Turpins - 13 shackled kids

[Burpies]

They just said on CNN that there is going to be a press conference later today about this case.  They were in darkness, very pale, malnourished.  The parents are 57 and 49.  They were not sequestered went to Disneyland and vegas
Very protective of the children.  Talked to them Saturday night.  Dressed the children exactly alike.  Mom walked in front and then they followed in a line from youngest to oldest with dad following up at the end.
That was all I could quickly transcribe from the CNN report they just did.

This article had some info I haven't seen in the other articles I've read.

https://heavy.com/news/2018/01/david-turpin-louise-allen-anna-perris-california-children-shackled-parents/

I, too, found this particularly interesting:

"Betty Turpin (the grandmother) told CNN that the couple dressed their children in matching clothes for safety reasons, adding: “They were very protective of the kids.” According to CNN, “the couple would line the children up according to age, and the parents took their positions at the front and back of the line,” Betty Turpin said."

I can't even imagine making my adult children dress in matching clothing and having them walk in a line according to age.

I really think something happened in this family. Something terrible that made these parents snap from a fucked up in a Rodrigues/Arndt sort of way, into a full fledged Flowers in the Attic, Waco cultish sort of way. Something happened here. I think it's very possible that if that brave girl hadn't escaped and alerted the authorities, we would have been reading about their murder/ suicide.

[Curious]

6 minutes ago, DisgustedofHove said:

Here it is... You can see the children walking, dancing and even singing a bit. To me, they seem very uncomfortable in the video, tottering around on those heels looking unstable, and like they’re not used to the attention. 

 

I made it 2:32 into this thing.  That wedding dress...NO!   Walking in the older girls definitely didn't look comfortable walking in the high heels.  Just watching that first bit, I would have guessed the oldest was no more than 16-17.

[AuLait]

That video is weird and awkward as anything I’ve ever seen.

[FunFunFundie]

4 minutes ago, Burpies said:

 “They were very protective of the kids.” 

This fills me with absolute rage.  I can see how the Maxwells, for example, think they are "protecting" their kids by isolating them, even though *I* believe that's abuse.

Nobody can fucking shackle their kids to a bed and consider it protection. 

[fundiefan]

I knew the minute I read the first piece about these monsters that they'd end up being 'religious'. 

It makes me utterly sick. 

[FunFunFundie]

10 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

Or a reversal baby?

She would have been 47 at the time of the birth, which is not impossible, but also not super likely.

[Cleopatra7]

1 minute ago, FunFunFundie said:

She would have been 47 at the time of the birth, which is not impossible, but also not super likely.

I read that she was married at 17, which means that it’s quite possible for her to have a late in life baby if she has been consistently fertile for so long.

[Burpies]

This fills me with absolute rage.  I can see how the Maxwells, for example, think they are "protecting" their kids by isolating them, even though *I* believe that's abuse.

Nobody can fucking shackle their kids to a bed and consider it protection. 

I wonder if it was the older boys who were shackled to their beds to 'protect' the female siblings?

[DisgustedofHove]

It’s a bit odd for fundies to have their wedding renewal vows with an Elvis impersonator officiating instead of a minister, and all that hip wiggling and thrusting though... isn’t it? 

And the older girl would have been 23-24 in that video. It’s shocking. 

*edited because I didn’t realize that video was from 2013. Apparently they had more than one Elvis-themed wedding renewal.*

[Hashtag Blessed]

1 minute ago, DisgustedofHove said:

It’s a bit odd for fundies to have their wedding renewal vows with an Elvis impersonator officiating instead of a minister, and all that hip wiggling and thrusting though... isn’t it? 

And the older girl would have been 25-26 in that video. It’s shocking. 

They were also really into Disney, which most fundies dislike. In my experience, outside of the really well known ones, a lot of families cherry pick what they like and dislike. God is always conveniently cool with things the parents enjoy. 

[luv2laugh]

They sound worse than crazy.

“Grandparents said the parents had so many kids because "God called on them."

James and Betty Turpin admitted the children were given "very strict home schooling," and they were required to memorize long passages of the Bible.

David's parents said he worked as a computer engineer and graduated from Virginia Tech.

It sounds like similar to Derrick Dillard, the father had strong beginnings with a good education.

[nausicaa]

33 minutes ago, Curious said:

Very protective of the children.  Grandma talked to them Saturday night.  Dressed the children exactly alike because they were so protective of them.  Mom walked in front and then they followed in a line from youngest to oldest with dad following up at the end when out in public.

How in the hell did no one in the extended family notice that having your TWENTY-NINE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER walk in a line behind her mom everywhere in public, while wearing a matching outfit with her six year old siblings has crossed the line from overprotective into completely delusional? The older kids weren't teenagers, they were twenty somethings. As others have said, this isn't like the Maxwells, where at least they dress like adults and can drive and go out in sibling groups and work "jobs."

The wedding video: Something is clearly off about the mom; she seems, uh, several beats behind. Also, so weird to put the older daughters in these little girl Easter dresses, and then have them wear five inch stilletos. The older daughters, who would all be in their twenties in that video, seem so awkward and shy, like young teenagers. Standing pigeon toed, the hunched shoulders, the nervous smiles. 

Here's the video for the other vow renewal in 2011:

 

[Zebedee]

27 minutes ago, DisgustedofHove said:

Coming out of lulrkdom... Hello from the UK 

There is a YouTube video still up with the full recording of the Vegas wedding... Not sure if it’s ok to post the link, but I will if someone confirms it’s allowed (don’t want to break rules on my first post...)

Hi @DisgustedofHove from, well, ex-UK, now Germany! First post for me too today after long-time lurking. Not too sure about the linking rules either, I mean, the Guardian et al have the kids'/adult children's faces blocked out, which is fair. Though their FB is still up, I wouldn't want to share it as a) not hard to find, b ) would feel very icky about sharing stuff with unblocked faces, even though it's still public. 

