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Child Used Deactivated Cellphone to Report Family Held Captive in California Horror for 13 California Siblings Hidden by Veneer of a Private Home School
(about 4 hours later)
PERRIS, Calif. — To tell the police the horrific tale of how her parents were holding her and 12 siblings captive, a 17-year-old girl escaped before dawn Sunday through a window in the family’s Southern California home and used a deactivated cellphone to call the only telephone number that still worked: 911. PERRIS, Calif. — The private school had a welcoming name. The principal was scientifically minded. But the Sandcastle Day School was a nightmare for the six students enrolled there.
Why the parents, David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, kept their 13 children locked up — and for how long — remains unknown. David A. Turpin created the school inside his nondescript stucco home southeast of Los Angeles. But the only ones enrolled there were the six of his 13 children who were school age. And what took place inside was not teaching but torture, the authorities said, after they raided the house over the weekend and found a horrifying scene of emaciated children chained to furniture. The putrid smell overwhelmed them.
But the few details the authorities revealed Tuesday painted a disturbing portrait of prolonged abuse and neglect for the siblings, seven adults and six children, ages 2 to 29. The police found three of the siblings chained to furniture inside the house. All were malnourished, to the point that the adults were so small they looked much younger. By creating such a school of horrors, Mr. Turpin had kept the authorities at bay. His children were never seen by teachers or counselors. Their absences never raised suspicions. On Tuesday, state and local officials were on the defensive as they tried to explain how such things could have occurred in a private school the state had sanctioned.
Mr. Turpin, 56, and his wife, Louise A. Turpin, 49, were arrested on nine counts of torture and child endangerment after one of their daughters escaped from the home out a window before dawn and called the police on a deactivated cellphone that only allowed her to dial 911. The girl showed the police photos to corroborate her story. Once the authorities entered the disheveled home, they found the Turpins’ 13 children, ages 2 to 29. They were so malnourished that the older ones looked years younger.
“I can’t begin to imagine the pain and suffering that they have endured,” Mayor Michael Vargas of Perris said of the siblings. “This is a very happy and tight, hardworking family community.”
How a family that some described as normal just a few years ago had seemingly unraveled so severely, nobody seemed to know.
In a video posted online, the couple warmly smiled and held hands as they renewed their vows 26 years after their wedding. At the Elvis Chapel in Las Vegas in 2011, Mr. Turpin offered his wife a ring before dancing to “Fools Rush In.” They did so again about five years later, with their children looking on, the girls in plaid dresses and the boys in matching bright ties.
Before Sunday, there was no indication that any authority had ever set foot in the home. Riverside County’s child protective services never received reports of abuse. And the State Department of Education said it had registered the school, but had never been inside.
The case raises questions about whether the state may be too lenient in its approach to home schooling and whether it should have been monitoring Mr. Turpin more closely. In California, almost anyone can open a private school by filing an affidavit with the state. California is one of 14 states that only ask parents to register to create a home school, and in 11 other states, including Texas, parents are not required to submit any documentation at all.
The California Department of Education said it was sickened by the tragedy and was investigating what had occurred. The department registers private schools, but “does not approve, monitor, inspect, or oversee” them, said Bill Ainsworth, a department spokesman.
Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, a Democrat from Stockton, Calif., and a social worker who teaches at California State University, Sacramento, said that she would support legislation to monitor such schools.
“The state has a responsibility to make sure there is at least an annual inspection,” she said. “If we’re not going to uphold educational standards, then for the love of God the least we can do is uphold health and safety standards. We need to do everything we can for vulnerable minors before it becomes anything this tragic.”
There are more than 3,000 private schools registered with the department, many of which operate out of people’s homes and are created for only a handful of children. While private school instructors must be “capable of teaching,” according to the state, there is no state requirement for a teaching credential or equivalent training for private schools. Schools are expected to comply with local regulations for zoning, health, safety and fire codes. Schools with more than six students can receive some services and money from the state, officials said.
“I wish I could come to you today with information that would explain why this happened,” Capt. Greg Fellows, a spokesman for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, said Tuesday.“I wish I could come to you today with information that would explain why this happened,” Capt. Greg Fellows, a spokesman for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, said Tuesday.
The parents, both arrested on nine counts of torture and child endangerment, remain in jail. When sheriff’s deputies arrived at the house on Sunday, “the mother was perplexed as to why we were at that residence,” Captain Fellows said.The parents, both arrested on nine counts of torture and child endangerment, remain in jail. When sheriff’s deputies arrived at the house on Sunday, “the mother was perplexed as to why we were at that residence,” Captain Fellows said.
Sheriff’s deputies had never before been called to the house in Perris, an exurb about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles, since the Turpin family moved there in 2014. Neither had the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, said its director, Susan von Zabern. Sunday “was the first opportunity we had to intervene,” she said.Sheriff’s deputies had never before been called to the house in Perris, an exurb about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles, since the Turpin family moved there in 2014. Neither had the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, said its director, Susan von Zabern. Sunday “was the first opportunity we had to intervene,” she said.
