CCTV footage shows moment Turpin children escape from the 'house of horrors'. Source: 9 News
A former classmate of the oldest House of Horrors siblings has revealed she was relentlessly bullied at elementary school for being smelly and was the designated "cootie kid".
Taha Muntajibuddin went to Meadowcreek Elementary School in Fort Worth, Texas, with the eldest Turpin sibling, who is now 29.
He revealed that she was tormented by her classmates, but none of them knew the suffering she was going through at home.
Flowers left by neighbours are seen next to a snake sculpture decorating the front door of the home of David and Louise Turpin where police arrested the couple. Photo / AP
The woman, who weighed just 37kg, was found living in squalid conditions with her 12 siblings in Perris, California earlier this month after her 17-year-old sister escaped through a window and called 911.
In a Facebook post, Muntajibuddin, who is a paediatrics resident doctor in Houston, spoke of his "overwhelming sense of guilt and shame" at bullying of the woman was subjected to.
Muntajibuddin added that during her time at the school she was "frail", had pin-straight hair with bangs, and was known as the "cootie kid" because she often wore the same purple outfit.
David Turpin, 56, and Louise Turpin, 49, who moved to California in 2010, have pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of torture, child abuse, dependent adult abuse and false imprisonment dating.
When the couple were charged, prosecutors said the abuse had begun when the family lived in Texas.
Muntajibuddin said he has hoped she used the bullying "as ammunition to forge a successful path in life" but got a "rude awakening" when he read about the case and realised what had happened to her.
"I've been reading these articles and seeing these statements and looking at these pictures, and I can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame.
"Of course, none of us are responsible for the events that ensued, but you can't help but feel rotten when the classmate your peers made fun of for 'smelling like poop' quite literally had to sit in her own waste because she was chained to her bed.
"It is nothing but sobering to know that the person who sat across from you at the lunch table went home to squalor and filth while you went home to a warm meal and a bedtime story.
"She was often made fun of by the other third graders because her clothes would sometimes look as though they had been dragged through mud, which she would also smell like on most days."
Husband and wife have each been charged with multiple counts of torture, child abuse, the abuse of dependent adults and false imprisonment relating to the children aged from two to 29. Photo / Supplied
One time he remembered "my entire third grade class scoffing at her one day" when a teacher asked her to take a hair scrunchy made form foil wrapper from an old Hershey's bar out of her hair.
Dr Muntajibuddin said despite her treatment the 'she had this whimsical optimism to her that couldn't be dampened, couldn't be doused no matter what anybody threw at her.
He added that this "cheerful disposition" is what makes him "certain" she will "prevail" despite her ordeal.
After the 17-year-old escaped the police responded quickly, and ended up arresting the parents and taking the 13 children into state custody.
It has emerged the 13 siblings rescued will not live together again, despite pleading with the authorities to stay as a family.
The six Turpin children among the 13 found shackled at their home in Perris have been told that they will be split up into two foster homes.
Meanwhile the seven adults, who have developmental issues, will be sent to an assisted living facility, CBS News reported.
Guilt and shame
******* Turpin was the one girl at Meadowcreek Elementary that nobody wanted to be caught talking to. Every grade level had a designated "cootie kid" and she held the title for our year. She was a frail girl, had pin-straight hair with bangs, and often wore the same purple outfit. She was often made fun of by the other third graders because her clothes would sometimes look as though they had been dragged through mud, which she would also smell like on most days. I distinctly remember my entire third grade class scoffing at her one day because our teacher had asked her to discard a scrunchy she had used to tie her hair out of a discarded tin foil wrapper from an old Hershey's bar. After that year, ******* moved away, and she was forgotten about after we moved on to the the next "cootie kid."
