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In 2007, when Jennifer Turpin was about 18 years old, she said their parents moved 10 children into a trailer deeper into their Texas property and further from sight. Her father, she said, used belts and sticks to whip the children until they bled. Jennifer recalled one moment when she said her father picked her up, feet off the floor, and slammed her into a wall. When Jennifer, the eldest Turpin child, was an infant, she said she and her parents lived in a nice neighborhood in Fort Worth, Texas.
Are the Turpin family kids still close?
It was Hestrin, as Riverside's district attorney, who prosecuted the Turpins' parents, David and Louise. Jennifer said for years she and her siblings only ate once a day, primarily peanut butter sandwiches, bologna, a frozen burrito or chips, while their parents ate fast food and other full meals. She said some of the children would try to “steal” food and their parents would beat them or chain them up for it. When rescued, all of the children except for the youngest, a toddler, were severely malnourished, prosecutors said.
Escape From a House of Horror: A Diane Sawyer Special Event
The department is aware of the charges against the foster family and has opened an investigation, according to its spokesperson, Scott Murray. "I wasn't doing well," Jordan — who was joined by her older sister Jennifer — says now of that time. "But I felt we weren't the only ones being treated wrong in the system — and I wanted to help my siblings."
What happened to the Turpin family?
4 years after rescue, some Turpin children still 'living in squalor' despite donations, pledges of support - ABC News
4 years after rescue, some Turpin children still 'living in squalor' despite donations, pledges of support.
Posted: Fri, 19 Nov 2021 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The smartphone became Jordan Turpin’s first window into the outside world. She said she watched Bieber’s interviews, movies and used it to make videos of her singing her own songs to post on social media. By 1999, Jennifer Turpin said they had moved to an isolated home in Rio Vista, Texas.
Jordan Turpin details making 911 call moments after she escaped family's 'house of horrors' - ABC News
Jordan Turpin details making 911 call moments after she escaped family's 'house of horrors'.
Posted: Mon, 15 Nov 2021 08:00:00 GMT [source]
MORE: Turpin children, other young survivors of abuse: How to help
When their parents were out of the house, Jennifer Turpin said she and her siblings would sometimes secretly watch movies or listen to music. Around 2015, Jordan Turpin said she got a hold of an old smartphone and discovered Justin Bieber’s music videos. Jennifer Turpin said their parents left the older siblings with a flip phone so they could receive their “instructions.” One of which, according to Jennifer, was to put any rebellious children into cages, some of which were dog kennels with locks. The frail and malnourished Turpin children were now in a hospital, where they received food, clean clothes, medical treatment, kindness from strangers -- things the siblings rarely, or in some cases never, had before. Children from the Turpin family, who were held captive in their California home, discuss how they endured harrowing conditions, including starvation and violence, and reveal details about th...
After the extent of David and Louise's crimes were revealed, several of the Turpin children — who ranged from 2 to 29 at the time of their rescue — were placed in foster care, where many of them were abused by their foster family. David and Louise were eventually convicted on 14 felony counts and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. On Feb. 22, 2019, both David and Louise pleaded guilty to 14 felony counts including cruelty to an adult dependent, child cruelty, torture and false imprisonment. They were sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 22 years. Jordan and her eldest sibling, Jennifer Turpin, are telling their story for the first time in an exclusive interview with Sawyer.
"It stopped me dead in my tracks," said Riverside District Attorney Mike Hestrin. He and other officials told Sawyer and ABC News correspondent David Scott about the shocking challenges the Turpin children have faced since their rescue. Jordan said the officer asked her if they went into the house would they see her siblings chained up.
Colace said that he didn't believe some of Turpin's claims at first, until she showed him a photo of her sisters chained to their beds. Other than an occasional family trip to Las Vegas or Disneyland, they rarely left the home. "I cannot describe in words what we went through growing up," he said, crying. "Sometimes, I still have nightmares of things that had happened to us, such as my siblings being chained up or getting beaten. But that is the past, and this is now." Nearly four years after their dramatic escape and rescue, the Turpin sisters said they are ready to move on with their life -- and reshape their public image.
Turpin siblings speak out in 1st interview about 'house of horrors'
Once they arrived at the Turpin home, authorities found three children chained to their beds and the rest in small, foul-smelling rooms. Authorities arrested David and Louise and charged them with 12 counts of torture, seven counts of abuse of a dependent adult, six counts of child abuse and 12 counts of false imprisonment. In a candid, gripping interview that aired on "20/20" Friday, Turpin described the moment she snuck out of her home. She was 17 at the time, and she and her siblings, who ranged in age from 2 to 29, were being tortured by their parents, David and Louise Turpin. For years, the Turpin children were abused and subjected to beatings and punishments that included being chained to their beds.
"The best thing that can happen to me is seeing that I made someone's day. Sometimes I get comments like, 'I can relate to this,' and that makes me so excited," she says. "I'm very thankful and blessed that I can be there to help others and make a difference." "I'm not ready to go into details about what happened to me in that home. I was very traumatized, and it's been a very scary journey," she says quietly. "It was really hard to understand the first situation [with my parents]. Then going into another, that was just really, really hard. You have all these questions and you just don't get the answer." "Sometimes I walk into my apartment and literally think, 'Is this real?' I'm more independent and can just be myself. This is everything I ever wanted," she says.
An ABC News investigation has found the some of the Turpin children continue to face challenges and hardships since they were rescued and placed in the care of the county. On Jan. 14, 2018, 17-year-old Jordan escaped from her family’s home in Perris, Calif. and called authorities. After police arrived, they discovered that Jordan's parents, David and Louise, had been severely abusing their 13 children to varying degrees for years. After 17-year-old Jordan Turpin escaped her family’s home in California and called 911 to report unfathomable abuse, the public soon learned the awful truth of what David and Louise Turpin inflicted on their 13 children for years. The seven adult children were living together and attending school in February when their parents pleaded guilty.
They are the first of any of the Turpin children to share their stories. In their interview, the Turpin daughters described physical abuse and being deprived of food, hygiene, education and health care for years. Throughout the course of ABC News' reporting, Vanessa Espinoza's name came up over and over.
Even as she suffered in foster care, Jordan — who taught herself basic math, reading and writing in captivity — found joy in schoolwork. Yet, Jordan and five of her siblings say their nightmare continued when they were placed in an abusive foster home. On July 20, Jordan and those siblings (identified as Jane and John Does) filed lawsuits against Riverside County and ChildNet Youth and Family Services, a private foster care agency. Van Wagenen also outlined several of his office's "efforts to progressively transform the county's child welfare and dependent adult systems," which include improved training and auditing protocols.
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