'I Could See Sadness in His face and Eyes': Former College Classmate of One of The Older House of Horrors Children Says He Wore The Same Clothes Every Day, Avoided Eye Contact and Once Scarfed Down Food at a School Potluck
- The former classmate to one of the older sons tortured in Riverside, California spoke about her observances of him
- Angie Parra revealed the unnamed adult son had 'sadness in his face and eyes'
- She said she once saw him scarf down plate after plate of food at a class potluck
- Parra remembered him as a 'sweet but odd' guy who was an introvert and wore the same clothes all semester
- David and Louise Turpin pleaded not guilty Thursday afternoon to a total of 75 charges
- The charges ranged from torture, false imprisonment, child abuse and abuse of dependent adults
- Siblings to mom Louise said they will never speak to their sister again, while one even added: 'she's dead to me'
- In convicted on the charges, the Turpin couple faces 94 years to life behind bars
Daily Mail UK, 22 Jan 2018.
The former college classmate to one of the elder sons victimized in the California House of Horrors has described into harrowing detail what she remembers about him.
The woman, Angie Parra, remembered sighting the unnamed adult son a number of times while the two were enrolled in the same music course at Mt. San Jacinto College in Menifee Valley years ago.
Parra recalled he had a 'sadness in his face and eyes' at the time, while speaking in a phone interview with NBC Los Angeles.
'He never really wanted to make eye contact with anyone,' Parra said of her 'sweet but odd' colleague who 'wore the same clothes all semester.'
During one of their school banquets, the woman said the son was noticeably hungry and gaunt in appearance.
She said he gorged on several servings of food that were brought in to share with the class.
'He stood by the table and sat down with his plate and literally just ate plate after plate after plate,' Parra said of the man, who sat isolated while at the potluck.
'Ill never forget this... he was famished,' Parra added in the heartbreaking interview.
Louise, 49, and David Turpin, 57, were charged with 75 counts including torture, false imprisonment, child abuse and abuse of dependent adults. The couple, pictured during their arraignment Thursday, pleaded not guilty to all charges
The former college classmate to one of the elder sons victimized recalls seeing him scarf down several plates of food during a potluck at Mt. San Jacinto College in Menifee Valley years ago
Th
e Riverside District Attorney's office revealed last week that the children, aged two to 29, were found tortured, starved and shackled inside the filthy house under poor supervision of parents David, 57, and Louise Turpin, 49.
The Turpin couple pleaded not guilty Thursday afternoon to a total of 75 charges.
Charges stemmed from torture, false imprisonment, child abuse and abuse of dependent adults.
Mr Turpin has been accused of performing lewd acts on a minor, which he also pleaded not guilty to.
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said the allegations of torture and abuse began back in 2010 at the couple's former Texas residence.
Investigation revealed the children had only been allowed to eat once a day and bathe a few times a year. They were forced to sleep during the day and keep awake at night.
The child victims were allegedly 'hogtied' to beds and prevented from playing with toys or taking part in regular activities.
When one of the kids who was tied up released themselves, the parents were said to have then shackled the child with chains and padlocks.
They only allowed the children to write in journals for a hobby - which will be used as evidence in the case.
It was newly revealed that the Turpin couple were even trying to have another child so they could land their own reality TV show similar to Kate Plus 8.
Louise half brother, Billy Lambert, told Sunday People having a 14th child would make for 'perfect TV'.
Louise half brother, Billy Lambert (pictured), and Louise's younger sister, Teresa Robinette, shared more details of the twisted life of their sister and her husband in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com
Siblings: Teresa Robinette and Billy Lambert (pictured) gave details of the twisted life of their older sister Louise Turpin. Lambert, 30, Louise's half-brother, was the last to speak to her before her arrest
Lambert said of Louise's wish to become famous: 'It is the reason they moved to California to be nearer to Hollywood.'
While speaking with DailyMail.com, Lambert added that he only learned weeks ago the pair were planning for another baby to add to the bunch.
