Horror House Siblings Described As ‘Warm and Loving’ by Nurses

Nurses who have been looking after some of the “horror house” children recently described the kids as “warm and loving.”

Speaking to PEOPLE, Corona Mayor Karen Spiegel said, “They are progressing well, and looking into the future, seeing where their lives could go and they have the support system. They have the whole community behind them.”

“They are warm and loving kids, even though they’re adults, we keep calling kids; they just have some growing up to do. They’re just behind but they’ll get through,” she added.

On Jan. 14, Louise Turpin and her husband David were arrested after their 17-year-old daughter escaped their house and fled to safety so she could call police.

When law enforcement arrived, they discovered the couple’s 13 children, ranging in ages from two to 29, chained up inside.

All the children were immediately removed from the home and the couple taken into police custody.

An aunt of the 13 children that were found chained up by their parents has told reporters that she was not allowed to visit them.

Elizabeth Jane Flores, a 41-year-old Christian motivational speaker from Cleveland, Tennessee is the sister of Louise Anna Turpin, the woman who, along with her husband, has been accused of child endangerment.

“Something didn’t seem right about her parenting but never would I have expected it to be like this,” Flores told reporters.

“We have been so worried about them because it’s been so strange but there was nothing we could do. They wouldn’t let anyone visit and we didn’t know their address. I haven’t seen her in 19 years,” Flores added. “We would talk on the phone from time to time, but every time I would ask to talk to her kids, she wouldn’t let me.”

Flores, who herself is a mother of seven, also revealed that her parents flew out to California to visit but that her sister would not provide them a home address.

“She never let us talk to her kids. She wouldn’t even accept my Facebook request. We all wondered what was going on. My parents booked several flights to go see them but when they got there they wouldn’t tell them where to go and my parents left crying every time,” Flores said. “They died before they got to see them again. It’s just heartbreaking and I’m so embarrassed about all of this.”

Jack Osborn, a lawyer who was appointed to represent the seven oldest children also recently spoke about how they are doing since being rescued.

He explained that they are making decisions for themselves now and that they are enjoying things that were withheld from them by their parents, such as Harry Potter books and iPads.

“That in itself is a new experience for them, understanding that they do have rights and they do have a voice,” Osborn said. “That’s a big deal, deciding what they’re going to read, deciding what they’re going to wear, these are all things that are decisions they make every day that are new and empowering.”