The couple’s son, Joshua, who said he is studying software engineering at a nearby college and recently learned how to ride a bike, told the court he still has nightmares, but added he has forgiven his parents for the years of abuse.
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“I cannot describe in words what we went through growing up,” he said. “Sometimes I still have nightmares of things that had happened — such as my siblings being chained up or beaten — but that is the past and this is now. I love my parents and have forgiven them for a lot of the things they did to us.”
Several Turpin children expressed sympathy toward their parents, and seemed ambivalent about reconciling their years of abuse with positive feelings toward their abusers.
In a statement read by Joshua, the Turpin’s daughter Jessica wrote that she was going to college, had an apartment and “am able to [transport] myself independently by bus, bike or walking.”
But Jessica said, “I love both of my parents so much. Although it may not have been the best way of raising us, I am glad they did because it made me the person I am today. I just want to thank them for teaching me about God and faith.”
Another Turpin daughter, Joy, wrote in a letter read by a victim advocate, “They felt that God blessed them with all of their children so they kept away from the world and trusted God would guide them through life.”
Joy said that as the years went by, her parents became overwhelmed raising them.
“I believe our parents feared that if they asked for help they would lose their children,” the statement read.
At the end of her statement, Joy wrote that she hoped that her parents would be spend their prison sentence close to the detention center where they are currently housed “so if we ever want to visit them we can.”
She also asked for the judge to lift the two-year restraining order lifted and said, “I want to be allowed to talk to both of my parents by phone.”
Dad Says He ‘Never Intended .. Any Harm’
After the Turpin siblings testified, Riverside Superior Court Judge Bernard J. Schwartz allowed both David and Louise to read prepared statements.
In a portion read by his attorney, David Turpin wrote that he “never intended for any harm to come to my children…. I hope the very best for my children in their future.”
RELATED: One Year After Being Rescued From California House of Horrors, Siblings ‘Take Every Day as a Gift’
Louise Turpin, who read her statement in court, tearfully apologized.
“I want to say I am sorry for everything I have done,” she said. “I love my children so much… I pray for my children every day. I am truly sorry for everything I have done to hurt them. I love them more than they can ever imagine.”
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Schwartz then handed down the sentence, stating: “The only reason your punishment is less than the maximum is that you took responsibility and spared your children the harm of reliving it,” he said.
Siblings ‘Take Every Day as a Gift’
The sentence came 15 months after the Turpins were arrested on Jan. 14, 2018 and a day after an audio tape was released to the public of the 911 call made by the Turpin’s then 17-year-old daughter who escaped their house and blew open the high-profile abuse case.
The teen climbed through a window and, using a disconnected cell phone, called 911 and told authorities she and her siblings were being abused by their parents. At the time of the phone call, the Turpin siblings ranged in age from 2 to 29.
Responding officers found a scene of malnutrition and squalor at the Turpin residence, with some of the children chained to the furniture. Prosecutors said the parents beat, strangled and starved the kids in an intensifying cycle of abuse dating back to at least 2010 when the family lived in Texas.
In January, Jack Osborn, the attorney for the seven adult children, told NBC that the siblings were “not bitter. They really take every day as it is, as a gift.”
RELATED: One Year After Being Rescued From California House of Horrors, Siblings ‘Take Every Day as a Gift’
Osborn said the children “came from a situation that seemed normal to them. And now they’re in a new normal. And so I think they may spend a long time processing the two.”
He added, “For really the first time they’re able to make their own decisions, and decide what they’re going to eat. They decide where they’re going to go, what they’re going to study.”
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House of Horrors
23 featured stories since
‘Robotic’ Siblings Rescued From Calif. House of Horrors Were Fed Little and Spoke in Unison: Reports
1/17/2018
House of Horrors Dad Accused of Lewd Act on Child as Couple Plead Not Guilty to Abuse Charges
1/18/2018
Journals Kept by 13 Children Allegedly Held Captive Will Be ‘Powerful Evidence’ Against Parents
1/19/2018
Couple Accused in Calif. House of Horrors Case ‘Ran Away’ to Marry When She Was 16 and He Was 23
1/22/2018
Sister of Calif. House of Horrors Mom Alleges They Were Sexually Abused as Girls
1/21/2018
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1/23/2018
Brother of House of Horrors Mom Says She Admired
1/23/2018
House of Horrors: Video Shows Allegedly Captive Siblings Being Rescued After Parents’ Arrests
1/24/2018
California House of Horrors: Oldest Son Was an Honor Roll College Student
1/26/2018
‘House of Horrors’ Siblings Described As ‘Warm and Loving’ by Nurses Overseeing Their Recovery
2/22/2018
New Charges Filed Against Parents of 13 Children in California House of Horrors Case
2/23/2018
House of Horrors Mom Believes She Did ‘Nothing Wrong’ and Is ‘Going to Get Out’ of Jail: Sister
3/5/2018
Teen Who Escaped California House of Horrors Posted Videos to YouTube of Herself Singing: Report
3/5/2018
House of Horrors Mom Seems ‘Almost in a Daze’ in Jail, Sister Claims: ‘It’s All “Woe Is Me” ‘
3/9/2018
Inside the House of Horrors: How the Turpin Children’s Alleged Torture Escalated Over Time
4/20/2018
Inside the House of Horrors Mom’s Past: From ‘Loving’ Girl to Teen Bride and Snake-Eater
5/2/2018
I Lived With the House of Horrors Family: What Relative Says She Saw Years Before Child Torture Case Came to Light
5/2/2018
House of Horrors Husband Courted Wife When He Was a Teenager and She Was 10, Her Sister Says
5/3/2018
House of Horrors Dad Faces Perjury Charges For Allegedly Lying About Kids’ Schooling
5/4/2018
House of Horrors: Teen Says She Had to Call Parents ‘Mother and Father’ ‘Because It Was More Like the Bible’
6/20/2018
LISTEN: 911 Call of Teen Fleeing Calif. House of Horrors: ‘My Two Little Sisters Are Chained Up’
4/18/2019
California House of Horrors Parents Could Get Out of Prison After 22 Years
4/19/2019
‘I Still Have Nightmares’: House of Horrors Siblings Confront Abusive Parents at Sentencing
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