Several years later, after high school, I found myself thinking about her again. I was bored at home and was passing the time by facebook stalking old elementary school classmates to see how they turned out, and I remember searching specifically for *******. Her name was so distinct that there couldn't be any more than a few people who shared the name, yet no matching results came up. I had naturally assumed that ******* was one of the lucky few who hadn't been bit by the social media bug. I also thought somewhere, somehow, ******* was probably living her best life, showing up all of us gawky third graders in Mrs. Llano's class how far she'd come. She was going to be that person at the reunion looking completely flawless and making six figures while the rest of us tried to conceal our receding hair lines and minimum wage jobs.
I feel like we all kind of have that hope that those people who were marginalized growing up (sometimes by our own hands) somehow grew past those circumstances, and essentially grew up to kick ass in real life. That's what I had hoped for *******. That she had used the insults that we hurled at her, the isolation we provided for her, and the ill-looks we gave her and used it as ammunition to forge a successful path in life. I was so sure that was what had happened, but today I was in for a rude awakening.
Medical staff say the seven adult Turpin children were so malnourished they resembled teenagers. Photo / Supplied
I've been reading these articles and seeing these statements and looking at these pictures, and I can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame. Of course, none of us are responsible for the events that ensued, but you can't help but feel rotten when the classmate your peers made fun of for "smelling like poop" quite literally had to sit in her own waste because she was chained to her bed. It is nothing but sobering to know that the person who sat across from you at the lunch table went home to squalor and filth while you went home to a warm meal and a bedtime story. The resounding lesson here is a simple one, something that we're taught from the very beginning: be nice. Teach your children to be nice. If you see someone that's isolated, befriend them. If you see someone that's marginalized, befriend them. If you see someone that's different, befriend them. We can never completely put ourselves in others' shoes nor can we completely understand the circumstances that one is brought up in, but a simple act of kindness and acceptance may be the ray of hope that that person needs. Befriend the ******* Turpins of the world.
*******, despite being vehemently vilified by her peers, was still one of the most pleasant people I have had the opportunity to meet. She had this whimsical optimism to her that couldn't be dampened, couldn't be doused no matter what anybody threw at her. That cheerful disposition is what makes me certain that ******* will prevail. That one day, I'll remember to facebook stalk her, and see that she is living her best life. That despite being let down by her parents and by her peers alike, ******* rose above it all. And I'm going to be rooting for her, as her peer, as her classmate, as her friend. *******Turpin: from "cootie girl" to "conquered the world."
Source: Facebook - Taha Muntajibuddin
Siblings won't live together - report
The 13 siblings rescued from the California house of horrors will not live together again, despite pleading with the authorities to stay as a family.
The six Turpin children among the 13 found shackled at their home in Perris have been told that they will be split up into two foster homes.
Meanwhile the seven adults, who have developmental issues, will be sent to an assisted living facility, CBS News reported.
David Turpin, 57, and his wife Louise, 49, are accused of starving, torturing and chaining their children and face lengthy jail time if found guilty.
A source close to the investigation told CBS that the seven adults will be cared for at a special care center.
A Perris police car drives past the home of David and Louise Turpin. Photo / AP
The younger children, aged between two and 17 years old, asked to be home together but are set to be split into two groups.
The revelation comes after it emerged that the Turpins were were planning a move to Oklahoma within days of their 17-year-old daughter escaping to call police.
The family patriarch, David Turpin, 57, had been approved for a job transfer to Oklahoma with the defense contractor Northrop Grumann.
The family was planning to up and move 'within days' of January 14, the day their 17-year-old daughter climbed out the family's Perris home's window and used a deactivated cell phone to dial 911, according to sources who spoke with ABC News.
"There were boxes in the house consistent with moving – concentrated in hallways, entryway and bedrooms," one of the sources said.
The parents are accused of starving, torturing and chaining their 13 children to their beds for years.
The police responded quickly, and ended up arresting the parents and taking the 13 children into state custody. It was unclear if the impending move had anything to do with the 17-year-old's escape and subsequent call to authorities.
The family had moved several times over the years. They moved twice in Texas, and once in California.
Meanwhile new CCTV footage was released Tuesday showing the children being rescued from the home by police.
