Turpins 2- California Torture House (Graphic content discussed)

[adidas]

7 hours ago, BlackSheep said:

From that link... a pic of their DVD collection. So far I can't make out any specific titles. Some look like boxed sets from TV shows.

A closeup.

 

This article shows clearer photos and you can make out many more titles. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5289371/Extensive-DVD-collection-house-horrors-family.html

[AstroNot]

3 minutes ago, BobJonesBabe said:

Some things are odd: 

I noticed a few of these things, as well. I personally came to the conclusion that the Turpin Thirteen were limited to a small portion of the house, when they weren't shackled, thus everything else is relatively clean or untouched. I wouldn't be surprised if what little time they weren't shackled or contained was spent cleaning Monster 1&2's section of the house while they lived in uninhabitable conditions. 

I think this was Monster 1&2's way of "learning from their mistakes" where in their previous homes the entire house would be uninhabitable, so they'd have to live in a trailer(?) in front, or have their children live in a separate house. 

[Sideways]

47 minutes ago, BlackSheep said:

A neighbor who repeatedly saw the kids marching "for hours" in two upstairs rooms, in the middle of the night, assumed that "it was some kind of therapy".

Therapy? What?

Seeing that, I would have made a call.  Who does that to children, ever, never mind the middle of the night

[Seahorse Wrangler]

Just now, AstroNot said:

I noticed a few of these things, as well. I personally came to the conclusion that the Turpin Thirteen were limited to a small portion of the house, when they weren't shackled, thus everything else is relatively clean or untouched. I wouldn't be surprised if what little time they weren't shackled or contained was spent cleaning Monster 1&2's section of the house while they lived in uninhabitable conditions. 

I think this was Monster 1&2's way of "learning from their mistakes" where in their previous homes the entire house would be uninhabitable, so they'd have to live in a trailer(?) in front, or have their children live in a separate house. 

When I was younger, we had the Front Room which was used only for entertaining , consequently it was free of all the accumulated detritus of two teen-aged girls.  That was our norm.

  I'm hoping these poor children didn't have any access to these rooms at all rather than they were the House Elves for their unworthy parental units.

[Curious]

How was the dad keeping an up all night/sleep all day schedule while working his $140k a year job?   Did he quit at some point or something?   His resume/interview must have kicked ass because in all the pictures he looks like he's barely managing to focus and that hair cut....

I know you aren't supposed to hire based on looks, but people are people and I find it hard to believe people didn't find him at least....odd with the 1000 yard stare and bowl cut (as an adult)

[church_of_dog]

Just now, Curious said:

How was the dad keeping an up all night/sleep all day schedule while working his $140k a year job?   Did he quit at some point or something?   His resume/interview must have kicked ass because in all the pictures he looks like he's barely managing to focus and that hair cut....

I know you aren't supposed to hire based on looks, but people are people and I find it hard to believe people didn't find him at least....odd with the 1000 yard stare and bowl cut (as an adult)

Apparently he worked the night shift.  And I guess there is a wide range of "normal" for engineers...  Although I won't be surprised if stories start popping up from co-workers.

[feministxtian]

1 minute ago, Curious said:

How was the dad keeping an up all night/sleep all day schedule while working his $140k a year job?   Did he quit at some point or something?   His resume/interview must have kicked ass because in all the pictures he looks like he's barely managing to focus and that hair cut....

I know you aren't supposed to hire based on looks, but people are people and I find it hard to believe people didn't find him at least....odd with the 1000 yard stare and bowl cut (as an adult)

Engineers are an odd bunch...it has been hypothesized that many of them are on the Autism spectrum. I've worked with engineers that varied from "straight from GQ" to "scraggly hippie" (all at the same company). It's acknowledged that engineering types are just a bunch of oddballs for the most part. His looks wouldn't matter a bit, depending on his qualifications and experience. 

And seeing as how I am an engineering type and decidedly odd...well...

[BobJonesBabe]

3 minutes ago, church_of_dog said:

Apparently he worked the night shift.  And I guess there is a wide range of "normal" for engineers...  Although I won't be surprised if stories start popping up from co-workers.

Do we know if he commuted to an actual office? Or was he able to work from home? 

