- The Southern California couple pleaded guilty in February to 14 felony charges related to torture and other instances of abuse against their children, who range in age from 2 to 29.
- Two of their children gave emotional testimony in court on Friday.
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A California couple was sentenced to life in prison after years of torturing their children
David and Louise Turpin were sentenced on Friday to 25 years to life in prison for torturing and abusing their 13 children.
Turpin
The Southern California couple at the center of a shocking case of child abuse were sentenced on Friday to 25 years to life in prison, with no possibility of parole wrapping up a disturbing saga that first gripped the country last year when their 17- and 13-year-old daughters escaped and called 911 begging for help.
David and Louise Turpin tortured their children, who ranged in age from 2 to 29, and kept them secluded them from the outside world. They were shackled, beaten, starved, and lived in filthy conditions.
The 17-year-old who escaped told an officer that she and her siblings would be chained for one or two months and were freed only to use the bathroom or brush their teeth, according to "Good Morning America" . Their lunches and dinners consisted of peanut butter, bologna, frozen burritos, or chips, and all of the children besides the youngest were described by prosecutors as being extremely malnourished.
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Two of the children appeared in court on Friday to provide emotional testimony of the abuse they endured at the hands of their parents.
"My parents took my whole life from me, but now I'm taking my life back. I'm in college now and living independently," one victim, identified as Jane Doe No. 4, said. "I'm a fighter, I'm strong, and I'm shooting through life like a rocket."
The couple plead guilty in February to 14 felony charges related to torture and other instances of abuse. They sobbed in court on Friday and apologized to their children. "I love them more than they could ever imagine," Louise Turpin said. Her husband's attorney read his statement, in which he said "I love my children and believe my children love me... I hope the very best for my children in the future."
The couple was arrested in January 2018. Before that, they appeared to live a seemingly normal life in the suburb of Perris, around 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles. David Turpin had been an engineer for Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, while Louise Turpin was a housewife, according to CBC News . Neighbors told the Los Angeles Times in January 2018 that they were struggling to understand how they could have missed what was occurring behind closed doors in their neighborhood.
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"I cannot describe in words what we went through growing up. Sometimes I still have nightmares of things that had happened, such as my siblings being chained up or getting beaten," said one of the couple's sons on Friday. "But that is the past and this is now."
He described in court that he now lives in an apartment and attends college, where he is studying software engineering."I love my parents and have forgiven them for a lot of the things that they did to us," he said.
- Read more:
- The lawyer for the adult children rescued from the California 'House of Horrors' opens up about how they're doing a year later, and says they even miss their parents sometimes
- Everything you need to know about the case of David and Louise Turpin the couple accused of holding their 13 children hostage
- Police say this California couple held their 13 children captive and shackled them to beds with chains see inside the family's horrifying life
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