In the dramatic surveillance footage, the children are seen being being escorted from the house by officers after the arrest of their parents David and wife Louise Turpin, 49.
The video shows police at the scene after the 17-year-old escaped through a window, enacting a plan she had in the works for two years.
Officers escort the youngsters from the home, one of whom is carrying her sibling and another runs to catch up.
Police look on as the children aged from two to 29 flee, and an officer standing on the driveway is seen ushering them to safety in the video.
David Allen Turpin and Louise Anna Turpin sitting, appear in court with their attorneys. Photo / AP
Details of their harrowing plight have started to emerge since the California couple pleaded not guilty on Thursday to nearly 40 counts including torture, false imprisonment, abuse on a dependent, and child abuse. David faces an additional charge of a lewd act on a child under 14.
They denied the charges despite evidence showing how they kept their 13 children in locked in their rooms, chained to beds and allowing them to shower no more than once a year.
The Turpins also starved their children, their 29-year-old daughter weighed just 82lbs, and taunted them with slices of pie.
2011 image made from a video provided by A Elvis Chapel shows David Allen Turpin, left, and his wife, Louise Anna Turpin, right, celebrate a renewal of their wedding vows. Photo / AP
• The children were made to stay awake all night and sleep all day, often going to bed at between 4am and 5am • Their only permitted activity was to keep journals - hundreds of which were recovered and will likely be used as evidence • David Turpin is accused of a lewd act against one child - one of his daughters, under the age of 14 • The children had been planning to escape for two years before they were rescued • The 17-year-old daughter who raised the alarm left the house with another sibling but that child became frightened and turned back • The parents began using chains and padlocks to tie the children to their beds after one escaped with rope. They would sometimes be chained up for months • One of the older boys was allowed out of the home to attend college classes but his mother accompanied him there, waited for him until it finished then accompanied him home • The couple's youngest child, a two-year-old, was the only one they did not starve • The 29-year-old woman who was rescued weighed just 37kg • The children were tied up or beaten if they washed their hands 'above the wrist' because the parents said it amounted to them 'playing in the water' • The Turpins kept toys that were still in their boxes at the house but never gave any to the children • Cadaver dogs are being sent into the home to look for the bodies of any children who did not survive the ordeal and DNA tests are being conducted to determine if any of the children have died and are buried in David and Louise's house of horrors, according to a new report.
The children will likely need years of therapy, psychological experts said.
The couple arrived in court dressed in black with their hands and legs shackled this past Thursday, and were represented by a public defender before bail was set at $12m for each of them.
"If convicted of all charges, they face 94 years up to life in prison," District Attorney Mike Hestrin told reporters after the hearing.
Sheriff's deputies in Perris, a town southeast of Los Angeles, found three of the captives had been shackled with chains and padlocks in their filthy, foul-smelling home Sunday after receiving an emergency assistance call from their teenage sister who had managed to escape.
Hestrin said the 17-year-old had been working on a plan to escape for more than two years, and took one of her siblings with her, who became frightened and turned back.
The teenager was so emaciated that officers first thought she was a young child.
Officers also initially assumed all the other siblings to be children, but were shocked to discover seven ranging in age from 18 to 29.
All 13 are being treated for malnutrition and undergoing other diagnostic tests.
Hestrin said all the children had been subjected to "prolonged abuse", were not allowed to shower more than once a year, and barred from seeing a dentist or doctor.
"Circumstantial evidence in the house suggests that the victims were often not released from their chains to go to the bathroom," he told the press conference.
"If the children were found to wash their hands above the wrist area, they were accused of playing in the water and they would be chained up," Hestrin said.
When they were not chained up, they were locked in different rooms and were not allowed to have toys, although there were many toys found in the house that were in their original package and had never been opened.
While the children's ordeal began when the family was living in the Fort Worth region of Texas, it 'intensified over time and worsened' when they moved to California.
"They were fed very little, on a schedule," Hestrin added.
Mark Uffer, chief executive officer at the Corona regional medical center where the adults were being treated, has described their condition as stable.
