Turpins - 13 shackled kids

[FloraDoraDolly]

1 hour ago, faraway said:

I have so much respect for the girl who escaped and alarmed the authorities. It takes so much courage to do this after all this isolation and abuse, she's my hero! 

She is a remarkable young lady. It is so rare for any of these fundie kids (or adult children) to attempt any kind of escape. I suppose her survival instincts took over? Or else this was the one kid they couldn't brainwash?

[Bad Wolf]

@seattlechic. The three perpetrators in our local case got 35, 45, and 55 years. They're still there 12 years later. The main perpetrator was 55 years old, so she might die in prison. 

[seattlechic]

5 minutes ago, Bad Wolf said:

@seattlechic. The three perpetrators in our local case got 35, 45, and 55 years. They're still there 12 years later. The main perpetrator was 55 years old, so she might die in prison. 

Oh man, this would only begin to sound like justice. thanks for sharing!

[adidas]

There were some posts wondering if the youngest child might be the offspring of one of the older girls, rather than of the parents, but LE say at this stage all children seem to be the biological offspring of David and Louise. 

https://www.9news.com.au/world/2018/01/17/06/28/us-police-reveal-suffering-of-children-found-chained-and-starved

The children, ages two to 29, are all believed to be the Turpins' biological offspring, authorities said.

Fellows said the investigation has so far found no indication of sexual abuse but that the conditions amounted to torture.

[GeorgieL]

11 hours ago, Burpies said:

Oh man, those infantilizing dresses. That's what makes those pictures so unsettling to me. When I first saw those pictures, I didn't realize they were taken in July of 2016! I thought the girls were all 12 and under in that picture. I can't imagine any teens who would want to wear dresses like that, much less adults. Many of these families do wear the matchy matchy clothes, but usually the older children and adults wear something more appropriate to their age. Like this Bates family photo. The little girls are all wearing the same dress, but the older girls are all wearing something that matches, but it's a little different, with the older boys wearing suit jackets and different color ties. Whomever said the mother is playing perpetual bride with the children being perpetual children, hit the nail on the head. And truly, if that's what the parents were playing at, they may have accomplished their goal. Those adults may have been infantilized for so long, they may never be able to be full fledged adults in society. How evil these parents are in the name of their God.


 

As creepatoid the Bates are, you can see the delineation between adult child and child child. My guess that line is puberty. Little boys, no jackets. Post puberty boys, jackets...like dad. Little girls, matching dresses. Post puberty girls, black skirt and a variation on the color theme top...like mom.

The Turpins are a whole 'nother level. Bates might be a hundred ways of weird...but they aren't criminal. Although all those boys have the same haircut as dad too....  LOL!

[User error]

I'm trying to make sense of the timelines from the news articles.  Is this correct?

Pre 2010 lives in TX and declares a bankruptcy 
2010- bought 300k+ home 
2011- declares bankruptcy again + renews vows + opens school
 

[Glasgowghirl]

16 hours ago, Elegant Mess said:

The dad also reminds me of British politician Boris Johnson.

The mom sure has creepy eyes, doesn't she? 

I'm glad I'm not the only person who sees that.

The story has been covered in the UK, with BBC, Sky and ITV all covering the story. In the past these stories are not covered here apart from a few lines in tabloids. I explained to my parents that it has happened before in the US just not involving as many children and as extreme. 

 

[snickerz]

I was watching one of the news videos and noticed the license plate on a blue car in the driveway: DL4EVER  (Disneyland Forever). They were obsessed with Elvis & Disneyland, but rather than trying to make their home one of the "happiest places on earth" for their children, they made it hell. 

[Anonymousguest]

It seems possible the family went from being a little odd to going around the bend recently. I really hope that's the case, but then as others have mentioned the mental abuse is going to be the hardest part to recover from. But it seems like with the Disney trips and other photos showing the kids going out at some point not too long ago they were out in the world at least a little. The fact that the girl wasn't brain washed, knew how they were being treated wasn't right, knew how to use the cell phone to call police, included taking photos of the conditions of her siblings, and that she trusted the police to help her all indicate they might not always have been treated this way. Also that the others are friendly and cooperating. 

