Turpins 4: 2 Monsters, 13 Victims and Now an Interview!

[JermajestyDuggar]

There were times when someone should have helped these kids. It’s so disappointing. When Jennifer came to public school until 3rd grade and she was the smelly dirty kid. Her teachers should have reported it but they let her down. The house was disgusting when they abandoned it in Texas. Someone should have reported it. Jordan says she knows the neighbors had to know there was something going on but they never reported. And I agree. The houses were close together. They must’ve heard something. The fact that there’s no oversight for homeschooling also failed them. If there was oversight, it would be easily seen they weren’t being educated at all. The kids were failed for decades. 

[libgirl2]

36 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

There were times when someone should have helped these kids. It’s so disappointing. When Jennifer came to public school until 3rd grade and she was the smelly dirty kid. Her teachers should have reported it but they let her down. The house was disgusting when they abandoned it in Texas. Someone should have reported it. Jordan says she knows the neighbors had to know there was something going on but they never reported. And I agree. The houses were close together. They must’ve heard something. The fact that there’s no oversight for homeschooling also failed them. If there was oversight, it would be easily seen they weren’t being educated at all. The kids were failed for decades. 

No one wants to get involved or are afraid to. Social services are overtaxed. It is really sad. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

36 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

No one wants to get involved or are afraid to. Social services are overtaxed. It is really sad. 

But some people are mandated reporters. Like teachers. Her teachers failed her.

[JDuggs]

The point where social services let them down (again)was after they were taken from their parents. It appears that some of the younger kids were placed in foster care situations where they were subjected to more abuse. The older kids haven’t been given appropriate access to the money in their trust fund to use for housing, food or transportation. They don’t seem to be getting all the training they need to manage money and other life skills. Some of the County employees admitted that the kids haven’t received all the help they need. I think someone said that if people in a high profile case like this aren’t getting what they need from social services, regular people don’t even have a chance.

Edited November 20, 2021 by JDuggs
Typo

[JDuggs]

A lot of money was donated to the Turpin kids (I don’t remember the amount) when it all went down and it is under the control of a public guardian who wasn’t doing her job very well. There hasn’t been any oversight of the public guardian, so no one, except her, knows how any of this money has been spent. The kids don’t seem to have anyone to turn to for help. They need someone checking in with them to make sure they have a safe place to live, access to food,, transportation, healthcare, education, career counseling. Was anyone explaining how to open a bank account, how to find an apartment, etc. They have been abandoned by the system.

[Cheetah]

2 hours ago, JDuggs said:

A lot of money was donated to the Turpin kids (I don’t remember the amount) when it all went down and it is under the control of a public guardian who wasn’t doing her job very well. There hasn’t been any oversight of the public guardian, so no one, except her, knows how any of this money has been spent. The kids don’t seem to have anyone to turn to for help. They need someone checking in with them to make sure they have a safe place to live, access to food,, transportation, healthcare, education, career counseling. Was anyone explaining how to open a bank account, how to find an apartment, etc. They have been abandoned by the system.

I just finished watching the special and wow, it's so disappointing how these kids and young adults were let down.  They went through such hell with their parents and then had a ton of publicity when the news broke in 2018 and it's appalling that there was so little oversight on their cases.   Jordan seems really smart and brave and I'm sure she'll succeed in life but who knows about the rest... even Jennifer, who was also very brave, didn't get rescued until she was nearly 30 and comes across as a lot younger than she is.  

[Bad Wolf]

I wept through the interview, and was enraged at the poor follow up. When a similar thing happened here to two kids, there was constant supervision. There would have been no way to hide further abuse. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy,.psychologists, the DA, a whole raft of specialized doctors, etc. It was 16 years ago. The girl is married to another woman and has a 5 year old. She's a good mom.

Yes, they both still struggle at times. You don't just bounce back from something like that. She was 16 when she ran away and weighed 40lbs. She rescued her little brother, 12, weighing 30 lbs. It was a deputy who found her and believed her and was able to find the brother.

I was impressed with the professionalism of the deputies in the video.

[JDuggs]

1 minute ago, Bad Wolf said:

I was impressed with the professionalism of the deputies in the video.

That really stood out to me too. For a middle-aged white woman, I have quite a bit of skepticism about the police, but these guys were great. I was surprised/annoyed that it took 14 minutes for a squad car to arrive. The 911 operator was awesome too.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I think the fact that she was a tiny 17 year old white girl with a voice that sounded much younger probably helped. I doubt any officer would feel threatened by her. The worst they would do is brush her off. But she came off as so young, they treated her much younger than 17. If she looked and acted like a mainstream 17 year old, the officer may have talked to her a little differently. That particular officer did seem like a nice guy. But I really doubt even a very seasoned harsh officer would have treated her badly.

