David and Louise Turpin, the couple on trial after their 13 children were found abused, some shackled to beds, were Pentecostals, David’s parents say.
“I feel they were model Christians,” Betty Turpin says. “It’s hard to believe all of this. Over the years, the Lord knows what happened.”
James and Betty Turpin say they were “surprised and shocked” by the arrest and charges, according to ABC News. Though they haven’t seen the children in half a decade, the couple believed their son’s brood to be a “happy family.”
The elder Turpins say the younger were practicing Pentecostals, though they were not associated with a church at the time of their arrest. The couple reportedly had many children because “God called on them” and homeschooled them to teach them Scripture memorization.
The Turpins were arrested earlier this month when a daughter escaped from the house and dialed 9-1-1. When authorities arrived, horrors greeted them, including malnourished children shackled to their beds.
Psychiatrist Dr. Peter Breggin says David Turpin took over the lives of his wife and children “in an extreme fashion beyond anything I’ve ever seen,” adding, “He kept them in complete isolation, he starved them. I’m sure he tortured and abused them. They’re so malnourished the 29-year-old is said to look like a 10-year-old.”
CNN reports the pair beat, choked and tied most of the siblings up as punishment. It’s unclear if the toddler was tortured. The parents allegedly deprived the children of water and fed them small portions of food on a strict schedule.
A judge barred David and Louise Turpin from contacting their children. Though the couple pleaded not guilty to the charges, they are being held at $12 million bail each. If convicted, they each face life in prison.
Supporters for the children rushed forth after the reports broke. The Riverside University Health System established a fund to aid the abused children.
“Our phones started ringing almost immediately with calls from private individuals and organizations wanting to know how they can help,” says Erin Phillips, executive director of RUHS Foundation. She said the 501(c)3 charity will transfer 100 percent of all funds raised to a trust being established for the siblings’ long-term needs.
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