13 victims, ages 2 to 29, kept shackled by parents

[William Parcher]

I wonder what's up with the "lewd act" bit. Wasn't one investigator or another categorically stating that no sexual abuse had occurred? Can a lewd act mean something non-sexual?

Maybe lewd can be something that is not sexual. I'm trying to imagine a lewd act that is not a sexual act... take a marker pen and write on your son's forehead, "My dick stinks!"

Yes, an investigator said there was no evidence of sexual abuse.

 

[William Parcher]

Shower only once a year. They must have had showers before all of the photos. They look clean and the hair is great.

I hope it's not a stupid prosecutor bias such as "well, regular baths but annual showers".

 

[ddt]

12-year-old has the weight of an average 7-year-old (no height mentioned).

29-year-old daughter weighs 82 pounds (no height mentioned).

82 pounds, that's like 37 kg? Wow, that is Auschwitz-level malnourishment.

http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/18/us/turpin-family-investigation/index.html

In the video, the prosecutor also mentions that the parents would buy pies for themselves to eat, and put them on the kitchen top for the children to look at, but not allow them to eat...

ETA: And then there's this:

The mother was "perplexed as to why" authorities came to her home, Riverside County Sheriff's Capt. Greg Fellows said Tuesday.

Really? She had no idea? Is she terminally stupid or just playing it?

 

[ponderingturtle]

82 pounds, that's like 37 kg? Wow, that is Auschwitz-level malnourishment.

Maybe, the other side is that they were so stunted they would not be quite as skelatal, unlike the full grown people at Auschwitz.

 

[ddt]

Maybe, the other side is that they were so stunted they would not be quite as skelatal, unlike the full grown people at Auschwitz.

Fair enough. On the upside, Auschwitz taught carers that you shouldn't let people who have been malnourished feast on large doses of food as that may be fatal.

This BBC article has some more juicy bits:

The sister of Louise Turpin, Elizabeth Flores, told ABC's Good Morning America programme that she had never felt comfortable around her brother-in-law, and accused him of watching her in the shower when she briefly lived with the couple.

"I thought they were really strict, but I didn't see any abuse," Ms Flores said.

Another sister, Teresa Robinette, said she was "hurt and shocked" by the revelations about the children's alleged treatment.

"I always made comments to Louise when I did talk to her, about, 'Gosh, they're so skinny.' And she would laugh it off: 'Well David's so tall and lanky. They're going to be like him'," she told NBC's Today programme.

And the neglect and abuse is not something from the last years. Jason Allen of CBS has tweeted some pictures of their former home in Fort Worth, Texas, where they used to live 18 years ago, how the new occupants found it when they moved out. Filthy and with scratches on the walls.

 

[William Parcher]

82 pounds, that's like 37 kg? Wow, that is Auschwitz-level malnourishment.

It does depend on the height though. I don't know why they aren't including height with the weight. Some posters here say that they look super short.

The oddity for me is that they don't look anything like Auschwitz in the photos including the most recent one. They are skinny or slender but Auschwitz emaciation just isn't seen in the pictures. It seems that they might have had great weight loss since those photos.

Really? She had no idea? Is she terminally stupid or just playing it?

An investigator said that the parents show no sign of mental illness and that's even after the mother's surprised reaction. To me that is a sign of mental illness - being clueless that something is very wrong. Anyway I hope his comment isn't just a dirty way of attempting to shut out an insanity defense.

 

[Checkmite]

Maybe lewd can be something that is not sexual. I'm trying to imagine a lewd act that is not a sexual act... take a marker pen and write on your son's forehead, "My dick stinks!"

Yes, an investigator said there was no evidence of sexual abuse.

It is possible that between the day the investigator said that and the day the charges were officially filed, something new was learned.

 

[William Parcher]

It is possible that between the day the investigator said that and the day the charges were officially filed, something new was learned.

Yeah, but sexual abuse and incest are well known charges. This one is about a lewd act of some sort. It's weird because it's a term we don't hear in criminal charges. Like something straight out of 1916.

 

[cullennz]

It is this

CA Penal Code 288 - LEWD ACTS WITH A MINOR

To be convicted of Lewd Acts with a Minor Under 14, CA Penal Code 288, the prosecutor must prove:

• That you willfully touched any part of a child’s body or that you willfully caused a child to touch his/her own body, your body, or another’s person’s body
• That you did so with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passion, or sexual desires of your or of the child

 

[William Parcher]

Both parents pleaded not guilty today. He has a public defender and she has a private lawyer. The next court date is Feb. 28th.

The children had never been to a dentist and have not been to a doctor in 4 years. Apparently, no doctor called the police. How could that happen given what we have been told about their condition and treatment?

The children were allowed to write and keep personal journals. The investigators have them - hundreds of pages.

 

[Puppycow]

82 pounds, that's like 37 kg? Wow, that is Auschwitz-level malnourishment.


