Turpin family: Dogs in House of Horrors were ‘well fed’ as children ‘starved’

Two healthy dogs were recovered from the house where the 13 children of David, 57, and Louise, 49, were found allegedly starved and tortured by their parents.

It comes as David Turpin, 57, and his 49-year-old wife Louisa denied more than two dozen charges of torture, abuse and false imprisonment when they appeared in court yesterday.

They face 94 years to life in prison if convicted.

The health of the dogs has come as a shock and a contrast to the children, aged from two to 29-years-old, who were malnourished and mentally impaired as a result of abuse. 

Perris city spokesman Joe Vargo said the dogs were in a “good” health condition. 

Senior animal control officer, Christina Avila, said the one-year-old females, one white and one black, appear to be leash-trained.

Photos of the dogs show them to be kept nourished, clean and healthy and they will later be put up for adoption. 

The Turpin children are in recovery in two Californian hospitals.

On Thursday, prosecutors said the siblings were severely malnourished, specifically having suffered muscle wasting, and some had suffered cognitive impairment and nerve damage as a result of the prolonged abuse.

The younger children could begin growing again once their nutrition improves but may never reach their full heights. Those who lost IQ might recover some of their intellect but not all of it.

According to prosecutors the parents, who were charged with multiple counts of torture, child abuse and false imprisonment, gave little food to their children, ranging in age from two to 29 years old.

Prosecutors said the abuse may have gone on for years. The couple even taunted their offspring by displaying desserts that they were not allowed to eat.

The children were chained and padlocked to their beds and would sometimes be chained for months, the authorities said. 

The couple appeared in court in Riverside, California on Thursday where they denied all 75 charges against them. 

If the couple are convicted of all the charges, they face at least 94 years in jail each. 

The parents are accused of torturing their 13 children and keeping them up all night and allowing them to sleep in the day to avoid any outside witnesses seeing the abuse. 

And the 17-year-old girl who escaped from the family’s house in Perris, California this week to call the police and reveal the alleged abuse, was so emaciated she appeared to be only 10, authorities said.

Police have described the torture as an “escalating climate of brutality” that began in Texas and ended in the small Californian town of Perris.

At a news conference, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said: “The parents would apparently buy food for themselves and not allow the children to eat it.

“They would buy food, including pies, apple pies, pumpkin pies, leave it on the counter, let the children look at it but not eat the food.”