Two years ago, the neighborhood watch of the Perris community where David and Louise Turpin lived with their 13 children held a Christmas decorating contest, offering $50 and $25 gift cards to the winners.
Some of the Turpin siblings joined in, placing a Nativity scene in their frontyard, with hay for the manger and a Nativity star in a window. Santa Claus sat in his sleigh near the garage.
When the winners were announced at a community gathering, the parents and five of their children were there.
Louise Turpin spent the evening chatting with a neighbor about her children, about the family's roots in West Virginia and Texas, and about their love of Las Vegas, said Salynn Simon, who lives across the street from the family's home...
...The alleged abuse started decades ago and grew worse in recent years.
But as their visit to the neighborhood watch meeting shows, the Turpin children were never completely hidden from the outside world...
And when a neighbor saw the children in their Murrieta home, before the family moved to Perris, marching at night in circles past two front windows, he did not have to make a special effort to see what was happening, he said. The blinds were open, and the lights were on...
Any red flags were lowered because his wife often made small talk with two of the Turpins' daughters on their way to the mailbox, he said...
As the story of the Turpins and their children has drawn international attention, numerous people with ties to the family have also come forward to offer details about their interactions with the Turpins over the years...