I think the grandmother is just in denial and not necessarily a bad person. Maybe 5 yrs ago they were a respectable family. She said she talked to her son when the kids were out, where did they go? Sounds like the son just told her whatever he wanted. Maybe he told her the older kids had jobs and indicated they were normal. My children have 2 grandparents that they have no contact with other than an occasional card or thank you note. They don't talk on the phone, text or otherwise have a relationship with them. 

[Sis Robto]

Those poor, poor kids and young people. I hope they have the same strength as Natascha Kampusch, who was kidnapped for 8 years and makes the most of herself. Apparantly some of the kids did have the will to escape right? If their spirit was completely broken, they wouldn't need shackles.

Even here in the Netherlands it's on the news. It's so awful. 

 

[GeorgieL]

6 hours ago, manda b said:

I am speechless. My heart goes out to the victims. My question is how as a grandparent do you not worry about your grandchildren?

If you don't see anything wrong with it.....  I mean....  Would the Duggars or Bates or Maxwells send up a flair? The grandparents are saying they are good Christian parents who are raising their children in a strict "Christian" household. I think, by results, it's safe to say the grandparents simply don't see anything amiss.

[backyard sylph]

Some of the reports say the house is dark and filthy. I wonder how long that's been so, maybe the whole three years they were there. Most of us know what it's like to be depressed or overwhelmed enough to let some things go for awhile; it's kind of an indicator something isn't right, to an outsider. But never reining it back in, especially for the sake of the kids, letting it all just fall apart, requiring even more hiding from the world, that's people who are so inside themselves they no longer see things as they really are.

I'm going to wonder more every day just how many people are living in crazy self-imposed traps that they've caught their kids in, too. I remember being amazed at how many hoarders there turned out to be, once those TV shows revealed some of it.

[GeorgieL]

22 minutes ago, User error said:

I'm trying to make sense of the timelines from the news articles.  Is this correct?

Pre 2010 lives in TX and declares a bankruptcy 
2010- bought 300k+ home 
2011- declares bankruptcy again + renews vows + opens school
 

Just as an FYI....  That's a pretty average price for a tract house in Southern CA. I mean... mine is valued at about $475K and it's nothing to write home about. Tiny lot. 4bed/2.5 bath.  And because of prices/when we bought and the way property taxes are structured, we can't afford to downsize. LOL!  You may not have been making a point on the price.... I just wanted to point out that nothing should be read into what I'm sure sounds like a spendy house to many people. It just isn't in S. Cal.

[snickerz]

Regarding dark & filthy - I'm assuming all blinds closed all the time so neighbors can't see in. And if you've shackled your children to their beds, the beds & rooms will be covered with and smelling of urine & feces.  This is what I assume the news reports meant. 

[acheronbeach]

10 minutes ago, GeorgieL said:

Just as an FYI....  That's a pretty average price for a tract house in Southern CA. I mean... mine is valued at about $475K and it's nothing to write home about. Tiny lot. 4bed/2.5 bath.  And because of prices/when we bought and the way property taxes are structured, we can't afford to downsize. LOL!  You may not have been making a point on the price.... I just wanted to point out that nothing should be read into what I'm sure sounds like a spendy house to many people. It just isn't in S. Cal.

 

That sounds incredibly cheap for a house to me!  Small stand-alone homes go for an average of one million Canadian around here.  

That said, how do you get a mortgage immediately after bankruptcy?  Is this normal?  I thought bankruptcy destroyed your credit rating...?  

[Iamtheway]

25 minutes ago, snickerz said:

I was watching one of the news videos and noticed the license plate on a blue car in the driveway: DL4EVER  (Disneyland Forever). They were obsessed with Elvis & Disneyland, but rather than trying to make their home one of the "happiest places on earth" for their children, they made it hell. 

They do seem to like Disneyland but DL could also be David and Louise 4 ever. They do seem very in to showing off their love for echother. All those renewels. 

[karen77]

I'm sure the abuse started off slowly, not like they shackled them all up one day and said that was it... something set them off, that's for sure.

[foreign fundie]

And yes, we have found a family that make the Pearls seem like super parents and the Naughlers like a shining example of healthy family life. 