[JDuggs]

3 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I think the fact that she was a tiny 17 year old white girl with a voice that sounded much younger probably helped. I doubt any officer would feel threatened by her. The worst they would do is brush her off. But she came off as so young, they treated her much younger than 17. If she looked and acted like a mainstream 17 year old, the officer may have talked to her a little differently. That particular officer did seem like a nice guy. But I really doubt even a very seasoned harsh officer would have treated her badly.

I knew the story already, but my anxiety was so high watching it that the officer wouldn’t believe her and bring her right back home. Brushing her off would have put her in grave danger. Jordan knew enough to take photos as evidence which was crucial to her being taken seriously. I thought the officers handled the parents really well. They were polite and respectful. They calmly located the kids, found the evidence they needed and arrested the parents.

[EmCatlyn]

28 minutes ago, Cheetah said:

I just finished watching the special and wow, it's so disappointing how these kids and young adults were let down.  They went through such hell with their parents and then had a ton of publicity when the news broke in 2018 and it's appalling that there was so little oversight on their cases.   Jordan seems really smart and brave and I'm sure she'll succeed in life but who knows about the rest... even Jennifer, who was also very brave, didn't get rescued until she was nearly 30 and comes across as a lot younger than she is.  

I haven’t seen the interview yet but I followed the case closely when it first unfolded  Both Jennifer and Jordan are very strong young women.  If I remember correctly, Jennifer tried several times to rebel but was repressed brutally.  It was partly Jennifer’s support that made it possible for Jordan to arrive at a point where she could escape.

I figured that the Turpins would have problems after the world’s attention shifted away from them.  It is very sad that their money seems to have been mismanaged and the younger kids abused in the system.  Tragic that they can’t get the help they need.

[JermajestyDuggar]

4 minutes ago, JDuggs said:

I knew the story already, but my anxiety was so high watching it that the officer wouldn’t believe her and bring her right back home. Brushing her off would have put her in grave danger. Jordan knew enough to take photos as evidence which was crucial to her being taken seriously. I thought the officers handled the parents really well. They were polite and respectful. They calmly located the kids, found the evidence they needed and arrested the parents.

I was watching and thinking, “if they had been talking to black parents with 13 kids in a filthy house, they wouldn’t have been so polite.”

To be honest, the fact that it was a white family, in a nice neighborhood, with a father with a good job, probably made people less likely to report anything suspicious. 

[libgirl2]

4 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

But some people are mandated reporters. Like teachers. Her teachers failed her.

Oh I agree, but people still won't. What are the consequences? 

[LilMissMetaphor]

Apparently a foster parent? told one of the kids that they understood why their parents kept them locked up.  Disgusting.

[quiversR4hunting]

5 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

But some people are mandated reporters. Like teachers. Her teachers failed her.

We don't know if the teachers reported or not. Teachers can't make child welfare workers follow up. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 minutes ago, quiversR4hunting said:

We don't know if the teachers reported or not. Teachers can't make child welfare workers follow up. 

True. But I just can’t imagine she was in school from k-3rd grade as the stinky dirty kid who wore the same clothes everyday. No kid would talk to her because she was the stinky kid. I know a lot of teachers. And I know some teachers who would bring a clean change of clothing to school for a kid who never had washed clothes. A lot of adults failed them. Whether it was social workers or the people who worked in her school. 

[feministxtian]

Watching those two girls, my heart broke all over again. With that trust fund they have, why can't the conservator purchase housing for them? IF I heard right, the 4 youngest are still in the foster care system. Why can't they purchase a house for the kids and have a live-in caretaker/nanny type person there to help guide the kids? They still need help with life skills, money management, BEING SAFE once and for all. 

Those kids are tough...inwardly tough and insanely strong. I can only hope they find success. 

[WiseGirl]

I'm a mandated reporter but once it is reported, it is in social services hands whether they take the case or not.  It is frustrating and yes, having social worker friends, I get that social services departments are overwhelmed.  This is all so sad.

Teachers are mandated reporters in Texas, so I'm unsure what happened there because neglect needs to be reported. From https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/Educators-Guide-2020-English.pdf "It is important to know the law in Texas. Teachers and all school employees are considered professional reporters in Texas and are required by law to report suspected child abuse or neglect immediately, but no later than 48 hours after the initial suspicions of abuse or neglect."

I did not watch the program but I did read the yahoo article someone linked and I surmise from the article the social services in California let them down . First way, California  or the county contracts foster parents through ChildNet.  From the article "ChildNet has in recent years been the subject of dozens of investigations into allegations of verbal and physical abuse in its foster homes -- many of which have been substantiated by state investigators." That is not a ringing endorsement.

