The Turpin family documentary latest

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TURPIN CHILDREN?

David and Louise Turpin made headlines back in 2018 after it was revealed they imprisoned and abused their children.

The kids had been chained to filthy beds and forced to live in squalor for years. They were fed only once a day, allowed to shower just once a year, and were deprived of toys and games.

Their parents starved them to the point that they stopped growing and the children suffered from muscle shrinkage.

The kids lived on bologna and peanut butter sandwiches while their parents ate take-out, according to People.

JENNIFER: WE LIVED ‘IN HOUSES PILED WITH TRASH’

As the years went on, her parents moved on from neglect to full-on abuse, and Jennifer Turpin said they were pulled from school and only taught to remember what grade they were supposed to be in, in case someone asked.

The years she did go to school, from first to third grade, Jennifer said she wore the same clothes every day, and kids didn’t want to be near her.

“I probably smelled,” Jennifer said. “But I didn’t realize at the time I smelled, but that stench clings to you… because we would literally live in houses piled with trash.”

LOUISE TURPIN ‘CHOKED’ JORDAN TURPIN AFTER DISCOVERING BIEBER VIDEOS

“He was like, ‘This isn’t right, you should call the cops’ … I was so happy to hear him say that because I was like, ‘I was right. I was right that this situation is bad,'” Jordan continued.

When Louise found out about the Bieber videos, she attacked Jordan and began choking her.

“I thought I was going to die that day,” she said.

“After that whole day happened, I kept having nightmares that… she was going to kill me.”

That’s when Jordan began planning her escape.

‘I DON’T KNOW WHERE WE WOULD BE IF WE DIDN’T WATCH JUSTIN BIEBER’

The Turpin children’s only view of the outside world was the occasional film they watched in secret when their parents were out.

In 2015, Jordan found an old smartphone and discovered Justin Bieber’s music videos.

“I don’t know where we would be if we didn’t watch Justin Bieber,” she said.

“I started realizing that there is a different whole world out there… I wanted to experience that.”

After watching more videos, she began posting videos of herself singing on social media and got a response from one of her posts, asking why she was always inside and awake at night.

“I did tell him that I didn’t really go to school, and I wasn’t allowed to go in the backyard or front yard and that I’m always kept inside, and I told him how we eat and how we’re not allowed to get out of bed,” she said. 

JUSTIN BIEBER INSPIRED JORDAN TURPIN

In a clip released ahead of the interview, Jordan Turpin told Diane Sawyer that watching Justin Bieber videos inspired her.

“After secretly watching @JustinBieber videos, she says she was inspired to make a plan to escape,” 20/20 teased on Twitter.

WHAT HAS LOUISE TURPIN’S YOUNGER SISTER SAID?

Elizabeth Flores, Louise’s younger sister, said: “I actually didn’t know anything. I haven’t seen them since 2010.”

“We were all raised up in a strict Christian home,” she told author John Glatt, for his book The Family Next Door.

Elizabeth recalled David and Louise being extremely strict with their kids.

“They had to ask permission to go to the bathroom. They had to ask permission to eat.”

“We thought [Louise] had the perfect life,” said her half-brother Billy Robinette Jr.

CHILLING 911 CALL

Jordan Turpin was the one who ultimately called 911 and reported the abuse she and her siblings faced.

Speaking with a dispatcher, she said about her life and parents David and Louise Turpin: “I just ran away from home because I live in a family of 15. OK? Can you hear me? And we have abusing parents. Did you hear that?”

When the dispatcher asked her to describe how her parents were abusing her and her siblings, she said: “OK, They hit us. They like to throw us across the room. They pull out hair. They yank out our hair.”

“I have two… My two little sisters right now are chained up.”

She said her parents would “literally kill me” if they found out she had escaped.

MOTHER LOUISE WAS PRONE TO MOOD SWINGS, SAYS JENNIFER

Police rushed to the Turpin family’s home on January 14, 2018, after receiving a 911 call from Jordan Turpin that they were held captive and some siblings were chained to their beds.

In the exclusive interview with Sawyer, Jennifer said she remembers her homelife changed when her parents moved to Fort Worth, Texas, and eventually the house became overrun with dirt, trash, and mold.

Her mother, Louise, became prone to mood swings and would continuously lash out at the children for something as small as asking a question.

“I never knew which side I was going to get of her,” she said.

“If I was going to ask her a question, [is] she going to call me stupid or something… and then yank me across the floor or [is] she going to be nice and answer my question.”

JENNIFER REACHED A BREAKING POINT

Jennifer told Sawyer she did run away once but was so worried about her siblings she returned only a day later.

In the leadup to gaining their freedom, Jennifer said her parents started chaining her siblings to the bed, sometimes for months on end.

It wasn’t until Jordan was nearly choked to death that the possibility of escape started to take form.

‘THEY ARE MOVING ON WITH THEIR LIVES’

At the time of their rescue, Child Protective Services (CPS) and Adult Protective Services (APS) were called and the Turpin siblings were given food and drink after they were found emaciated in their home.

Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham told People in 2020: “They’re all happy.”

