CA - 13 victims, ages 2 to 29, shackled in home by parents, Perris, 15 Jan 2018 #5

[human]

All of this haunts me.

Two things from this article http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-na-perris-texas-20180120-story.html

1. “Sometimes in the evenings she would hear the Turpin children playing in their yard, so one day she grabbed a jump rope and knocked on the door of the trailer. . . . A skinny, pale girl with long brown hair opened the door and just stared, she said. ‘Her eyes just got real wide. She closed the door back in my face,’ Vinyard recalled.”

If the children were being restrained while living in Texas, which it seems they were (see the next quote), can you imagine opening the door to a playmate and seeing her holding a jump rope, which, if you’ve possibly never jumped rope before, would look very much like a restraint. [emoji174]

At that moment at the door, the child could have thought, “Parents restrain and torture us—and people outside this house want to, too?” Horrifying.

2. “After the family left, repo men showed up for their two cars, and their house was foreclosed. Billy Baldwin and his mother bought the house a year later, the interior trashed, the bathroom floor rotted through, he said. Inside, Baldwin found a handful of Polaroids taken when the Turpins left. One shows a bed with a metal rail that has a rope tied to it, he said.”

I keep wondering why DT and LT would photograph the bed with restraints on it and who knows what else—and why they would leave such incriminating photos behind.

Then, it occurred to me that perhaps, even then, one of the children had the wherewithal to take photos as evidence of the torture, neglect, and abuse and left it behind, in the hope that whoever lived in the home next would put two and two together and alert authorities.

Remembering that attempt at sending up a flare to signal distress did not work, this time child #8 took the evidence with her when she made her dash for life.

Maybe. Maybe not. JMO.




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How would any child get a photo printed or developed?

 

[bleuboy]

I agree. In the Sherin Mathews case we were told by the mods not to take the thread there in terms of potential molestation without any proof (and there ended up being none). Now here, we have the lewd acts thing, but I wish we would not speculate beyond that. Taking DNA could be for a variety of reasons, but until LE says anything, I think we should not speculate on actual incest, especially pointing out the survivor # someone may suspect. Even without names, know who it is people are referring to.

I don't want to revictimize them if they someday read this thread.

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I agree with this 100% I cringe deep inside at the thought of them survivors coming here and reading that.
It may or may not have happened but if I had been through all that and then came here to read up and seen that people was suggesting I would do incest I would literally throw up.
We have seen enough cases that these things do sometimes happen but its killing me thinking these sweet hearts might have been through even more than we are reading about.
There is time to discuss other things incest/rape if it ever gets mentioned.
I don't think my heart can take much more and I'm only reading about it.

 

[Mistelski]

I've followed this story here, every post, every thread. I don't talk much; I made an account after lurking so I could see photos, etc., not exactly to talk. But like many of you, this case has yanked me out into the conversation. So many questions. Few things, if I may.

The journals - not only would it give the Monsters yet another way to dominate/torture the children, it is also a very QUIET activity. Neighbors have said the T house was quiet, despite the number of children - I get the feeling that LT and/or DT did not like hearing any noise that they did not want to hear. I'd guess the old babies who were discarded as soon as the next baby was born learned not to cry anymore very quickly.

About Survivor #1. She is also every bit as much of a hero in my book as Survivor #8. She was the one child who went to a regular school, had neighbor playmates (briefly), I believe she was the one who tried to run away and was returned - she knew better than anyone else EXACTLY what she was missing out on as she lay chained to her bed, hogtied, in her own waste. And 29 years old. At least 2 decades of horrific abuse. I cannot imagine how she must have despaired. My heart aches so hard for Survivor #1.

The Survivors sound closely bonded to each other. They learned to love and nurture each other, and they didn't learn that from Monster woman. In addition to being eldest, Survivor #1 was the one would have seen how that works the most. I tend to think she may have been a mother figure to the siblings, perhaps a sister-mom who showed them the actual love and nurturing they weren't getting from Monster woman, perhaps also an actual education. I think her very poor health was a major catalyst in deciding now was the time to try to escape. I have no doubt she encouraged #8 to make a break, whether vocally or just by being in the state she was. They had to know that #1 was dying. How could they lose one who would mean so much to all of them?

So much love for you, Survivor #1. So very much. It hurts how much.

What I can't figure out is what LT and DT's end game was. If #1 had died, I suspect they would have hid her body and claimed she'd run off, didn't know where she was...and then use her death to threaten the other survivors. IMO. But what did they think they were going to do with this situation? Just continue it and see where it went? Gave it no consideration whatsoever? They could never just let their children go.

 

[human]

I think abusers like the Turpins simply wouldn't bother filing with the state - they would go under the radar with homeschooling.

Jmopinion

FWIW - I don't know the solution to finding abusers. It's a problem that aches in my heart for sure.

They could be reported by someone who is wondering if they are legitimately homeschooling.

