• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

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

Minoosh said:
There are cases of parents abusing some siblings and not others.

Fair point but those trips to Vegas and Disneyland weren't free. And perhaps there was underfeeding that was not related to affordability.

Are there news stories out there telling us more yet?

If puberty were delayed, I'm sure that could affect facial features. I've also noticed that with profound disability (I'm talking major head trauma, kids brain-damaged, diapered and in wheelchairs for life) teenagers sometimes look much younger.
Click to expand...

Why Vegas? It didn't get the nickname "Sin City" for nothing. Seems an odd choice for the hyper religious. I figure them for more of the Branson Missouri types.
 
ponderingturtle said:
So what? You do not have to be emaciated to be malnourished, and it certainly seems to have effected their development. You can be obese and malnourished, if you are not getting the right balance of nutrients. So why focus entirely on if they look emaciated in staged photos?
Click to expand...

I don't see anything unusual about his questions/observations. It's puzzling. For malnutrition to stunt growth one would think it would have to be an ongoing problem for years, yet photos from just a few years ago don't corroborate what we know.
 
Information Analyst said:
Yeah, the kids are all wearing identical clothes, with variance only for gender. That's *********** creepy when it's twins, let alone a brood this size.
Click to expand...
The matching clothes may have been the childrens' idea and the parents went along with it to please them. We just don't know these kinds of details.
 
ponderingturtle said:
Also helps to have cart blanch with regards to schooling and no need for inspection or seeing doctors. Really helps you keep the kids locked in the basement.
Click to expand...
We don't know if the house has a basement. I believe I read that it has two bedrooms. We also don't know if the kids were actually locked inside the house or any rooms.

http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/17/us/california-turpin-home-schooling/index.html

"Riverside County Sheriff's Capt. Greg Fellows, who likened the siblings' treatment to torture, said their mother was "perplexed as to why" authorities came to her home.
The California Department of Education does not have the authority to monitor or inspect private schools, according to a statement from spokesman Scott Roark."
Click to expand...
In one article I read that California requires periodic fire inspections for private schools including home schools. It's reported that there is no record of any fire inspections happening at this house. Government might have to explain that.
 
Craig4 said:
Would not a "slightly emaciated" 10 year old be a really emaciated 17 year old?
Click to expand...
I don't understand this question.

Craig4 said:
Why Vegas? It didn't get the nickname "Sin City" for nothing. Seems an odd choice for the hyper religious. I figure them for more of the Branson Missouri types.
Click to expand...
They seem to have gone there to visit those quickie marriage chapels. They went three times to renew their wedding vows. They liked to have an Elvis impersonator there and we know that Elvis is as close to Jesus as any human could ever be. Elvis was Jesus in mortal form.

We don't know where they stayed or what else they did in Las Vegas. We are told that they drove there. It would be an impressive vehicle that holds 15 people.

Las Vegas is generally associated with adults. But there are hotels and attractions for families with kids. They may have done that with those theme parks and amusement facilities for their kids to have fun and enjoy. It's also possible that they did go to Branson, Missouri as well. We just don't know these details.

We know that they are religious but they didn't attend any church. Some folks would see them shopping at the supermarket with a small herd of kids brought along.

Neighbors saw the kids setting up a nativity scene in the yard. They saw them mowing the lawns as a team effort. Saw them laying sod in the backyard (strangely at night under floodlights). One neighbor described the kids as being childlike because they always skipped when trotting down the local sidewalks. When I was a kid that was an expression of fun and joy which you shared with others.
 
Last edited:
Information Analyst said:
I'd go with "creepy" over "childrens' idea" any day of the week.
Click to expand...
You are Information Analyst because you analyze information.

In one photo they all wear numerical "Thing" t-shirts. That's straight from Dr. Seuss cartoon stories. Those kids may have loved those stories and that's why the parents had them custom made. It's not so creepy to have your huge family all happily participate in a group shirt theme. Some would say that's a sign of family love. The Brady Bunch would have done it.

