RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California couple who shackled some of their 13 children to beds and starved them in what was dubbed a “house of horrors” pleaded guilty on Friday to torture and other abuse that lasted years.
David and Louise Turpin entered the pleas to 14 counts that included cruelty toward their 12 oldest children and imprisoning them in a house that appeared to be neatly kept from the outside, but was festered inside with filth and reeked of human waste.
The couple was arrested in January 2018 when their 17-year-old daughter called 911 after escaping from the family’s home in the city of Perris, about 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
The children, who ranged in age from 2 to 29, were severely underweight and hadn’t bathed for months. Some of the children had stunted growth and wasted muscles and described being beaten, starved and put in cages.
David Turpin appeared stoic as he pleaded guilty, but Louise’s face reddened and she began crying and dabbed her eyes with a tissue during the hearing.
The two face prison terms of 25 years-to-life when they are sentenced April 19.