The siblings rescued from imprisonment in the their parents’ “Horror House” in January are making “wonderful” progress in their recovery, according to an expert in the field.
David and Louise Turpin had 13 offspring all together. Seven of them were adults as old as 29-years-old, though they still lived as prisoners in their parents’ house until the case broke in January. While their six minor siblings were sent to foster care shortly after their liberation, the journey for the adult Turpins has been slightly longer.
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The seven of them were relocated into a new home together recently, and Rebecca Bailey, a child psychologist and trauma specialist, told PEOPLE that this is evidence of progress.
“The fact that they’re living together is a great sign,” she said. Bailey does not work with the Turpins, though she shared her expertise based on the reports of others.
“From everything we’re hearing, the support system around them is doing everything they should,” she said. “They’re providing a protected space where the individuals can get their feet on the ground, acclimate to the greater world and begin to discover who they want to be and what opportunities are available to them.”
Last month, the Turpin siblings’ attorney, Jack Osborn, told ABC News about their move to a semi-independent home. He said that they’re still in California, and they now have their own rooms and the freedom to make decisions that were denied to them before.
As for the six underage Turpin children, there have been few updates. They have reportedly kept in touch with their older siblings via Skype to maintain their familial bond, but there’s no word on how they’re improving.
It was one of those underage siblings who set the family free after years of abuse. The 17-year-old girl slipped out through a window and dialed 911. On Jan. 14, the police entered the house, where they found three of the Turpin children chained to beds or other furniture, lying in their own waste as they were not permitted to use the bathroom or shower.
All of the children were also badly malnourished, while their parents, David and Louise, were well-fed. Authorities noted that the youngest child, a 2-year-old, wasn’t subjected to the same level of abuse as the others.
The parents, David, 56, and Louise, 49, face an avalanche of charges including abuse, torture and false imprisonment. Child trauma experts are working to uncover what the potential effects on the Turpin children will be and how best to proceed with their treatment.
“The easiest pieces to have figured out by now are the physical ones, the nutritional ones, the health consequences,” said Dr. Heather Forkey, another expert in the field. “Those can be addressed fairly straightforwardly. By this time, those injuries and nutritional issues will be well on their way to improving.”
“It’s the psychological consequences that will take some time to come out,” she went on. “These kids have presumably had impact on a lot of levels of their psyche. But they also presumably have a number of resilient skills.”
“The nice thing about resiliency is everybody’s got it, and you can grow more.”
