County sheriff ’s deputies who found the girl were struck by her small size and emaciated appearance. She looked to be only 10, authorities said, and she had photos to back up her claims.
When deputies arrived at the house, they found a scene as nightmarish as she had described.
The parents, David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, were arrested on suspicion of torture and child endangerment, and each was being held in lieu of $9 million bail.
The youngest child is 2. Deputies at first assumed from their frail and malnourished appearance that all in the group were minors, but they later determined that seven of them were adults ages 18 to 29, a Sheriff ’s Department statement said.
The children are believed to all be the couple’s biological children, Fellows said. County adult and child protective services workers and medical professionals are assessing the siblings, he said.