"Hey sis, let's trade shirts. You be Thing 7 and I'll be Thing 6. Let's see how long it takes them to notice. Hee hee ha ha. It will be so funny!"

Analyze that information.
 
Does it really matter if they had the kids shackled for a few years or if it was longer? A few days of shackling should effectively erase any past well-meaning family trips. Who cares? (I may be missing the point.)

Stories like this really upset me, because I am a huge proponent of people minding their own business and the state staying out of private affairs as much as possible. But something like this - if their neighbors had been nosier (like some of my mom's, they figure it out when somebody in the neighborhood has a head cold), or if the state followed rules about periodically inspecting homeschool residences, stuff like this couldn't go on for extended periods.

Maybe it's just because I'm a freak, but to me, shackling people to beds has a real implicit sexual vibe as well. It is so unbelievably creepy that parents could do this. I wish I hadn't read this story. I need brain bleach.
 
Checkmite said:
Over a dozen kids, overbearing parents who think squalor and torture is the correct way to raise children; certainly sounds like one of those quiver-full cells. But, there's still a chance it isn't.
Click to expand...
Quick... TLC needs to offer the family a reality show!
 
William Parcher said:
The matching clothes may have been the childrens' idea and the parents went along with it to please them. We just don't know these kinds of details.
Click to expand...

FWIW, if we didn't buy them matching outfits, my twins would fight. We didn't make them wear the same outfit at the same time, though.
 
isissxn said:
Does it really matter if they had the kids shackled for a few years or if it was longer? A few days of shackling should effectively erase any past well-meaning family trips. Who cares? (I may be missing the point.)

Stories like this really upset me, because I am a huge proponent of people minding their own business and the state staying out of private affairs as much as possible. But something like this - if their neighbors had been nosier (like some of my mom's, they figure it out when somebody in the neighborhood has a head cold), or if the state followed rules about periodically inspecting homeschool residences, stuff like this couldn't go on for extended periods.

Maybe it's just because I'm a freak, but to me, shackling people to beds has a real implicit sexual vibe as well. It is so unbelievably creepy that parents could do this. I wish I hadn't read this story. I need brain bleach.
Click to expand...
We don't know anything about the shackling (said to be a chain). We don't know why or for how long or for who. But you don't need to know a lot to know that it's not normal at all.

It may have been a form of punishment for hours or a day. Some parents punish their kids by grounding them inside the house. You can't go out and play with your friends and go places. But these kids rarely leave the yard anyway and they don't seem to have neighborhood friends. Maybe the chain was a weird and cruel punishment involving not being able to run around the house and play with your siblings or get in front of the TV.

When found, 3 of them were chained and 10 were not.

We read about other terrible cases of child bondage where the kid(s) are permanently shackled to prevent escape or violent retaliation. This one seems to have differences as so many of them weren't chained. And this case has happy family photos at Disneyland when others do not. Yes, they could have been conditioned to not try to run away or gang tackle a parent or stab or whatever. But you can't really physically control that situation if the kids launch a mutiny and run for the exits to summon the police and neighbors.

I hope nobody here thinks I'm trying to defend the parents or minimize the gravity of the known situation. I'm not. I'm trying to understand what was going on and I'm talking about it out loud. There are a lot of unanswered questions, though some might say we already know everything we should need to know.
 
William Parcher said:
We don't know anything about the shackling (said to be a chain). We don't know why or for how long or for who. But you don't need to know a lot to know that it's not normal at all.

It may have been a form of punishment for hours or a day. Some parents punish their kids by grounding them inside the house. You can't go out and play with your friends and go places. But these kids rarely leave the yard anyway and they don't seem to have neighborhood friends. Maybe the chain was a weird and cruel punishment involving not being able to run around the house and play with your siblings or get in front of the TV.

When found, 3 of them were chained and 10 were not.

