The mother of 13 malnourished children and young adults was “perplexed” when deputies arrived at the family’s Southern California home, police said.
A Perris husband and wife are in custody on suspicion of torture and child abuse after police found several of the couples children chained to beds in putrid surroundings, authorities said Monday. 57-year old David Allen Turpin and 49-year old Louise Anna Turpin were booked for violations of California Penal Code Section 206 Torture and Section 273a(A) Child Endangerment. Bail was set at $9,000,000.00 each. (Riverside County Sheriff’s Department).
Sheriff’s deputies said they found the couple’s 13 children ranging in age from 2 to 29 years old, some of them chained to furniture, all of them thin and malnourished. The 17-year-old girl who escaped was so tiny that deputies initially mistook her for a 10-year-old.
This doesn’t only happen on episodes of “Law and Order” and “Criminal Minds.”
Source: California couple’s ordinary home held torture chamber – Chicago Tribune