I wonder what the ability of someone to teach who dropped out at 16

 

[enelram]

How would any child get a photo printed or developed?

would a deactivated phone still take photos? Or maybe she took photos while phone was still active.

 

[Inthedetails]

How would any child get a photo printed or developed?

They were Poloroids. They develop before your eyes.

jmo

 

[Pug09]

How would any child get a photo printed or developed?

They were Polaroid pictures so they’re instantly printed.

 

[Margo/Mom]

What can happen if a state prosecution is not successful (which I doubt in this case but you never know) the federal govt can come in after and try the defendant under a federal law, such as kidnapping. I can’t think of a case offhand but it can and does happen. Someone more versed in law than I am can probably explain better.


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Here's an example. Following the George Zimmerman trial (for the killing of Trayvon Martin), there was some looking into whether Z could be tried for violating federal civil rights law (for profiling Martin). Eventually that was dropped. Not enough evidence to go forward.

 

[human]

As a home schooling, well now technically an online school family, those suggestions are both politically unfeasible in most states and terrifying. I represented home schooling families on a statewide committee investigating the abuse of children with disabilities for the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, and we looked into this issues.
Do you know how many homeschooling families started homeschooling after the public school system abused their children? One of the things I did as part of the committee was ask families of children with disabilities their concerns and experiences regarding abuse of children with disabilities. All of these families first thought was that I was inquiring reqarding the school system's abuse of special education students.
Can you imagine expecting these same families, families who have been failed miserably by the public schools, to submit to an examination by the same school administrators?
These situations do occur under the guise of homeschooling but they are extremely rare. Far, far more children who attend public or private schools are abused either by parents or by the school system. No one suggests going into every class and privately interviewing students to decide if the teacher is abusing them.
Women hide pregnancies and throw newborns in trash cans, but no one would seriously suggest examining all women to see if they are pregnant and checking in with them to be sure they don't throw their babies away. It is an extremely rare phenomenon.
Cases like the Turpin case are even more rare. There is no reason to target homeschoolers for it.
If homeschoolers had to submit to the kind of oversight discussed in the article, abusive families would just fail to register or go more deeply underground.

If schools are abusing, there are laws in place that should be used. Were they not and why? There needs to be controls in place for all children. If there are no laws, nothing can be done.

 

[Stunned]

I wish this sister would stfu. She should be giving this info to LE only!! Not saying I believe her but fgs shut up!! If this goes to trial, she will be immediately discredited by the defense for appearing on TV. I really hope she’s not being paid for her appearances. Not to mention the children have enough horror to deal with. They don’t need to hear these tidbits of gossip now or ever, true or not.

I just don’t get some people. Ugh


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She lost her credibility with me the first time she opened her mouth!

 

[rsd1200]

BBM

I don't think it has anything to do with religion. I think it has to do with a mother who denies her child would ever do anything wrong. We have all met those mothers. The ones you complain to about her kids throwing rocks at your dogs and her furiously denying they would ever do anything of the sort. Those "head in the sand" parents who never will accept that their kids will act out occasionally X10. She just doesn't see little David doing any wrong and needs absolute proof that he ever did. Not that she would believe it if proof was offered. I think that kind of denial in a parent is a form of child abuse in its self because it allows a child to indulge in increasingly bad behavior and get away with it so they become adults that feel entitled to do anything they want and not expect consequences. Like starving your 12 kids to death so you can live in a 380 thousand dollar home and drive a new sports car and hold a big "vow renewal" wedding every two years.

JMO

My 80 y/o mother cannot wrap her head around this, and she is not related to ANY of these folks. It is just beyond her that people like D & L Turpin exist.

 

[CatLady84]

I apologize for speculating about incest. Looking back, I realize it was inappropriate.

 

[ElizabethAnne]

I believe there were zip ties found on the railing of the bed in the Texas photos. Someone took a close up for the railing and posted it in one of the other threads. Interviews with neighbors in Texas indicated at some point there was complete silence in the house.

Based upon that, the children started to be held captive in Texas, but California only has jurisdiction to prosecute what happened in California. However, it is interesting that they want to question people who had interactions with them in Texas.

Also remember that the appearance of LT is that she projected a make believe life to her family members. If it ended up the Huntsville Alabama incident was not really the mother having relations with another man, but actually the parents transporting the children in Texas across state lines to participate in sexual acts with others, then that is a Federal crime they can be charged with. The key is transporting a minor across state lines that elevates the crime to a Federal crime. I am pretty sure that they left a pretty good financial trail of when they traveled where as well.

Hopefully, the forensic computer specialists will be able to figure out what happened online.

The 22 year old was shackled (and I believe this is possibly the young man who seems to be the second youngest of the boys) when the police arrived along with two of the younger sisters, who the monster parents scrambled to take out of the shackles. They went from ropes and zip ties in Texas to shackles and padlocks in California. Again, the two parents are monsters and no amount of rationalization or mental illness will ever be able to explain why they did what they did.