[Curious]

6 minutes ago, church_of_dog said:

Apparently he worked the night shift.  And I guess there is a wide range of "normal" for engineers...  Although I won't be surprised if stories start popping up from co-workers.

oh silly me.  Not sure why it didn't cross my mind that he worked at night or from home.  that makes sense.  I stand by the 1000 yard stare and bowl hair, though

[BobJonesBabe]

Random note: 

David's brother, Randy, was in administration at Valor Christian College. He's stepping down after all of this going public. So sad. 

http://nbc4i.com/2018/01/16/california-tragedy-hits-close-to-home-for-local-college-president/

His LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randyturpin/

Photo of Randy Turpin (you can see the resemblance): https://www.google.com/search?q=Dr.+Randy+Turpin+valor+christian&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi526vw4uXYAhXGMGMKHULOCa8Q_AUIDCgD&biw=1039&bih=655#imgrc=5XNdoaS8uGilBM:

6 minutes ago, Curious said:

oh silly me.  Not sure why it didn't cross my mind that he worked at night or from home.  that makes sense.  I stand by the 1000 yard stare and bowl hair, though

Right. He had to get interact with people at some point. 

[church_of_dog]

14 minutes ago, BobJonesBabe said:

Do we know if he commuted to an actual office? Or was he able to work from home? 

I haven't seen any mention that this is known either way.

[BlackSheep]

1 hour ago, adidas said:

This article shows clearer photos and you can make out many more titles. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5289371/Extensive-DVD-collection-house-horrors-family.html

“Eddie Murphy Raw” is one of their DVDs.

[FecundFundieFundus]

Engineers are frequently a bunch of weirdos, yeah. Usually very nice weirdos who will happily chat with you, play pedantic, complicated board games, teach your kids how to play MtG, etc. Not that I'm biased

[Otto Titsling]

Math majors are pretty out there too. One that I know has a green mohawk and does body piercings to help pay for school. All of his fellow math majors are...different. More than a few on the spectrum.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. My 12 year old has blue in her hair right now! 

[Crazy Enough to Join]

As a homeschool grad, I personally often wonder if homeschooling should be outlawed in favor of more charter schools, school choice, and study from home (online school) options. Homeschooling was created to benefit the parents, not to benefit the children. Or at least could we outlaw keeping more than a reasonable number of children home for homeschool? Because no one parent can adequately school a zillion kids. Disclaimer, I do see the value of homeschooling children who have a specific special need that makes them unable to deal with the social environment of school.

   Anyway, if homeschooling had been illegal, I bet the Turpins would have "just" been that crazy, abusive family whose kids runaway at 16, but are not malnourished because of school lunches.

[luv2laugh]

1 hour ago, feministxtian said:

Engineers are an odd bunch...it has been hypothesized that many of them are on the Autism spectrum. I've worked with engineers that varied from "straight from GQ" to "scraggly hippie" (all at the same company). It's acknowledged that engineering types are just a bunch of oddballs for the most part. His looks wouldn't matter a bit, depending on his qualifications and experience. 

And seeing as how I am an engineering type and decidedly odd...well...

My husband majored in engineering and got his masters in it and so I can confirm this as well.

I know in my heart he has something other than his severe OCD- Asperger’s but I love him so much that getting the diagnosis doesn’t matter to me anymore. He has never been tested for it but I just know.

[Kittikatz]

I was homeschooled off and on for most of my life (everything except kindergarten and three years in Junior High/High School).  It was a norm with a lot of families in our high-control group, but many children went to regular schools or private/public religious schools (schools had to be government accredited to be allowed to operate here - so not much opportunity for pseudo private schools). While there were families that were married to one particular approach, it generally seemed more about families trying to find the best fit for each kid, and it wasn't unusual for a couple of kids to be homeschooled, and the others going to public/religious school, or for this to change over the years. There was doubtless abuse - what I went though may well have been caught had I been enrolled in a regular school with daily teacher contact, but that said, the homeschool crowd was subject to oversight,  and followed provincial curriculum and rules. 

We were required to register with a local school (which got per capita funding for us, just like  their regular students) and provide learning plans to the office. The guidance counselor visited  each homeschool child at least twice per year (and had the authority to visit more frequently if it was deemed necessary by the school/Alberta Education). The Councilor inspected the homes/school rooms and I remember that he would spend quite a bit of time talking  to the kids. Some homeschool kids had regular appointments with him either in his office or in their homes, we got student IDs, were encouraged to try out for sports teams, use the school library, and attend classes such as outdoor ed/gym/shop/cooking/beauty (things not available in Home school) if we desired. All materials were bought from Alberta Education and they were standardized, so it was easy to move between environments. We had to go in to the school or to a downtown 'learning centre' to sit exams, and our assignments were mailed in and marked by teachers employed by Alberta Education. If we didn't understand something we could call a 1800 number to speak with a government tutor or make an appointment with a teacher in the school. I think it would have been difficult for a family to escalate to Turpin levels of neflect/abuse with this kind of oversight in place.

