Hi everyone, I have been fascinated with this case for some reason. I do live about 10 miles away (Murrieta!), so it is a local issue. I am so glad I found this thread because you guys have been so busy getting info that I couldn't find. Not sure why it took me so long to look here -- I've been a member for a few years. Anyway, I have had a bunch of questions about this case and haven't seen most or any of them addressed so thought I would ask here...
1. Only one count of a lewd act? Is that because that's all they can prove at the moment -- ie, the 2 year old is proof of the lewd act? The 2 year old was conceived 3 years ago (all times are approx.) when the 17 yo was about 14 yo. I'm thinking she was raped, had the baby, and saw the cycle of abuse about to start again and that's why SHE was the one who escaped. Sure she was skinny and malnourished, but as someone earlier said, malnourished people have babies in Africa and other poor places, so it is possible. Plus, LT is 49 so was 47 when the baby was born, and she had not had a baby since she was 37 (child #12 is 12, right?). Fishy that she is all of a sudden having kids at her late age...
2. My son actually attends the same community college and he had to show ID only once. I know this because he lost his wallet and has no ID and was worried about that, but it wasn't a problem. You are required to take the reading and math pre-tests but you can enroll without actually doing that. My son did... They just told him to do it "later". Also, the college isn't expensive. My son is taking a full load and it cost $691 a semester, books were another $635! An earlier poster asked how they could afford it and about pell grants and college kids being $30K in debt, but that is not the case for this particular community college. But why was the son allowed to go to college? I think that maybe the parents thought he was the best chance out of all the kids to get a little educated and then get a job and be able to support the family once DT retired, or stopped working for whatever reason. Also, the oldest son has glasses but the second son doesn't and looks to have crossed eyes. The oldest son got to go to college. In the photos I've seen, he is wearing sneakers and not flip flops. I wonder if DT and LT treated him a little better than the other kids, maybe because he's male?
3. Someone asked if he had a social security number to enroll in college. Wouldn't all of the kids have social security numbers? You need them to be considered a dependent on tax forms. Which leads me to my next question. DT made $140K a year. Totally possible as a 56yo with a lot of experience in a technical field. In fact, my hubby makes that much and is about the same age and also in a technical field. BUT, my DH has a lot of responsibility at work and is valuable to his company. He has annual reviews and gets raises and praise from his bosses, and has been given increasing amounts of responsibility. Was DT a good worker with lots of responsibilities? It doesn't seem, from what I've seen, as if he would do well in that kind of role. Technology is constantly evolving -- was DT able to keep up with the changes? In a technical field like his, that is very important and usually requires additional training or seminars or reading, etc. Also, WHEN did DT work? If the kids slept all day and were awake all night, did he work at night? Did he work during the day and then come home and slept while the kids were forced to stay awake?
4. Where did all of their money go? $140K a year and 14 dependents means he probably wasn't paying a lot of taxes. This would give him about $10K a month take home. A mortgage on a $350K house, including taxes, insurance, etc is no more than $2500. They obviously weren't spending much money on the kids...I know for me, my kids cost a ton! LOL. Between cell phones, food, clothes, extracurricular activities, and so on. They had 4 cars but none of them are expensive or new. So $7500 a month for cell phones for 2 people, a normal amount of food for 2 and a little food for 13, electricity/gas, Internet? cable TV? gas for the cars, car insurance, car payments, what else? No medical bills apparently and not much spent on clothes.
Well those are my main questions. Thanks for reading and looking forward to everyone's responses!
ETA. Thought of one more. About Disney. Annual passes start at $340 a year per person. If they even had annual passes. I think they probably only went once every few years. One-day entrance fees are about $100 per person. That is $1500 for one trip but if only take once every few years is not too bad. Plus, when I go to Disneyland, all my money goes for the overpriced food and souvenirs, which they probably didn't partake of. And those matching outfits? Puulllease. They look like $3 shirts from Walmart and not expensive Disney clothes. Most had on $1 flip flops. And they do take your fingerprints at Disney World in Florida, but not at Disneyland in California. Now they just take your picture to make sure your face matches if you try to use the ticket again.
Lots of good info.
I was the one talking about the college debt. My grandson is in commumity college right now in MN and I am not sure of the amount but will look it up. Something like $3000 a semester maybe. Gotta look.
I too was womdering about the salary as so many dependents would make his pay pretty high because of the deductions.
It seems like they went out to eat a lot. I saw a reference to them being seen at Applebees. By “them” I mean the parents. That adds up in cost.
Since the children took one shower a year, I wonder how often clothes were washed.
I cannot even imagine shackled in their own feces and urine. How did those children survive all of those years!