“They are moving on with their lives.”.

JANE DOE NO. 4’S WORDS OF HOPE

One daughter, identified as Jane Doe No.4, said her parents had taken “her whole life away”, but she was reclaiming it, PEOPLE reports.

She said: “They almost changed me but I realized what was happening and I immediately did what I could to not become like them.”

The unnamed daughter said she’s a fighter and she’s “shooting through life like a rocket.”

WHEN WERE THE TURPINS SENTENCED?

In February 2019, David and Louise Turpin pleaded guilty to torture and years of abuse of their children.

They admitted to 14 counts that included cruelty toward all but their toddler daughter, and imprisoning the children in a house festering with filth and reeking of human waste.

The guilty pleas were important to spare the children from testifying, though they were allowed to speak at the sentencing if they choose, said Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin.

In April 2019 a judge sentenced the pair to 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 22 years.

JENNIFER AND JORDAN HAVE RECEIVED ‘HUNDREDS’ OF DMS

Jennifer and Jordan Turpin also said on Good Morning America that they’ve received “hundreds” of DMs and lots of “comments” and “followers” after the special aired.

“All the love and support I’m getting is…it’s overwhelming,” Jennifer said.

JENNIFER TURPIN IS ‘PROUD’ OF HER SISTER JORDAN

Jennifer Turpin was also asked what it was like to watch her younger sister run and get help and she said was immensely proud of Jordan Turpin.

“So much pride,” she said. “I think that’s why I cried the hardest.”

In the Good Morning America interview, Jennifer began to get emotional, and her sister took her hand and the two embraced while Jennifer repeated just how proud she was of her little sister.

“I couldn’t have been more proud.”

JENNIFER TURPIN ON ‘RELIVING’ THE NIGHT THEY WERE RESCUED

Jennifer and Jordan Turpin appeared on Good Morning America and spoke about how they’re feeling since the “House of Horrors” special came out.

“It was very emotional, brought back all the emotions,” Jennifer Turpin said.

“That was the first time, me seeing that footage,” she added. “Of course I lived it but still, the actual footage.”

“I’m so glad we got out of there.”

“It made me feel silenced, but there’s always a way out…there’s always hope, even if it feels like there’s none.”

HOW MUCH IN DONATIONS DID THE CHILDREN RECEIVE?

More than $500,000 in donations were raised by local groups for the care of the Turpin children, after they were removed from their abusive home.

The funds were gathered to help provide medical and dental care, educational assistance and other services for the abused siblings.

TODDLER NOT ABUSED

The Turpin parents abused all of their children except their toddler daughter, investigators concluded.

The toddler is their youngest child.

WHY DIDN’T JORDAN KNOW HER ADDRESS?

Jordan spent her entire life in isolation, and therefore was unfamiliar with her home address, the month of the year, or what the word “medication” meant.

She did, however, understand to dial 911 for help, and took photos of the abuse to show responding officers as proof.

TURPIN CHILDREN IMPRISONED PAST CHILDHOOD

Back in 2018 when authorities rescued the children, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said:

“Deputies located what they believed to be 12 children inside the house, but were shocked to discover that seven of them were actually adults.”

WHERE IS JORDAN TURPIN NOW?

During the interview with Diane Sawyer, which was recorded this summer, 21-year-old Jordan Turpin said: “Right now, I don’t really have a way to get food right now.

“I also don’t really have a place to go right now, but I have my older siblings helping me out.”

Jordan is currently in a school program that provides temporary housing.

WHERE IS JENNIFER TURPIN NOW?

Jennifer Turpin sat down for an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer alongside her sister, Jordan, to share the horrors they endured.

Jennifer, 33, has turned to music after years of abuse at the hands of her parents.

Her first moment of freedom hit her while sitting in her hospital room, when she said she just danced.

“Music was playing, I got up,” she told Sawyer.

“I made sure there was a little bit of a floor cleared out and I danced.”

Turpin aspired to be a published author, although she didn’t specify what books she hopes to write.

Currently, she works at a restaurant, writes Christian pop music, and finds simple pleasure in the act of getting fresh air and going for a walk.

WHO ARE JENNIFER AND JORDAN TURPIN’S SIBLINGS?

During the ABC interview, Jennifer and Jordan were tight-lipped about their siblings because they wanted to protect their privacy 

They are said to be living normal lives since their release and continue to meet up with one another. 

Many have jobs or are attending educational institutions. Some are living on their own.

Jordan told ABC News: “It feels at home, being with all of us.

“Every time we’re together, it’s a very special moment, because we always know at the end of the day, we’re always gonna have each other.”

LISTEN TO JORDAN TURPIN’S 911 CALL

Back in 2018, Jordan Turpin built up the courage to escape her home and call 911.

BREAD AND PEANUT BUTTER

The Turpin siblings usually ate bread and peanut butter, but their parents would “always eat fast food” or other full meals, Jennifer explained.

Other foods the Turpin siblings would eat were bologna or chips.

Jordan recounted to Diane Sawyer how she sometimes would eat Ketchup and ice.