California couple Louise Anna and David Turpin pleaded guilty on Friday in the abuse case involving their 13 children.
Prosecutors previously said that the 12 eldest were subjected to horrific abuse. Only the youngest, a 2-year-old, seemed healthy. The plea deal cancels a trial set for next September. Authorities dropped perjury changes. Sentencing is set for April 19.
Over the months, prosecutors in Riverside County, California established an array of allegations against the Turpins: that their children were malnourished; that the children were chained to their beds; that the children suffered other physical attacks; that Louise Turpin choked one daughter, and threatened to kill her for watching a Justin Bieber video; that David Turpin sexually assaulted this same girl. Their home was referred to as a “torture house” in the media.
That horrific abuse ended January 2018, said officials. One of the daughters, a 17-year-old, escaped from the residence, and found help. She was so badly underfed, she looked to be 10 years old, said deputies. Investigators said they found some of the children shacked to beds with chains and padlocks. The home was described as “dark and foul-smelling.” Prosecutors later said that the oldest victim, a 29-year-old woman, only weighed 82 pounds.
[Screengrab via ABC 7]