Former Fort Worth couple that imprisoned, tortured 13 kids plead guilty in California
In a case of severe child abuse that began in Fort Worth more than a decade ago, a California couple pleaded guilty Friday to imprisoning their 13 children.
David and Louise Turpin, who lived in the Fort Worth area until 2010, pleaded guilty to 14 charges including torture, false imprisonment and child endangerment. The couple was arrested Jan. 14, 2018, at their house in a modest subdivision in southern California. Their 17-year-old daughter had escaped from the house through a window and called 911.
Inside the house, investigators found the other 12 children, some of whom were chained to their beds, police said. Seven of the children were actually adults but appeared to be much younger because they were so emaciated, officials said.
The children’s abuse and neglect began when the family lived in the Fort Worth area, “with the parents at one point living apart from most of the children and dropping off food from time to time,” Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in a news conference in January 2018.
But reports of child abuse or violence in the Turpin household were apparently never made to North Texas law enforcement.
Child Protective Services in Texas has no history of investigations involving the Turpins and their children. While the family lived in Hill County, the Sheriff’s Department said they only had brief interactions with the family that did not involve violence or child abuse.
The Turpins previously owned property or lived in Rio Vista in Johnson County and Fort Worth as well and left the area in 2010, according to online records.
The Turpins’ sentencing was set for April 19. Their guilty pleas will most likely result in life sentences, Hestrin said at a news conference Friday morning, the Desert Sun reported.
Matt Martinez and Domingo Ramirez contributed to this report.
