They took my whole life
Daughter tells how 13 siblings were locked up and tortured for years in ‘House of Horrors’ – as weeping parents are jailed for life
THE daughter of a couple who kept their 13 malnourished children chained up for years in a ‘house of horrors’ told yesterday how they ‘took my whole life from me’. As their horrific ordeal was laid bare in court, the children of David and Louise Turpin spoke for the first time, with one son admitting he still had ‘nightmares’ about what he had endured. The case shocked the US when the children, aged two to 29, were discovered shackled to their beds and living in filthy conditions after the couple’s then 17-year- old daughter escaped the home in California and raised the alarm in January last year. Two of the siblings gave emotional accounts of the impact their childhood had had upon their lives. Yet in an extraordinary twist, several of the children admitted they had already forgiven their parents – and one even pleaded for lighter sentences. As their weeping parents were sentenced to life for child abuse and torture, one of the daughters, who was not named, told Riverside Superior Court in Los Angeles: My parents took my ‘ whole life from me, but now I am taking my life back. I am a fighter, I am strong and I am shooting through life like a rocket.’ After receiving almost no education, the young woman is now in university and had started enjoying normal pastimes such as ‘hanging out with my friends’. She added: ‘Life may have been bad but it made me stronger. I fought to become the person I am.’ The sentiments were echoed by her brother who told of how he now revelled in simple pleasures such as riding a bike. He dreams of becoming a software engineer. He told the court: ‘I cannot describe in words what we went through growing up. Sometimes I still have nightmares of things that have happened such as my siblings being chained up. But that is the past, and this is now. I love my parents, and have forgiven them for a lot of the things they did to us.’ He also read a statement from his sister which said: ‘I love both my parents so much. Although it may not have been the best way of raising us, I am glad they did. I just want to thank them for teaching me about God and faith.’ The young girl repeatedly mentioned religion and concluded her statement with: ‘God is all we need.’ Mrs Turpin smiled as, in a message appeared to be addressed to her parents, the girl said: ‘Never lose faith, you are one of his sheep and he is constantly watching over his flock.’ In a statement another of the couple’s daughters said: ‘I believe with all my heart that our parents tried their best to raise all 13 of us and they wanted to give us a good life.’ The girl asked if her mother and father could be jailed nearby so that they could visit. Both parents sobbed throughout the hearing. After the children’s statements Mrs Turpin, 50, told the court: ‘I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to hurt my children. I love my children so much.’ Her husband, 57, added: ‘I thank God for all of my children. Each one of them is a blessing.’ Over many years of abuse, the Turpin children were beaten, chained and deprived of contact with the outside world. Often they were limited to just one wash a year at their home in the middle-class suburb of Perris, 60 miles south-east of Los Angeles. It was only when their 17-yearold daughter escaped that the children were finally freed. Sentencing the pair to life in prison, with parole possible after 25 years, Judge Bernard Schwartz accused them of ‘selfish, cruel and inhumane’ treatment. He added: ‘The children’s lives have been permanently altered.’
‘Still have nightmares of being chained up’