 

[Stunned]

Such a nice Christian family... (eyeroll) I wonder if one of the reasons they secluded and tortured their children was so none could or would talk to outsiders about stuff that would crack the "loving, wholesome, Disney-going religious family" facade.

You do you, consenting adults, etc. but take care of your poor kids! One of the worst, most heartbreaking things about this case is how much fun, or "fun," the adults were having while their kids starved and marinated in their own waste. If there is a hell I hope these two go there and are made to suffer just like their own flesh and blood.

Oh there is a special place in hell for these people!

 

[RAISINISBACK]

I'm not sure. According this this article:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/family-mal...ed-trailer-texas-home-years/story?id=52477251

The Turpins moved to Rio Vista after their home in Fort Worth was foreclosed on, records show. The home in Rio Vista sits on land that has mineral rights, so the family was receiving "nice royalties" off of the gas well on the property while they lived there for more than 10 years, Baldwin said.

From Google:
Dual compensation for Mineral Right Owners
The landowner receives two forms of compensation for leasing his minerals. The first is called a ‘Bonus’ which is a signing bonus that is paid on a per acre basis. Typically $200-$500 per acre. The bonus will be paid once at the time of the signing of the lease, and it may be the only money the landowner will get.

The second is the oil and gas royalty which is the percent of the money generated by the oil and gas from his property. Traditionally 12.5%, but more recently around 18% – 25%. The percentage varies upon how well the landowner negotiated and how expensive the oil company expects the extraction of oil and gas to be.

In the event oil and gas were found and the wells produce, then the royalties kick in. So if the oil well produce 100 barrels a day, and the price of oil is $80 per barrel that month, then the cash flow is 100x$80 = $8,000/day The royalty owner, who agreed to 15% royalty, would receive $8,000 x 0.15 = $1,200/day. Over a month, that brings in $36,000 per month to the mineral owner, who in this case, is the landowner.

I'm not sure if there is any way to find out how much they were receiving in royalties but between his government contractor job and the mineral rights, they should have been rolling in money. I wonder where it all went?!

BBM

Those royalties were listed as income on the bankruptcy documents. They were about 557.00 a month IIRC since i don't have the link for the documents anymore.

 

[Leila]

Do we know for sure that the pictures were on the cell phone? I'm wondering if the sexual assault charge is documented in a photo.

I had assumed that the 17-year-old only had the cell phone with her and that the pictures were on the cell phone because the articles on her escape only mention the cell phone. The articles don't say 'the cell phone and pictures.' But maybe I do have it wrong and she did have pictures in addition to the cell phone. In this age of digital pictures, I think the only pictures other than digital would be poleroid.

 

[JaneEyre]

I've followed this story here, every post, every thread. I don't talk much; I made an account after lurking so I could see photos, etc., not exactly to talk. But like many of you, this case has yanked me out into the conversation. So many questions. Few things, if I may.

The journals - not only would it give the Monsters yet another way to dominate/torture the children, it is also a very QUIET activity. Neighbors have said the T house was quiet, despite the number of children - I get the feeling that LT and/or DT did not like hearing any noise that they did not want to hear. I'd guess the old babies who were discarded as soon as the next baby was born learned not to cry anymore very quickly.

About Survivor #1. She is also every bit as much of a hero in my book as Survivor #8. She was the one child who went to a regular school, had neighbor playmates (briefly), I believe she was the one who tried to run away and was returned - she knew better than anyone else EXACTLY what she was missing out on as she lay chained to her bed, hogtied, in her own waste. And 29 years old. At least 2 decades of horrific abuse. I cannot imagine how she must have despaired. My heart aches so hard for Survivor #1.

The Survivors sound closely bonded to each other. They learned to love and nurture each other, and they didn't learn that from Monster woman. In addition to being eldest, Survivor #1 was the one would have seen how that works the most. I tend to think she may have been a mother figure to the siblings, perhaps a sister-mom who showed them the actual love and nurturing they weren't getting from Monster woman, perhaps also an actual education. I think her very poor health was a major catalyst in deciding now was the time to try to escape. I have no doubt she encouraged #8 to make a break, whether vocally or just by being in the state she was. They had to know that #1 was dying. How could they lose one who would mean so much to all of them?

So much love for you, Survivor #1. So very much. It hurts how much.

What I can't figure out is what LT and DT's end game was. If #1 had died, I suspect they would have hid her body and claimed she'd run off, didn't know where she was...and then use her death to threaten the other survivors. IMO. But what did they think they were going to do with this situation? Just continue it and see where it went? Gave it no consideration whatsoever? They could never just let their children go.

Very fine first post.

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[JaneEyre]

would a deactivated phone still take photos? Or maybe she took photos while phone was still active.

Yes. Everything else still works. Can still surf the web, even, if you have access to internet. My husband plays games on his old phone.

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[JaneEyre]

Deleting because I thought we were discussing California photo evidence, not Texas.

 

[JaneEyre]

Deleting because I thought we were discussing California photo evidence, not Texas.