Sunday 22 May 2022 07:28 AM House of Horrors children were 'pressured by the county's guardian to move to a ... trends now
Several of the 13 Turpin siblings freed from their abusive parents' Southern California home have once again found themselves living in miserable conditions after they were pressured to move to a run-down apartment in a crime-ridden area by their county guardian, court documents showed.
Court documents are slowly being released in Riverside County that were previously sealed in the disturbing case that attracted international attention when details emerged showing the parents shackled and starved their children for years.
In a 2019 court filing, an attorney for the adult children of David and Louise Turpin wrote that three of the siblings were taken to see the apartment by an employee for the Riverside County Public Guardian's office and were 'fearful to object so they indicated that the apartment was okay with the expectation that other apartments would be viewed.'
When they raised concern about the safety of the neighborhood, the agency said the lease was already signed and the only alternative would be to split up the siblings and place them in a board and care facility, according to the filing by attorney Jack Osborn, who represented the seven adult children after they were freed from their parents' home.
The Turpins were arrested more than four years ago after one of their children escaped from their their Perris, California, home and reported they had been shackled to beds, starved and held largely in isolation from the world.
The Turpins were arrested more than four years ago after one of their children escaped from their their Perris, California, home and reported they had been shackled to beds, starved and held largely in isolation from the world
A police car drives past the home of David and Louise Turpin where police arrested the couple accused of holding 13 children captive on Jan. 24, 2018 in Perris, California
All but the two-year-old were severely underweight and hadn't bathed for months. Investigators concluded the youngest child was the only one not abused by the couple, who pleaded guilty to torture and abuse in 2019 and have been sentenced to life in prison.
The document release comes after ABC reported that Riverside County's social service system failed in various instances to help the seven adult and six minor children transition to new lives. The county has hired a private law firm to look into the allegations.
Messages seeking comment were left for Osborn and the office of the Public Guardian, which is the county agency tasked with assisting adults unable to properly care for themselves or manage their finances.
Brooke Federico, a spokeswoman for Riverside County, declined to discuss details of the case said the release of the court documents will assist with the law firm's review.
Not all court documents in the case have been unsealed. It was not immediately known whether the five adult children moved to the apartment described as 'in a state of significant disrepair' in
