:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/Q3XC7T5Z7BGDHOTPGOCAMXIDZY.jpg "“I have never gone out on the street”: the story of horror and torture of 13 brothers")
A call of a few seconds was enough to end the barbarism of three continuous decades:
– Welcome to the hotline.
– I just ran away from my house because I live with a family of 13 brothers and our parents abuse us (…) two of my brothers are chained.
– Where are they tied up?
– To the bed (…)
– What are your parents going to do when they realize you ran away?
– They will literally want to kill me.
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On the most distressed side of the line was Jordan Turpina 17-year-old girl who, due to an obvious state of malnutrition, looked like she was 10.
His complaint, that January 14, 2018, represented the cry that he and his 12 brothers had kept to themselves out of fear for 29 years.
And all as a result of parents who believed that locking up their children, preventing them from bathing, tying them up with chains, denying them food and abandoning them was ‘the best thing for them’.
Despite not knowing the address of his house because he had never “gone out on the street”, the “we’re going there” of the Police of Perris, a small city in California, in the United States, meant for the 13 brothers the end of a tragedy and the beginning of a ‘new life’.
When home is synonymous with torture
avid Allen Turpin and Louise Anna Turpin ran away from their families and married in 1985 when they were only in their twenties.
Then, because “God told them to,” they decided to have 13 children within three decades.
What was not at all benign was the treatment they decided to give their offspring.The Turpins prevented their children from going to school, they had friends, visited a doctor, bathed more than once a year, and practically “lived”.
At the time of the police visit to his home, a house that was legally registered as a school, they found that the lurid story of Jordan, one of the minors affected, was true.
Much truer than thought.
The home was filled with the stench. Three of the children were chained to their beds. They all looked malnourished and their parents had no further explanation.
From what the authorities discovered, the Turpin they had a certain fascination with going to Disney and celebrating their marriage anniversaries.
Those were the only outlets for the thirteen brothers.
There was no doubt: the family home was hell for its youngest inhabitants.
Life imprisonment and the challenge of overcoming trauma
After the police intervention, the brothers were rushed to a medical center to be treated.
Apparently, the only one who was moderately healthy was the youngest of all: a baby of only 2 years.
The parents were arrested that same day and charged with more than a dozen charges related to torture and child abuse.
In June 2018, for the crimes of ‘torture’, ‘child abuse’ and ‘unlawful deprivation of liberty’, they were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 25 years under intramural prison.
“There are cases that torment you. Some are human depravity, and that is what we are seeing here,” said the prosecutor in the case.
”My education and discipline at home were well-intentioned. I never intended to harm my children. I love my kids and I think my kids love me.” commented David Turpin through his lawyer at the trial.
“I cannot describe in words what we experienced growing up there”concluded one of the 13 outraged brothers.
The challenge of ‘starting from scratch’
After three years of quiet and discretion, in the next few days the American network ABC will broadcast an interview that they did a few weeks ago with two of the affected daughters.
The statements of the promotional video are heartbreaking: “We came close to dying many times”“My parents took over my whole life, but now I’m taking it back.”
The controversial case raised a wave of indignation at the time. Despite their parents’ condemnation, some of those affected wanted to ‘forgive’ them; Others have sought to turn the page and restart their lives without the chains that bound them, of course, love.
The truth is that the wound, so deep due to the damage and time, it seems that it will not close so easily.
Source: Elcomercio
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.