Poor, poor children of these people. I'm glad that bail for the "parents" is a combined $18m, they never deserve to see their kids again. That they had those children out to pose for photos for whichever vow renewal they were doing, and none could flee, is just horrifying. I'm so sickened for them, and what they must have been through for the parents to have this level of control over them. 

[anjulibai]

13 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

There are a lot of pictures of just the baby on their page. I would guess the baby is the favorite. Maybe mom thought her baby days were through and got a surprise. None of the younger kids look That close in age to the baby. 

I've seen enough weird cases over the years that I can't help but wonder if the mom is really the mom of that baby. So many of the girls are well into their childbearing years.

[JMO]

They fill me with rage.  Spending money on vow renewals and trips to Vegas and buying or making matching dresses but then having emaciated children.  This is even worse than the Rodriguii.  Although only because we haven't seen what Jill will do once the kids hit their 20's and are still at home and she has to trot them out and can't keep them locked up.  Disgusting. 

As far as the gap between the baby and the next oldest she quite likely had multiple losses and difficulty conceiving as she was already in the 40's.  

[FecundFundieFundus]

36 minutes ago, nausicaa said:

They liked Magnum ice cream bars, not the condoms. 

Hahahha I have never heard of that... I don't think I could eat it without giggling. 

[Cleopatra7]

4 minutes ago, DisgustedofHove said:

It’s a bit odd for fundies to have their wedding renewal vows with an Elvis impersonator officiating instead of a minister, and all that hip wiggling and thrusting though... isn’t it? 

And the older girl would have been 25-26 in that video. It’s shocking. 

Well, Elvis was raised Pentecostal and recorded at least one gospel album...

While it’s true that the more hardcore separatist types like the IFB would take a hard line against any kind of music with a beat because they’ve been doing so for 100 plus years, I’ve noticed that Catholic traditionalists and Protestant fundie lites enjoy some types of secular music (but will condemn those who like music they personally disapprove of as heathen, ungodly, etc). By modern standards, Elvis is pretty tame anyway. 

Based on what little we know, it seems like the parents were so into each other and their own interests that there wasn’t room for all those kids and kidults. It wouldn’t surprise me if mom and dad were allowed to do what they wanted, while the kids simply had to follow suit if they wanted any enjoyment. I thought that the photo of all the kids wearing t-shirts saying “Thing #x” to be creepy; they’re people, not things, though that could be how the parents perceived them.

[fundiefan]

For all the "not fundie-like" comments, remember, there is no one size fits all fundie. 

Disney, sleeveless dresses, whatever - none of that precludes someone from being an insane religious fanatic. 

This is the ugly underbelly of of humanity and I don't think the surface of the situation has even been cracked. 

[DisgustedofHove]

2 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

I've seen enough weird cases over the years that I can't help but wonder if the mom is really the mom. So many of the girls are well into their childbearing years.

And if, somehow, one of those girls got pregnant, that could make the parents snap from “strict fundies” to abusive, “lock them up and throw away the key, they have embraced Satan”.

It reminds me of the mum in Stephen King’s Carrie, losing it when Carrie was turning into a woman and developing sexually like a normal teenager.

[Zebedee]

1 minute ago, Cleopatra7 said:

thought that the photo of all the kids wearing t-shirts saying “Thing #x” to be creepy; they’re people, not things, though that could be how the parents perceived them.

Yeah, "Thing #"? wtf?

[singsingsing]

11 hours ago, TSOWOATNK said:

At 29 you are well into adulthood. Heck, if you are a woman you will get the title "elderly" if you are pregnant in 6 short years. Parents shouldn't dictate to a 29 year old what they can and can not do, because a 29 year old is an adult and should have complete autonomy. The physical shackling just makes it even worse. I'd think it was abusive to control a 29 year old even if they weren't shackled and malnourished. 

Sure, it just struck me as a somewhat bizarre juxtaposition. There are millions of happy, healthy, independent adults who don't have degrees, houses, cars, or kids, so I thought that was a weird way to gauge the situation. "Wow, they were growth restricted, psychologically tortured, and padlocked to their beds? By their age I had a 401K!"

[meee]

I'm reminded of Elisabeth Fritzl.

Only, I do think from what little I've seen that the mother is also the mother of the baby - if they are all so malnourished the girls wouldn't be able to carry a pregnancy.

[iweartanktops]

4 hours ago, imokit said:

Smiling in photos means nothing. A lot of ex fundies have spoken about being punished for not being happy.

The pearls openly talk about punishing for being ungrateful and having bad attitudes or countenance.

You can even look at Duggar photos and see how all the children start looking happier at a certain age, as the smiling training starts to work.

Looking happy in photos may mean they are happy or it may mean that they were beaten right before and are decent enough at acting to fake happy for pictures.

Yep! I didn't even experience a fraction of the abuse they did, but I did, experience abuse regularly. Most photos from my childhood show a smiling kid. 

[nausicaa]

10 minutes ago, singsingsing said:

Sure, it just struck me as a somewhat bizarre juxtaposition. There are millions of happy, healthy, independent adults who don't have degrees, houses, cars, or kids, so I thought that was a weird way to gauge the situation. "Wow, they were growth restricted, psychologically tortured, and padlocked to their beds? By their age I had a 401K!"

Yeah, I feel no need to get into a pissing contest with a 29 year old who has been abused and neglected her whole life and chained to her bed... 

[Rachel333]

The mother seemed to reference using a fertility clinic in a Facebook comment. At one point she also said she was pregnant but there is no child who would fit that time frame, so she probably had at least one miscarriage.