The parents of "House of Terror" in California pleaded guilty and were on the brink of life imprisonment – 02/22/2019

In January 2018, the horror appeared. A 17-year-old girl managed to escape her home in Perris, Riverside County, Southern California, and warned authorities that she and her 12 brothers were brutally tortured, ill-treated and kept in captivity by his parents.

A little more than a year later, more specifically this Friday, the Turpin couple is declared guilty of 14 counts of indictment and is about to spend the rest of their lives in jail.

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David Allen Turpin, 56, and Louise Ann Turpin, 50, appeared in court in this county andthey have been guilty of crimes of torture, abuse and cruelty to children, which will mean at least 25 years in prison. The next April 19th will be the hearing at which the sentence will be known.

Initially, the couple was found innocent of all charges. However, to avoid being judged, they changed their statement during a hearing in which Louise went bankrupt.

Riverside Attorney Mike Hestrin said at a news conference that to prevent victims from testifying He accepted the guilty plea of ​​the parents, detained for more than a year.

"We want justice, but this justice must also take care of the victims and we do not want them to suffer more," said the Advocate General.

The case was discovered after the girl who had managed to escape through a window had called the 911 emergency number to inform her that her sisters were ".chained to the beds " at the family home, located in the town of Perris.

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The authorities then discovered the arduous and unhygienic conditions in which the 13 children, aged between 3 and 29, were tied up with ropes and chains, locked in cages and some of whom were severely malnourished. . In addition, they were allowed to shower only once a year and had never been seen by a doctor.

"C & # 39; the most horrible case I have seen throughout my career as a prosecutor, "said Hestrin, who announced that the couple would be sentenced to life imprisonment.After 25 years, he could apply for parole. court will have to determine if it accepts the conviction.

The prosecutor said it was "the heaviest sentence that can be handed down in California" after the coming into force last year of a law banning the sentence of more aged 25 to an elderly person without the opportunity to ask for freedom. conditional

The 13 children of the couple are responsible for social services in Riverside County. "We decided that the victims had endured enough torture and abuse, I personally met them and, of course, everyone is relieved to know that this case has been resolved," said the prosecutor. "I was very captivated by his optimism, his hope for the future, they want to live and big smiles," he said.