Louise as a teenager (second from left) with sister Elizabeth (left), mother Phyllis, sister Teresa and father Wayne
Police raided the couple's four-bedroom house in Perris, California, and found many of the malnourished children shackled to their beds by chains, living in unimaginable filth...
I asked her why on earth they wanted more children and she said about wanting a reality TV show.'They thought it would make them millions and household names. They didn’t care about the kids – it was all about them.'
Lambert and Louise's younger sister, Teresa Robinette, told DailyMail.com in the joint interview she believes to pair deserve to be tortured in prison for the rest of their lives.
'I hope they suffer as much, if not more, than those kids suffered,' Robinette said.
'I hope they torture my sister for the rest of her life.'
Riverside County District Attorney alleged that the oldest child, a 29-year-old woman weighed just 82 lbs, and the 17-year-old who managed to escape and raise the alarm was initially mistaken for a 10-year-old
Prosecutors said the 17-year-old girl that escaped 'had been working on a plan with her siblings to escape this abuse for more than two years'
Robinette also revealed she no longer considers sister Louise one of her family members.
'She is off my family tree, she is dead to me. I couldn't care less about speaking to Louise ever again.'
While Lambert added: 'I think they should get life. That's not just spur-of-the-moment anger, I'm not changing that view.'
If convicted on the charges, the Turpin couple could face 94 years to life behind bars.
They are each being held on $13 million bail and set to appear in court next February 23.
The minor and adult children are currently recovering at two separate hospitals in California.
The children were found malnourished and shackled in their home in Perris, California (pictured) after one girl escaped and called the police
Sheriff's forensic teams searched the Turpins' house in Perris, California on Friday where they found hundreds of DVDs and board games
Authorities had found the children had been living in squalor and that none of them owned any toys, but discovered many unopened boxes of toys in the home...
House of Horrors Investigators 'Will Bring in Cadaver Dogs to Look for The Remains of MORE Children and Order DNA Testing on the Couple's Victims'
- Cops are reportedly considering using cadaver dogs to determine if there are remains of any more children at the house of horrors
- DNA testing may be ordered to confirm that the Turpin children are related
- The 13 continue to recover in area hospitals and experts say some of the children didn't even know what a police officer was
- David Turpin, 56, and Louise Turpin, 49, have pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of torture, child abuse, dependent adult abuse and false imprisonment
Daily Mail UK, 22 Jan 2018.
Homicide detectives are considering sending cadaver dogs into the David and Louise's house of horrors, according to a new report.
Riverside County Sheriff's Homicide Detectives want to see if there were other children who might not have survived, Syndicated news show Crime Watch Daily reports.
Citing sources familiar with the investigation, the show is also reporting that the detectives may want to order DNA testing on the 13 Turpin siblings, seven adults and six children to confirm that they are related. This information was not confirmed by the Sheriff's Department.
Those 13 siblings, recovering in local hospitals, are facing a long road to recovery.
Since arresting the Turpins earlier this week, authorities said they have learned the children were confined to the house, chained to furniture, starved and often deprived the use of a toilet. Some of the children were so detached they didn't understand the concept of a police officer or medicine.
Riverside County Sheriff's Deputies searching the home of the Turpin family get some fresh air
Cadaver dogs could be brought in to search the premises for other siblings of the 13 Turpin children
'You don't need to learn what a police officer is from going to school, you learn that from just being out in the world,' said Patricia Costales, chief executive of The Guidance Center, a Long Beach, California-based nonprofit that provides mental health therapy to thousands of children.
'To not even know something like that really speaks to how incredibly controlled their environment was. They're going to experience a culture shock even apart from the trauma they have undergone,' said Costales, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist who has treated kidnap victims, some held for years.
The Turpin siblings will likely need years of therapy, psychological experts said, adding that if possible it would be best to keep them together.