In the video, the prosecutor also mentions that the parents would buy pies for themselves to eat, and put them on the kitchen top for the children to look at, but not allow them to eat...

ETA: And then there's this:

Really? She had no idea? Is she terminally stupid or just playing it?

Religion. According to the Bible all of that is perfectly fine I'm sure.

But seriously, perhaps they lived in an information bubble: No TV, no news, modern culture could be totally foreign because they intentionally tried to keep it out of their lives lest it infect the children with ideas contrary to their religious beliefs. The father seems to be the only one with much interaction with the outside world.

 

[William Parcher]

Severe malnutrition is the general description given of their condition. You saw the laundry list of their other physical and mental conditions. There is no mention of growth stunting or abnormally small size.

They are reported to be so uneducated and detached from the world that they didn't know what a police officer is. Yet a girl called the police.

We are now told that a son was attending college. Wait, what? Months on end in shackles and severe malnutrition with neurological problems and no knowledge of what police are and he's in college?

Dots of logic and reason and cause and effect cannot be connected.

Severe malnutrition and wearing chains for months and you go to the doctor and he says ok see you later have a nice day?

One shower per year, in chains for weeks and months, shockingly malnourished and they all go for a romp at Disneyland with cute matching shirts and pose for a smiling picture that looks like a happy Brady Bunch?

WTF? Where is their information on the perpetually ongoing abusive treatment coming from? Why the hell do they all look good and healthy and happy in all the photographs?

 

[William Parcher]

Overhead in Las Vegas: Hey you girls - your hair looks fantastic, how do you do it? We're severely malnourished and we shower once a year. Oh.

 

[mgidm86]

I'm not sure what else there is to talk about. These people are nuts, it happens. Sure is a shocker.

I think it could be the clothes and hair styles in the photos that make them look younger. Especially the girls, they're dressed like dorks. Poor kids.

People who have that many kids gross me out, it makes me ill thinking about it. Like eww don't touch me you demented freaks! Lock these idiots up or shoot them, get the kids some help. Next!

Ok I don't know what mood I was in or what I thought the thread was about when I posted this, but I just read a detailed report of how these kids were treated and I'm sick to my stomach. A lot of new details have been released.

I was wrong, there is plenty to discuss here, or at least to be horrified by. I regret my earlier flippant answer. I don't even know what to quote out of the article(s) - all of it is beyond horrific.

"I'm not crazy about the death penalty but..." definitely applies to me here, unless it isn't deemed harsh enough. I'm open to suggestions. I hope they are treated exponentially worse than their kids ever were, though I don't see how that's even possible.

If there were any replies to my post I didn't read them. I came straight to it and hit "quote" after reading the article. This is one of the most disgusting and disturbing stories I've ever heard.

 

[Checkmite]

They are reported to be so uneducated and detached from the world that they didn't know what a police officer is. Yet a girl called the police.

Note that the girl called 911, not police specifically.

We are now told that a son was attending college. Wait, what? Months on end in shackles and severe malnutrition with neurological problems and no knowledge of what police are and he's in college?

Where did you see that? I haven't seen it in any of the articles I've read.

 

[Minoosh]

"I'm not crazy about the death penalty but..." definitely applies to me here, unless it isn't deemed harsh enough.

I'm not aware of any death penalty except in cases of first degree murder and, possibly, treason (federal). California hasn't executed anyone since 2006.

 

[Puppycow]

12-year-old has the weight of an average 7-year-old (no height mentioned).

29-year-old daughter weighs 82 pounds (no height mentioned).



http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/18/us/turpin-family-investigation/index.html

For a 29-year-old woman to weigh 82 pounds is off the chart:
http://halls.md/average-weight-women/

(wish I had a better link, but it's below the 5th percentile and is close to a normal weight for an 11-year-old girl.)

It sounds like the sort of weight you might hear about in a case of extreme anorexia or bulimia.

I think we can say that their normal physical development was stunted.

I see in that article that the judge upped the bail from $9 million each to $12 million each.

 

[cullennz]

For a 29-year-old woman to weigh 82 pounds is off the chart:
http://halls.md/average-weight-women/

(wish I had a better link, but it's below the 5th percentile and is close to a normal weight for an 11-year-old girl.)

It sounds like the sort of weight you might hear about in a case of extreme anorexia or bulimia.

I think we can say that their normal physical development was stunted.

I see in that article that the judge upped the bail from $9 million each to $12 million each.

The bail top up was the extra charges I think

Might be wrong

 

[Elagabalus]

The haircut!

Exactly! Enginerds - gotta' compensate for not feeling the mojo!

 

[William Parcher]

Note that the girl called 911, not police specifically.

911 is how you call the police. But we're told that they don't know what a police officer is. We're told they are uneducated and detached from the real world. Yet the girl knows how to operate a cellphone.

Where did you see that? I haven't seen it in any of the articles I've read.

It's in many articles. I was looking at BBC, CNN, Washington Post and DailyMail. You are going to find it.