As for this family having been ‘normal’ up to a few years ago, stunted growth and starvation don’t happen overnight. For a 29 year old to look like twelve, in my non-professional medical opinion, that would take two decades of malnutrition.

I find the ‘perpetual youthful mother theory ‘ plausible. The children could have been food deprived to prevent them from reaching puberty and thus adulthood. Maybe it was all for the idealized picture of a throng of beautiful children glorifying the holy motherhood or something. Whatever it was, those children were props, and the parents the center.

The 17 yo must have been an exceptionally bright and brave girl to have any fighting spirit left after all that. I might have just curled up and died. If she ever reads this, well done!

[User error]

@GeorgieL I am aware of the housing prices in S.Cal.  I was trying to confirm I understood the timeline correctly as I was stunned they were approved for a mortgage for 300K+ with a bankruptcy on record. Then again shocked they did not lose their home when going through the second bankruptcy.  Followed by being astounded they spent money on a trip to renew their vows/opening a home school etc. while at the same time going through a second bankruptcy.   Obviously these individuals were never in their right mind, but this all seems odd/off to me.  

I've always been told that it takes 7+ years for a bankruptcy to be cleared from a credit record, and near impossible to get loans while having a bankruptcy on record. 

[quiversR4hunting]

4 minutes ago, acheronbeach said:

 

That sounds incredibly cheap for a house to me!  Small stand-alone homes go for an average of one million Canadian around here.  

That said, how do you get a mortgage immediately after bankruptcy?  Is this normal?  I thought bankruptcy destroyed your credit rating...?  

In the CNN article I read, the family bought the CA house in 2010 and filed for bankruptcy in 2011. I am guessing the place in TX wasn't in foreclosure when they bought in CA. 

[Elegant Mess]

3 minutes ago, Iamtheway said:

 They do seem very in to showing off their love for echother. All those renewels. 

This is yet another strange element to this whole story.  Who renews their vows *that* frequently?!

[GeorgieL]

6 minutes ago, acheronbeach said:

 

That sounds incredibly cheap for a house to me!  Small stand-alone homes go for an average of one million Canadian around here.  

That said, how do you get a mortgage immediately after bankruptcy?  Is this normal?  I thought bankruptcy destroyed your credit rating...?  

Creative financing! You can get a mortgage, you just gotta pay a higher interest rate so they get their money sooner rather than later.

[Carol]

IMO, you don't renew your vows that often unless you are really afraid of losing the other partner and are trying to hold on to them.   It fits into the eternally youthful mother(or father) scenario.

[quiversR4hunting]

2 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

 

I had read they had a double wide foreclosed on as well, I think at the same time as the farm so I got the impression it was on that property.  Could all of those people fit in a double wide?  

This is reminding me of very, very early Naugler threads where you and I were looking at square footage on garden sheds and I was pulling up code regulation for habitable structures in Kentucky. 

If the Nauglers can fit in a garden shed, 15 can fit in a double wide! I remember is trying to figure out the zoning and square footage.

The smallest double wide I have seen is 32 by 24, I think. Which isn't big. But majority start over 1000 as ft. So a palace in comparison to the Nogs!

[GeorgieL]

5 minutes ago, User error said:

@GeorgieL I am aware of the housing prices in S.Cal.  I was trying to confirm I understood the timeline correctly as I was stunned they were approved for a mortgage for 300K+ with a bankruptcy on record. Then again shocked they did not lose their home when going through the second bankruptcy.  Followed by being astounded they spent money on a trip to renew their vows/opening a home school etc. while at the same time going through a second bankruptcy.   Obviously these individuals were never in their right mind, but this all seems odd/off to me.  

I've always been told that it takes 7+ years for a bankruptcy to be cleared from a credit record, and near impossible to get loans while having a bankruptcy on record. 

I just know that I've had people have their minds blown and think I live on some sort of ranch with a humongous house. But they were all a twitter to get $100K for their house....    It does take 7+ years for a BK to clear. That doesn't mean you can't get credit or a mortgage. It means you might have to pay through the nose. But a LOT of people BK'ed and/or foreclosed but then turned around and bought houses a year or two later when everything blew up in 2008.