When we graduated, we got regular high school diplomas, and most of the kids I knew went on to post secondary learning of some sort. It wasn't perfect, but it was a pretty good system with a reasonable attempt at checks and balances. I see nothing wrong with this kind of oversight and government/school involvement in homeschooling. It takes a community to raise a child, and allowing people too much freedom in homeschooling their kids can encourage isolation and deprive the children of their broader community and make them especially vunerable to exploitation.

Sadly, from what I gather, there have been a lot of budget cuts and fringe religious/parents rights groups driving the standards and regulation down. It's too bad, IMO, that modern homeschool kids don't have the same opportunities kids in my generation had.

I just hope the Turpin young will be able to recover enough to live happy lives. They've lost so much already.

[CrazyMumma]

1 hour ago, Crazy Enough to Join said:

As a homeschool grad, I personally often wonder if homeschooling should be outlawed in favor of more charter schools, school choice, and study from home (online school) options. Homeschooling was created to benefit the parents, not to benefit the children. Or at least could we outlaw keeping more than a reasonable number of children home for homeschool? Because no one parent can adequately school a zillion kids. Disclaimer, I do see the value of homeschooling children who have a specific special need that makes them unable to deal with the social environment of school.

   Anyway, if homeschooling had been illegal, I bet the Turpins would have "just" been that crazy, abusive family whose kids runaway at 16, but are not malnourished because of school lunches.

Nope.. you have plenty of Sovereign State people in America... they could have just gone underground.   

[Anonymousguest]

2 hours ago, Crazy Enough to Join said:

 

   Anyway, if homeschooling had been illegal, I bet the Turpins would have "just" been that crazy, abusive family whose kids runaway at 16, but are not malnourished because of school lunches.

If homeschooling were illegal they just wouldn't have registered to homeschool. They would have kept their kids isolated and away from the neighbors, exactly what they did. The only difference is that maybe someone would have thought it weird that the kids were home during the day and reported them for truancy. But that's just a maybe. As we've seen, no one gets involved. No one really wants to know that something evil is going on next door. More than likely they would have just stayed in rural areas where they could keep the kids more hidden from the neighbors. 

 

[FecundFundieFundus]

Just because SOME people will be totally dedicated nutjobs who will stop at nothing to isolate and abuse their family doesn't mean that every abusive family will and it's not worth trying. Waiting to find a perfect solution is fruitless. Do what you can as you can. We can add more protections for American children and I hope we will.

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/19/california-turpin-13-children-rescued-future

aplogies if posted I can’t keep up. Mentions the Hale family who we follow. 

[bird]

A number of days have passed, I've read many articles and all of the fj threads but my thoughts keep going back to the photos. I just can't reconcile those "happy family" holiday snaps with the unfolding horror stories. I have been shocked by the depths of human depravity these parents have sunk to but somehow those family outings/ holidays make it so much worse. And so much harder to wrap my head around. For those children to be close to death/ starvation and then in the next minute cleaned up, dressed up and paraded in the open, their brazen parents so confident that they were sufficiently terrified not to try run or ask for help, has been keeping me up at night too.

 

[Sideways]

Check this out.  Some man on FB has claimed knowing Jennifer Turpin in 3rd grade, at Meadowbrook Elementary school in Fort Worth.  Jennifer left the school that year.  He allegedly bullied her for being a "cooties" girl, as she was socially awkward and often wore the same clothes that smelled foul.  His post may give you mixed feelings, as it did for me.  It seems like her knew her, as corroborated by another older woman respondent, who appeared to have been an educator at the school.

https://www.facebook.com/taha618

[bird]

51 minutes ago, Sideways said:

Check this out.  Some man on FB has claimed knowing Jennifer Turpin in 3rd grade, at Meadowbrook Elementary school in Fort Worth.  Jennifer left the school that year.  He allegedly bullied her for being a "cooties" girl, as she was socially awkward and often wore the same clothes that smelled foul.  His post may give you mixed feelings, as it did for me.  It seems like her knew her, as corroborated by another older woman respondent, who appeared to have been an educator at the school.

https://www.facebook.com/taha618

This reminds me of an article I read about people bullying to "encourage" conformity in people perceived as not fitting into societal norms. Especially his delusion that their taunts would have worked their magic and she would have turned out the best of them all. He made me feel just plain cross with no other feelings mixed in. 

 

[FecundFundieFundus]

I agree; if he feels badly for bullying her, his contrition certainly doesn't come through in his writing.