Earlier this year, the world became captivated and equally distressed by news that a Californian couple allegedly shackled and tortured 13 children in their American home.
In January, David Turpin, 57, and his wife, Louise, 49, were charged with imprisoning and torturing their 13 children. Their 17-year-old daughter escaped and called police, telling them her siblings, who were aged between two and 29, were being held captive in their home. Multiple media outlets reported the girl looked smaller than her age and mistakenly believed she was only 10-years-old.
When police swarmed the house, they allegedly found 13 malnourished children filthy and chained to a bed. Neighbours were shocked to discover the Turpin’s had younger children, having only ever witnessed older kids emerging from the house occasionally.
Many people have questioned how friends and family of David and Louise failed to notice something was wrong. As a new documentary focusing on the case is set to go to air in America, Louise’s own sister has given her recount of what happened. In addition to appearing in The Turpin 13: Family Secrets exposed, Teresa Robinette has explained her side of the story to Fox News. By her account, she was completely unaware of the twisted secrets her sister kept.
“I was cleaning house, cooking dinner, doing my routine,” Robinette explained to Fox News. “And then [our sister] Elizabeth called. She told me to sit down… I looked at the news and I just – I don’t really know how to describe the feeling to you.”
She explained it felt as though she was living in a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. When it sunk in that the news was true, she said she felt mad. As a result of her sister’s actions, Robinette has been the subject of hate mail from people who are convinced she knew about the abuse.
“I didn’t want people to think I had something to hide,” Robinette said. “If we didn’t come forward, people would have felt like we knew things and we were attempting to cover them up because I’m her sister… But there’s no way we would have stood for that. That’s why she distanced herself from us.”
She added that she never personally saw any of the children being abused, but often wondered why the couple isolated themselves away from the rest of the family. She also explained she only met the four older children and only ever interacted with the younger kids through video chat.
Over time, Robinette said her sister got stranger, especially when the frequent video chats ended abruptly. She didn’t speak to her sister for eight years.
According to reports, the children in the home were restricted to one shower a year, while the Turpin parents would feed their kids one small meal a day. It is thought the kids started getting tied up with ropes years ago, with the Turpins upgrading to padlocks and chains when a child attempted to escape.
Strangely, photos on the Turpin family Facebook page told a different story. One photo showed the family on a trip to Disney World, while others showed the family celebrating at a Las Vegas wedding where an Elvis impersonator married David and Louise. The couple have denied any wrongdoings, while their kids were all rushed to hospital to recover after being discovered.