The Turpin family made the news when the pigsty was discovered where a couple; Louise and David kept children in captivity for many years. Since the discovery which saw the police and the media throng to the scene to better get an idea of how it happened, many have tagged the couple monsters for the torture they meted out on their biological children who they primarily should have protected. It also caused an outpouring of love towards the children who finally had a new lease on life.
The discovery of the house of horrors was made possible by the daring escape of the couple’s seventeen-year-old daughter who left the house through a window armed with a mobile phone that had been disconnected with which she called the police. She was commended for her bravery which saved her life and that of her siblings. A lot of media coverage followed the arrest and trial of Louise and David but many were more interested in what happened to the children and where they are right now.
Turpin Family Update: How Did the Trial End?
When Louise and her husband David were arrested at their home in Perris, a city in Riverside County, California, United States in 2018, their trial was huge with many outraged people eagerly awaiting the outcome of the trial and their sentencing. At the trial, a good dose of the anger and irk that their actions brought on was equaled somewhat quelled by the fact that they showed what many felt was genuine remorse for their actions and asked for the forgiveness of their children who they swore they were only trying to protect.
Following their feelings of remorse and apologies, the judge admonished them for their very grievous actions which resulted in stunted growths in some of their children, inability to bear kids in some, and mental disabilities in others. From the conclusions of the trial, the actions of David and Louise are equal to first-degree murder because they took away the opportunity of their children to become what they are supposed to be in life.
For beating, starving, chaining up, and torturing their children in a very filthy environment that the Turpin family patriarch David and his wife Louise pleaded guilty to, they were sentenced to 25 years in prison each. Judge Bernard Schwartz who tied them, made it clear that the only reason they did not get a steeper sentence is that they admitted to their actions and spared their children the horror of having to relive everything they went through again during the trial.
Where are the 13 Abused Children Now?
At the time of their rescue in 2018, the extent of the damage their parents had done to the 13 children could not be determined especially because at first, it was not clear that some of them were full-grown adults. On discovery, they were immediately rushed to the hospital and some others to the psyche ward to determine how physically and mentally sound they were and how much damage had been done. This was to equally enable the authorities to decide what their placements would be for the future.
Seven of the children of the Turpin family who were determined to be adults were treated at the Corona Regional Medical Centre where they spent two months of care and proper feeding as well as medication. Since their release from the hospital, the seven of them now live together in a house of their own. They live together with their former family dog. They expressed a sincere desire to get educated as they had not gotten any form of education prior to their discovery. To make this a reality, their attorney who has been an integral part of their lives since they were discovered, worked hard to get the seven adults into a university. He had initially offered that they take online classes which they declined preferring to rather mingle with other people and to make friends.
The six younger children who were not yet adults were treated at a different hospital and their recovery process took much longer than that of their older siblings after which the search began for a foster home where the kids would receive the love they never got from their parents. This proved to be a very difficult undertaking as authorities could not find one home placement for all six children. As such, they had to be separated. The two youngest were placed in foster care while their uncle Billy Lambert took responsibility for the rest of the children.
To avoid a same-case scenario being that Billy is the half-brother of the Turpin family matriarch Louise, he was subject to a thorough background check to determine if he is suitable to care for the young lads and if he has the right home as well as an accountable source of income.