Turpin family: CCTV reveals moment imprisoned children escape from 'house of horrors'
Children aged two to 29 were severely malnourished when they escaped on 14 January
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Your support makes all the difference.Footage has emerged of the moment the imprisoned Turpin family children escaped from their parents' "house of horrors".
Moments before police descended on the suburban home in Perris, California, the children, some of whom were allegedly tortured and shackled, the children can be seen filing out onto the drive.
One of them can be seen carrying a younger sibling, while another gets into a van parked outside the house where their parents allegedly held them captive.
David Turpin, 56, and his wife Louise Turpin, 49, have been charged with torture, abuse and false imprisonment.
They were arrested after one daughter escaped from through a window of the home and alerted authorities.
Investigators found a number of the children, who range in age from 2 to 29, shackled to beds with chains and padlocks. They said that some of them were severely malnourished.
When the couple appeared in court, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said the couple had allegedly punished their children by tying them up.
He said the alleged punishments would last weeks or months, and intensified over time.
It was also alleged that the children were accustomed to frequent beatings, including strangulation, were only allowed one shower a year and the Turpin parents allowed their children to eat just one meal a day although the parents would sometimes buy food and place it where the children could see it but not eat it.
Investigators also claimed that the children lack basic knowledge of life and did not know who a police officer was, they had never seen a dentist and had not visited a doctor in over four years.
All of the children were home-schooled, except for the eldest, meaning there was no obligation for them to come into contact with any outside parties under Californian law.
The Turpins have pleaded not guilty in Riverside County to multiple counts of torture, child abuse, abuse of dependent adults and false imprisonment.
David Turpin, 56, has also been charged with one count of a lewd act on a child by force.
If convicted, he and his wife Louise, 49, face up to 94 years to life in prison.
They are being held on bail of $12m (£8.6m) each and are due back in court on 23 February.
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