“I don’t think we have enough information to know how long any of the children have been subjected to this,” Ms. von Zabern said. “Their condition indicates it has been a prolonged period of time.”
The agency will seek court authorization to provide oversight and care for the children, including the adults if necessary, she added.The agency will seek court authorization to provide oversight and care for the children, including the adults if necessary, she added.
The family previously lived in Murrieta, Calif., and in Texas, and Captain Fellows said he had no information on whether the family was religious, as their social media posts indicated.The family previously lived in Murrieta, Calif., and in Texas, and Captain Fellows said he had no information on whether the family was religious, as their social media posts indicated.
Mr. Turpin had registered with the state to run a private school, the Sandcastle Day School, at home. The only children enrolled were his own, as far as investigators could tell, Captain Fellows said.
“They were home-schooled at that residence,” Captain Fellows said. “There’s no indication that there were any other students, or children residing in that residence.”
For now, the seven adults — five women and two men — have been hospitalized at Corona Regional Medical Center, where they are staying together in a secure area, said Mark Uffer, the hospital’s chief executive. He described their condition as stable.For now, the seven adults — five women and two men — have been hospitalized at Corona Regional Medical Center, where they are staying together in a secure area, said Mark Uffer, the hospital’s chief executive. He described their condition as stable.
“They’re very friendly, they’re very cooperative, and I believe that they’re hopeful that life will get better for them,” Mr. Uffer said. Asked about the conditions in which the siblings were found, he responded, “I’ve never seen this.”“They’re very friendly, they’re very cooperative, and I believe that they’re hopeful that life will get better for them,” Mr. Uffer said. Asked about the conditions in which the siblings were found, he responded, “I’ve never seen this.”
“The way my staff responded, I think they were horrified.”“The way my staff responded, I think they were horrified.”
Dr. Sophia Grant, medical director of the child abuse and neglect unit at Riverside University Health System, said that while she could not speak to specifics regarding the underage siblings, treatment for abuse victims would generally require slow feeding, diagnostic exams like CT scans, and long-term psychological assistance.Dr. Sophia Grant, medical director of the child abuse and neglect unit at Riverside University Health System, said that while she could not speak to specifics regarding the underage siblings, treatment for abuse victims would generally require slow feeding, diagnostic exams like CT scans, and long-term psychological assistance.
“You have to imagine that these kids are going to need a lot of support,” she said. “It’s not going to be anything that you go to a few sessions of therapy, and you’re all better.”“You have to imagine that these kids are going to need a lot of support,” she said. “It’s not going to be anything that you go to a few sessions of therapy, and you’re all better.”
The police described the Turpins’ home as filthy, dark and foul-smelling. News crews were stationed outside on Tuesday, as neighbors continued to wrestle with the idea that so many children were being neglected in the one-story, rusty red house with the tiled roof. The police described the Turpins’ home as filthy, dark and foul-smelling. News crews were stationed outside on Tuesday, as neighbors continued to wrestle with the idea that so many children were being neglected in the one-story, rust-red house with the tiled roof.
Early Tuesday morning, Kimberly Milligan, 50, who lives across the street, said she had only encountered the Turpins once, when she and her son saw three of the siblings — who they thought were 11 to 14 years old — hanging Christmas lights in 2015.Early Tuesday morning, Kimberly Milligan, 50, who lives across the street, said she had only encountered the Turpins once, when she and her son saw three of the siblings — who they thought were 11 to 14 years old — hanging Christmas lights in 2015.
“We said, ‘Hey, your decorations look really nice.’ And they froze,” she said. “They looked absolutely terrified. They were childlike in the sense that, ‘I’m invisible, you can’t see me.’ That was their only defense mechanism.”“We said, ‘Hey, your decorations look really nice.’ And they froze,” she said. “They looked absolutely terrified. They were childlike in the sense that, ‘I’m invisible, you can’t see me.’ That was their only defense mechanism.”
The Milligans tried to reassure the siblings that they were just being friendly, but when their expression did not change, the two backed off. The Christmas lights stayed up until February, she said, and the nativity star in the window remains there to this day. The family’s three Volkswagens remained parked in the driveway on Tuesday. One of them sported a vanity plate that appeared to proclaim the Turpins’ love for Disneyland. The Milligans tried to reassure the siblings that they were just being friendly, but when their expression did not change, the two backed off, they said. The Christmas lights stayed up until February, Ms. Milligan said, and the nativity star in the window remains there to this day. The family’s three Volkswagens remained parked in the driveway on Tuesday, with one of them apparently sporting vanity plates that proclaimed the Turpins’ love for Disneyland.
“I can’t begin to imagine the pain and suffering that they have endured,” Mayor Michael Vargas of Perris said of the siblings. “This is a very happy and tight, hardworking family community.”