Captives were likely coerced
Behavior not uncommon in horrific situations
LOS ANGELES — When a 17-year-old girl jumped out a window from the house where her parents allegedly starved and tortured their 13 children, she broke a silence that had likely lasted years. It’s not clear why the teenager waited so long to act, but psychiatrists say such behavior is not uncommon in horrific situations.
Most people would recognize milder forms of the same inaction that is a coping mechanism, such as failing to speak out against off-color jokes or enduring sexual harassment, said Dr. Bruce Perry, a psychiatrist who is a senior fellow at the ChildTrauma Academy in Houston.
The vulnerable girl might have been shamed, beaten or threatened with violence and only after many missed opportunities did she probably work up the courage to act, Perry said.
David Turpin, 56, and his wife, Louise Turpin, 49, were arrested Sunday after authorities found the malnourished children in their home in suburban Perris. They were jailed on $9 million bail each and are expected to appear today in Riverside County Superior Court on charges that could include torture and child endangerment, authorities said.
Investigators at the home Wednesday removed dozens of boxes, what appeared to be two safes and pieces of a bed frame.
Until the girl fled with photographic evidence, it appears no one, neither neighbors nor public officials, knew anything about what was happening inside. The Turpins have lived in two Riverside County communities since moving to California in 2011, and police said they were never called to either home, nor were any reports fielded by child protective services.
In Hill County, Texas, where they lived previously, the sheriff’s office received a call from a neighbor complaining that a pig belonging to the Turpins escaped from a pen and ate 55 pounds of his dog food.
In another report, David Turpin said that the family’s dog had bitten their 4-year-old daughter’s face. He told police he took the girl to a hospital for stitches and the dog to a veterinarian to be put down, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.