'Horror House' Father Fought to Keep Luxury Item Amid Bankruptcy Filing

The California couple accused of running a "horror house" for their 13 children have been plagued by debt for years, but the father fought to keep 2010 Ford Mustang when they filed for bankruptcy in 2011.

David Turpin, 56, and Louise Turpin, 49, are now being held in prison for shackling, starving and allegedly abusing their children inside a dark and filthy Perris, California home.

But prior to the scandal, the parents sought bankruptcy protection, citing a total $150,000 in assets and $240,000 in liabilities, the New York Post reports.

Throughout the proceedings, David Turpin fought to keephis brand-new muscle car. When the judge asked how he was making payments on the vehicle — one of three family cars — he said, "We started using coupons and being more conservative with our spending," according to court documents. He added that they found "better coverage on medical insurance and better rate on auto insurance."

The judge ruled that keeping the muscle car "was not in the best interest of the debtor," despite his pleas.

The couple has dealt with a history of financial struggles, according to court records. The Turpins fled Texas following foreclosures on their farm and double-wide trailer and moved to the West Coast, where David landed a job as an engineer at defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

Wells Fargo reportedly seized the family's farm in Rio Vista, Texas, in 1999 because of an outstanding $40,000 mortgage. Their mobile home was repossessed in 2004.

But between that time and the bankruptcy filing, the family seemed to live a normal middle-class life in Murrieta, California, until David lost his job at Lockheed Martin in 2010. During that time, he worked second shift for more than $11,000 a month and wife Louise was listed in papers as a "homemaker."

The couple had an umbrella of benefits and saved over $80,000 in a 401k, according to court records. They claimed to spend $2,500 in food for the family each month and reportedly had a $500 DVD collection.

But after leaving his job, David racked up major credit card and department store debt, and was pursued by a dozen collection agencies. Among debt he accrued was more than $700 in unpaid medical bills and a $400 pest control invoice.

The bankruptcy documents catalogue the couple's offspring as "Son, Son, Daughter, Daughter, Daughter, 11, Son, Son 15, 19, 17, 13, 12, Daughter, 10, 9."

David and Louise Turpin were arrested on Jan. 14 after their 17-year-old daughter escaped from their house through a window and called 911 from a disconnected cell phone.

When police arrived at the home, they found some of the 13 children chained to their beds and lying in feces. The children, ages 2 to 29, were malnourished and had allegedly endured abuse and cruel punishments, including being forced to march around the house and being restricted to one shower per year.

The children are being treated at California medical facilities to stabilize their conditions and slowly reintroduce foods into their bodies.

David and Louise Turpin have been charged with 12 counts of torture, seven counts of abuse of a dependent adult, six counts of child abuse or neglect and 12 counts of false imprisonment, Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin said in a press release. David was also charged with one count of lewd act on a child.

If you would like to help survivors of the family, here's how you can support the Turpin children.