The youngest should have the easiest road to recovery, Costales said, but added she is optimistic that over time all could eventually learn to lead relatively normal lives.
'Their brains are still adapting, they're still forming, they're still developing their understanding of the world,' she said of the younger children. 'But someone who has experienced these things for 20-some years of their life will have a lot of learning to do about what relationships are like, what the world is like, how they're supposed to be treated.'
Even being separated from their parents, who are now in jail on torture, child abuse and other charges, could be unsettling initially to some of the children, said Jessica Borelli, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology and social behavior at University of California, Irvine.
'When we come into this world, our attachment figures are our primary sources of safety and security, no matter how abusive they are,' she said.
'That impulse or that draw to be back with the people who are supposed to keep you safe is incredibly strong, and that is what has to be overridden to get out of an abusive situation.'
Police were summoned to the Turpin home in Perris, a city of about 70,000 people 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles, on Sunday after the couple's 17-year-old daughter jumped out of a window and called 911. She had planned the escape for two years and fled with a sibling who became too scared and turned back, Riverside County authorities said.
The fact that she carried out such a courageous act, Borelli said, shows she could play a leadership role in helping her siblings recover.
'To me, that is a sign she has something inside of her that is really healthy,' Borelli said. 'One of the things that happens with really prolonged abuse like this is the instincts about self-protection and the desire to protect oneself are totally disrupted - but she has it. So, I think she might be someone who can help.'
When deputies arrived at the home they found a 22-year-old chained to a bed. The house reeked of human waste and evidence of starvation was obvious, with the oldest sibling, a 29-year-old woman, weighing only 82 pounds, said Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin.
The children were tethered to beds with chains and padlocks as punishment and allowed to do little but write in journals, authorities said.
David Turpin, 56, and Louise Turpin, 49, have pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of torture, child abuse, dependent adult abuse and false imprisonment dating to 2010, when the family moved to California from outside Fort Worth, Texas.
David Turpin also pleaded not guilty to performing a lewd act on a child under age 14.
They will be back in court on February 23.
MORE;
No Texas Probes Involving California Torture Suspects
RIO VISTA, Texas (AP) - An official in Texas says authorities there had no reports involving the couple charged in California with shackling and starving 12 of their 13 children.
David and Louise Turpin have pleaded not guilty in Riverside County, California, to multiple counts of torture, child abuse and false imprisonment. The couple moved to California from near Fort Worth, Texas, in 2011.
Patrick Crimmins with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said Saturday that his agency had no investigations concerning the Turpins.
Trash and a fake rattle snake sculpture are seen on the front door of a home where police arrested a couple on Sunday accused of holding 13 children captive in Perris, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018.
Neighbor Liza Tozier, and her son, Avery Sanchez, 6, drop off his large "Teddy" as a gift for the children who lived on a home where police arrested a couple on Sunday accused of holding 13 children captive in Perris, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018.
Neighbor Rilee Unger, 3, plays with a toy after dropping off a couple of her own teddy bears on the porch of a home where police arrested a couple on Sunday accused of holding 13 children captive in Perris, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018.
Neighbor Avery Sanchez, 6, peeks behinds his mother, Liza Tozier after dropping off his large "Teddy" for the children who lived on a home where police arrested a couple on Sunday accused of holding 13 children captive in Perris, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. The parents of 13 children and young adults have pleaded not guilty in a California court to numerous charges that they tortured and abused the siblings for years. David and Louise Turpin were each ordered held on $12 million bail after entering their pleas Thursday and were scheduled to return to court on Feb. 23. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Louise Anna Turpin, far left, with attorney Jeff Moore, second from left, and her husband David Allen Turpin, listen to attorney, David Macher, as they appear in court for their arraignment in Riverside, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. The parents of 13 siblings who were allegedly held in captivity in their family's Southern California home were charged Thursday with committing years of torture and abuse that left their children malnourished, undersized and with cognitive impairments. (Frederic J. Brown/Pool Photo via AP)