California couple accused of torturing their children had North Texas ties
A California couple accused of holding their 13 children captive in filthy conditions had ties to Tarrant and Johnson counties in North Texas, according to online records.
David and Louise Turpin owned property or had lived in Rio Vista and Fort Worth, and left the area in 2010, records state. Further details about their time in the two cities were not available.
Child Protective Services in Texas has no history of investigations involving the Turnpins and their children, CPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said Tuesday.
Louise Turpin, 49, reported a suspected intoxicated driver in Burleson in 2008, according to Burleson police records. Her driver's license at the time indicated she lived in Rio Vista along with her husband, David. Records state the Turpins rented a postal box in Burleson from 1986 to 2003.
Court records state the Turpins filed for bankruptcy in 1992 in the Northern District of Texas and again in 2011 in California. David Turpin's job was listed as an engineer with Lockheed Martin, according to online records.
The Turpins were arrested Sunday and accused of holding their kids captive in their Perris, California home in filthy conditions, with several bound to beds with chains and padlocks.
The couple, who remain in a California jail Tuesday in lieu of $9 million bail, each face charges of torture and child endangerment, according to officials at the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
The Turpins are scheduled for a court hearing Thursday.
Authorities were alerted to the situation early Sunday when a 17-year-old daughter of the Turpins escaped the home and called 911 from a cell phone she found in the house. The teen said her 12 sisters and brothers were being held captive inside their home by her parents and said some were shackled with chains.
When Perris police and deputies with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department arrived, officers noted that the 17-year-old looked as if she were only 10 years-old and was slightly emaciated. Deputies and police then searched the house and found several children bound to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings, according to a sheriff's department news release.
"The parents were unable to immediately provide any logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner," Sgt. Curt Harris said in an sheriff's department news release.
Authorities were shocked to find that seven of the 12 children were adults, ranging in age from 18 to 29.
Domingo Ramirez Jr.: 817-390-7763, @mingoramirezjr.
This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 12:52 PM with the headline "California couple accused of torturing their children had North Texas ties."