Also from the article, Vanessa Espinoza is the public guardian for the adult children yet hasn't worked since August 21st? https://www.yahoo.com/gma/4-years-rescue-turpin-children-100043292.html  If she was a competent guardian she should have gotten the adult children enrolled in the California's Mental Health Services and from there they would have had support finding housing, job training, etc. https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/Pages/MentalHealthPrograms-Svcs.aspx  It shouldn't be too much to ask for a guardian to do their damn job.

 

[libgirl2]

26 minutes ago, feministxtian said:

Watching those two girls, my heart broke all over again. With that trust fund they have, why can't the conservator purchase housing for them? IF I heard right, the 4 youngest are still in the foster care system. Why can't they purchase a house for the kids and have a live-in caretaker/nanny type person there to help guide the kids? They still need help with life skills, money management, BEING SAFE once and for all. 

Those kids are tough...inwardly tough and insanely strong. I can only hope they find success. 

I kept thinking the same.... get them a house and have a caretaker for them. 

[EmCatlyn]

When the case first broke, there was talk that the Turpins belonged to some Fundie group. The family background was Pentecostal and Independent Baptist, but the religious connection became a lot les relevant than the extent of the abuse.

However, it appears that the Turpins used the Bible and religion to justify their abuse.

Quote

"They literally used the Bible to explain their behavior to us," Jennifer said. "They loved to point out things in Deuteronomy, saying that, 'We have the right to do this to you.' ... That they even had the right to kill us if we didn't listen."

People Magazine

 

[EmCatlyn]

5 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

I kept thinking the same.... get them a house and have a caretaker for them. 

The adult Turpins were all in a house together during the first six months or more after they were released from the hospital.  At some point afterwards, a few apparently left the house to live alone and/or attend school.

I read somewhere that the oldest son had finished a college degree, but maybe it was just an associate degree. (Even so, an associate degree ishould get him some sort of job.)  The fact that he is having trouble getting money from the “trust” for a bicycle raises three questions in my mind.

(1) What happened to the bicycle he learned to ride in the period after they were in the “ shared house”?  He spoke of it in his statement to his parents at their sentencing. I thought someone had donated a bunch of bikes for the “kids.”

(2) Why isn’t he working at some job if he is no longer in school?  This was the son that already had a semester or so of community college. (I saw pictures of his transcript and besides a bunch of “pre-college” courses, there were at least 4 —that is 12 hours or a senester— that were regular college courses.)

(3) Why has his guardian/conservator or whatever not helped him get a job and/or whatever benefits he is entitled to?

It really seems that after about a year the people who should have been looking after them simply forgot about their special needs.

[Cheetah]

6 hours ago, feministxtian said:

Watching those two girls, my heart broke all over again. With that trust fund they have, why can't the conservator purchase housing for them? IF I heard right, the 4 youngest are still in the foster care system. Why can't they purchase a house for the kids and have a live-in caretaker/nanny type person there to help guide the kids? They still need help with life skills, money management, BEING SAFE once and for all. 

Those kids are tough...inwardly tough and insanely strong. I can only hope they find success. 

I think the number quoted for the trust fund was around $600,000... possibly enough to purchase a home in Riverside county but that's not going to go far with 13 kids who need a LOT of services.  

[PinkGreyBrown]

Carefully setting aside discussion of the public guardian as a whole other.

$600,000 would disqualify them from getting public assistance, there's a whole catch-22 thing going on with that. Medicaid & similar expect applicants to have spent down any assets they had. In all likelihood the care they received, particularly the hospitalizations early on, probably cost in excess of that amount -- I suspect the state/county/municipality want to keep that money as recompense. I personally think means testing causes as many problems as its meant to prevent, & this is an example. Means testing is meant to be a set of hurdles that keep out those who 'don't really need help' but mostly make assistance a lot more difficult for people who need help.

[Queen Of Hearts]

40 minutes ago, Cheetah said:

I think the number quoted for the trust fund was around $600,000... possibly enough to purchase a home in Riverside county but that's not going to go far with 13 kids who need a LOT of services.  

Even without a house, $600k in California will not go far to pay for the professionals to provide the services those kids need.  

[Mama Mia]

9 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I was watching and thinking, “if they had been talking to black parents with 13 kids in a filthy house, they wouldn’t have been so polite.”

To be honest, the fact that it was a white family, in a nice neighborhood, with a father with a good job, probably made people less likely to report anything suspicious. 

I think in that particular situation they are going to be trained to be polite and careful. They have been told many of the siblings are adults. They know there is at least one gun in the house. They have no idea if older kids are trained/capable/ordered to attack if the cops come. They don’t know if they are walking into a Jim Jones mass suicide situation. Or some other situation that could end in fatalities. There is a lot of unknown risk they’d be trying to avoid by handling it as calmly as possible