We read about other terrible cases of child bondage where the kid(s) are permanently shackled to prevent escape or violent retaliation. This one seems to have differences as so many of them weren't chained. And this case has happy family photos at Disneyland when others do not. Yes, they could have been conditioned to not try to run away or gang tackle a parent or stab or whatever. But you can't really physically control that situation if the kids launch a mutiny and run for the exits to summon the police and neighbors.

I hope nobody here thinks I'm trying to defend the parents or minimize the gravity of the known situation. I'm not. I'm trying to understand what was going on and I'm talking about it out loud. There are a lot of unanswered questions, though some might say we already know everything we should need to know.
Click to expand...

So can people not see the forest for the trees here?

If I'm going to abuse my kids (likely in this case with increasing severity over the years) I'm going to do things that will make it look like I'm not. Seldom will abusers be very obvious especially with this level of abuse.

Personally, it seems to fit the mold pretty well. You don't get away with these things by being obvious.
 
William Parcher said:
We don't know anything about the shackling (said to be a chain). We don't know why or for how long or for who. But you don't need to know a lot to know that it's not normal at all.

It may have been a form of punishment for hours or a day. Some parents punish their kids by grounding them inside the house. You can't go out and play with your friends and go places. But these kids rarely leave the yard anyway and they don't seem to have neighborhood friends. Maybe the chain was a weird and cruel punishment involving not being able to run around the house and play with your siblings or get in front of the TV.
When found, 3 of them were chained and 10 were not.

We read about other terrible cases of child bondage where the kid(s) are permanently shackled to prevent escape or violent retaliation. This one seems to have differences as so many of them weren't chained. And this case has happy family photos at Disneyland when others do not. Yes, they could have been conditioned to not try to run away or gang tackle a parent or stab or whatever. But you can't really physically control that situation if the kids launch a mutiny and run for the exits to summon the police and neighbors.

I hope nobody here thinks I'm trying to defend the parents or minimize the gravity of the known situation. I'm not. I'm trying to understand what was going on and I'm talking about it out loud. There are a lot of unanswered questions, though some might say we already know everything we should need to know.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I think you might be on to something with the highlighted bit.

And yeah, I see what you're saying now about deciphering this oddness. It is a lot different from the (ugh) "typical cases" of this sort.

The Vegas thing makes it all even stranger. Does not seem to fit with the usual quiverfull stereotype.
 
The children were chained for weeks or months as punishment. Here are the charges from today's arraignment...

12 counts of torture.
1 count against David Turpin of a lewd act on a child.
7 counts of abuse against a dependent adult.
6 counts of child abuse/neglect.
12 counts of false imprisonment.

If found guilty of all charges they face 94 years to life in prison.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42741049
 
William Parcher said:
The children were chained for weeks or months as punishment. Here are the charges from today's arraignment...

12 counts of torture.
1 count against David Turpin of a lewd act on a child.
7 counts of abuse against a dependent adult.
6 counts of child abuse/neglect.
12 counts of false imprisonment.

If found guilty of all charges they face 94 years to life in prison.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42741049
Click to expand...

The haircut!
 
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).

CNN said:
Besides suffering severe caloric malnutrition associated with muscle wasting, several have cognitive impairment and "neuropathy, which is nerve damage, as a result of this extreme and prolonged physical abuse," District Attorney Hestrin said...

not allowed to shower more than once a year...

David and Louise Turpin would tie up or chain their offspring as punishment -- both the minor children and the adults...

"Punishment would last weeks or even months at a time," Hestrin said. Evidence, he added, suggests that the victims often were not released from their chains to go to the bathroom...
Click to expand...

http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/18/us/turpin-family-investigation/index.html
 
William Parcher said:
The children were chained for weeks or months as punishment. Here are the charges from today's arraignment...

12 counts of torture.
1 count against David Turpin of a lewd act on a child.
7 counts of abuse against a dependent adult.
6 counts of child abuse/neglect.
12 counts of false imprisonment.

If found guilty of all charges they face 94 years to life in prison.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42741049
Click to expand...

You nailed it.

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?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom