Parents Arrested After Police Find 13 Emaciated Siblings Chained Inside Home

Police arrested the parents of 13 children who were found chained to their beds and malnourished, authorities said.

Police discovered the victims, ranging from 2 to 29 years old, after one escaped and called 911 Sunday morning.

Police charged 57-year-old David Allen Turpin and his wife, 49-year-old Louise Anna Turpin, with torture and child endangerment. Their bail was set at $9 million each.

A 17-year-old girl escaped from her parents’ house in Perris, California, and called 911 with a cellular device she took from the home, investigators said in a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department press release.

The teen told the 911 operator that her 12 brothers and sisters were being held captive, with some of her siblings pound by chains and padlocks.

Police officers later met with the teen, who looked 10 and “slightly emaciated.” But the girl was actually 17.

During the investigation, police found “several” of the children chained to the beds in “dark and foul-smelling surroundings.” The parents could not provide a “logical reason” for locking up their children.

Deputies also thought the siblings were all children, but they were surprised to discover that seven of them were between 18 and 29 years old.

The victims all appeared to be “malnourished and very dirty,” police said. The six children under 18 were taken to the Riverside University Hospital System for exams and treatment, while the seven adults were taken to Corona Regional Medical Center.

Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services helped get food and beverages for the victims, who complained to be starving, police said.

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