Turpin Family Update: Five Children Are Attending College After Living In A House Of Horrors

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

Since Louise and David Turpin pleaded guilty to torturing and abusing 12 of their 13 children in what has been labeled the California House of Horrors, the children have begun to adjust and are ready to begin a life of freedom.

With some of the Turpin children testifying against their parents at the time of sentencing, it was an emotionally charged event, but it hasn’t stopped them from moving on as five of the children are going to college, People reported.

The oldest daughter at 30 told the Riverside County Superior Court judge that she was living on her own and attending college.

“They are incredibly hopeful and optimistic about their futures and are relieved to be out from under that type of lifestyle, that burden,” Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin told People. “We can take some hope and solace about how resilient the human spirit is.”

Louise and David were sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole after 25 years. The couple gave emotional statements in court with Louise being brought to tears and David choking out the words to an apology to his children.

The children were rescued after one of the couple’s 17-year-old daughters escaped through a window and called 911 for help. The police arrived at the Turpin’s Perris, California, home and arrested David and Louise in January 2018.

The parents were charged with 14 felony counts including torture and false imprisonment for the starvation, shackling, and abuse of their children who ranged in age from two to 29 at the time of the arrest.

“There was a whole system in place where these parents sort of, bit by bit, took away the humanity of their children,” Hestrin told the news outlet. “It was stunning in its effectiveness and its cruelty.”