Turpin Family Update Children
The Turpin children are "improved" since they left their family home, where they were tortured and abused by their parents Louise and David Turpin for years. David and Louise Turpin, the parents who allegedly held their 13 children captive, appear in court on February 23, 2018 in Riverside, California where each have been charged with 12 counts of torture, 12 counts of false improsonment, seven counts of abuse of a dependent adult and six counts of child abuse, with the father also charged with one count of a lewd act on a child under the age of 14 by force, fear or duress, of fear or duress, of which they have pleaded not guilty. Getty Images/Damian Dovarganes

With David and Louise Turpin behind bars for abusing and torturing 12 of their 13 children, the family is learning to adjust after years of neglect.

Louise’s sister Elizabeth Flores told Radar Online that the children have “improved” and are “developing greatly” after the abuse.

The Turpin children were kept shackled to furniture within the home by Louise and David and were rarely allowed to shower. Some of the children had issues with stunted growth and wasted muscles, The Sun reported. They told authorities of how they had been beaten, starved, and held in cages, according to the news outlet.

The abuse against the children that ranged in age from two to 29 continued for years, until one of the daughters, 17, was able to escape and call the police. The police also found the children severely malnourished, and the home smelled of human waste, The Sun reported.

Flores told Radar Online that “all the children are still separated” with “all the younger ones” placed in foster homes. The older children are in an assistant living facility, Flores told the news outlet.

While Flores would love to adopt all of the 13 children, she told Radar Online, she “doesn’t have the resources to adopt them.”

David and Louise are facing a life sentence in prison with the chance of parole after 25 years. They will be on probation for life if they get paroled.

Charges against the couple including adult abuse, child endangerment, false imprisonment, and torture. They pleaded guilty to the multiple charges, which will eliminate the need for the children to testify against their parents, The Sun reported.

Sentencing for the Turpins is slated for April 29.

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