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LOS ANGELES (AP) – The call for help was made by a girl who had lived in such isolation for 17 years that she did not know her address, the month of the year or the meaning of the word medicine.
But after jumping through a window of the dirty house where she lived with her parents and 12 siblings, she knew enough to dial the 9-1-1 numbers in a barely usable cell phone, and then started to describe years of abuse to a police officer.
The call of the brave girl who liberated her siblings – some of whom had been chained to their beds – led to an opposite fate for their parents, David and Louise Turpin, who face 25 years in prison for their conviction. Friday.
In February, the couple pleaded guilty in Riverside County Superior Court for torturing and mistreating the negligence so severe that it delayed the growth of their children, caused muscle loss, and left two girls unable to have children. .
Before the 17-year-old escaped from his home in a middle-class part of the city of Perris, about 96 km southeast of Los Angeles, the Turpins had lived largely at home. 39, hidden from view.
David Turpin, 57, was an engineer at Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Louise Turpin, 50, went bankrupt in 2011 as a housewife.
Their house has been carefully maintained and the neighbors have rarely seen the children outside the house.
When the deputies arrived, they were shocked by what they discovered. A 22 year old son was chained to a bed and two girls had just been released from their chains. The house was covered with dirt and the stench of human waste was overwhelming.
The deputies stated that the children had declared that they had the right to take a shower only once a year. They were mainly kept in their room, with the exception of meals, which had gone from three to one a day, a combination of lunches and dinners. The 17-year-old girl complained that she could no longer stand the peanut butter sandwiches – they gagged her.
Turpin offspring were not allowed to play as normal children. Aside from an occasional family trip to Las Vegas or Disneyland, they rarely left home. They slept during the day and were active a few hours at night.
Although the couple filed documents with the state from their children at home, the learning was limited. The eldest daughter finished only the third year.
"We do not really go to school. I did not finish the first year, "said MP Manuel Campos, 17.
The children claimed to have been beaten, caged and chained to bed if they did not obey their parents.
The investigators found that the toddler had not been abused, but all the children were hospitalized after their discovery.
The seven adult children lived together and went to school in February when their parents pleaded guilty. Lawyer Jack Osborn, who represents them, declined to comment on Thursday.
It is unclear whether children will be sentenced, but they will be given a chance to speak or make written statements to be read in court.
Defense lawyers would not say if their clients will go to court.
The couple pled guilty to 14 counts. Prosecutors said the agreement would likely keep them in prison all their lives and prevent children from testifying.
"The defendants have ruined lives, so I think it's fair and equitable that the sentence is equivalent to first-degree murder," District Attorney Mike Hestrin said at the time of the trial. call.
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