True Crime Vault: Escape from a House of Horror

Summary

Podcast Summary

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20/20 True Crime Vault: Escape from a House of Horror

Air Date: Feb 3, 2026
Host: Deborah Roberts, ABC News
Guests: Jordan Turpin, Jennifer Turpin, Deputy Anthony Kolachi, District Attorney Mike Hestrin, Investigator Wade Walsvik, Reporter David Scott, Melissa Donaldson

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Overview

This harrowing episode revisits the notorious Turpin family case, where 13 siblings were rescued in 2018 from horrific conditions of abuse and captivity in a seemingly ordinary California home. Featuring exclusive interviews with Jordan and Jennifer Turpin and key law enforcement and welfare voices, the episode reconstructs the escape, the rescue, and the challenges the siblings faced—both with their parents and after their liberation. The program combines emotional firsthand narratives with investigative reporting to spotlight systemic failures in safeguarding vulnerable children.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Night of Escape and Rescue

[00:00–16:40]

• Jordan Turpin, age 17 at the time, describes her trembling, desperate escape from the family home, her panic during the 911 call, and fear of being caught by her parents.
• The 911 call reveals Jordan’s limited view of the outside world; she is unsure how to describe her location, displaying both courage and unfamiliarity with simple things like sidewalks and street signs.
• Jordan’s principal motivation: rescuing her siblings who are chained, starved, and crying at night.
• Law enforcement arrives, and the initial deputy, Anthony Kolachi, is unsure what to make of Jordan’s story—until she provides photographic evidence of the abuse. (Photos of chained siblings.)

Key Quotes:

• “That was my only chance. At least if something happened to me, at least I died trying.” — Jordan Turpin [02:00]
• “The reason I ran away from home was because the chains would make them places. They would wake up at night and start crying…I wanted to call y’all so y’all can help my sister.” — Jordan Turpin [06:26]
• “If we went back, there’s no way I would be sitting here right now.” — Jordan Turpin [07:15]

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Inside the “House of Horror”

[16:40–56:52]

• Police body cams reveal scenes of filth, chains, emaciated children, squalor, and hidden malnourishment.
• The parents, David and Louise Turpin, feign normalcy and even attempt to distract the officers.
• Children are initially evasive and display little understanding of the outside world, including questions about basic concepts like “medication.”
• Evidence of years-long starvation and manipulation through twisted biblical justifications for abuse.
• The children, especially the older ones, acted as caretakers and were forced into impossible moral choices.

Key Quotes:

• “They literally use the Bible to explain their behavior toward us...they loved to point out things in Deuteronomy: ‘we have the right to do this to you, we have the right to even kill you if you don’t listen.’” — Jennifer Turpin [25:46]
• “All of us went through a lot...not even all of us know every single thing each one of us went through.” — Jennifer Turpin [21:35]

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The Roots of Abuse and Family Dynamics

[21:56–38:31]

• David and Louise Turpin’s backgrounds detail their religious upbringing, early marriage, and evolving isolation.
• Abuse escalates with more children, relocation, and Edwardian control: dog kennels as cages, beatings for minor infractions, stunted growth due to lack of food and hygiene.
• Jennifer is forced to mete out punishments, causing deep psychological wounds.

Key Quotes:

• “But living in that, you kind of feel like you’re torn–you don’t know what to do. Because I was on the brink of suicide. I wanted to just end it all, all my pain, everything.” — Jennifer Turpin [28:38]
• “We would literally live houses piled with trash...and there’s no good way to get rid of a smell like that.” — Jennifer Turpin [24:57]

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The Spark of Hope, Planning Escape

[39:08–49:41]

• Jordan discovers hope and information through a forbidden smartphone. Justin Bieber’s videos and Disney movies show her another world is possible, catalyzing her to dream of freedom.
• She secretly learns language, culture, and self-esteem by watching music videos and interviews.
• Jordan collects photographic evidence of her siblings’ abuse, plans with Jennifer, and bravely runs for help on news of an imminent move in which everyone would be chained again.

Key Quotes:

• “I started realizing there is a different world out there...I want to experience that.” — Jordan Turpin [39:45]
• “If something happened to me, at least I died trying.” — Jordan Turpin [44:40]

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The Aftermath: Legal Process and Systemic Failures

[61:34–77:54]

• Parents are arrested, tried, and sentenced to life. The children testify, expressing both forgiveness and determination to reclaim their lives.
• The episode exposes profound child welfare failures: donation funds made inaccessible, substandard foster placements, and even further abuse in care.
• Many Turpin children, despite high-profile promises, lived in poverty, unsafe neighborhoods, and wrestled with mental and practical challenges due to their upbringing.
• Whistleblower Melissa Donaldson voices heartbreak at the system’s compounding of the Turpins' trauma.

Key Quotes:

• “They have been victimized again by the system and that is unimaginable to me…” — District Attorney Mike Hestrin [69:25]
• “When I would ask [the county guardian] for help, she would just tell me, you know, just go Google it.” — Jennifer Turpin [74:32]

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Finding Hope and Moving Forward

[78:32–84:24]

• Jordan, Jennifer, and sibling Joshua reflect on their progress: college, work, dreams, and most importantly, staying connected despite hardship.
• Jordan reunites emotionally with Deputy Kolachi and hears from the 911 dispatcher who praises her bravery.
• The siblings dream of future careers, houses, and family, determined that their name should represent strength rather than victimhood.

Key Quotes:

• “My parents took my whole life from me, but now I’m taking my life back. They almost changed me, but I realized what was happening. I’m strong and I’m shooting through life like a rocket.” — Jennifer Turpin [65:04]
• "I want the last name Turpin to be remembered as a name of strength...They’re not weak, they’re not broken. They’ve got this.” — Jordan Turpin [84:12]

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Notable Moments & Quotes with Timestamps

• The Courageous 911 Call:
  “That was my only chance. At least if something happened to me, at least I died trying.” — Jordan Turpin [02:00]

• Childhood in Isolation:
  “We would literally live houses piled with trash, mold and everything...all my clothes, it was on me...I think that had a lot to do with it.” — Jennifer Turpin [24:57]

• Secret Bond and Education:
  “We just did the best we could with what we did know. I knew the whole Alphabet, but I had my sisters help me with that.” — Jordan Turpin [37:16]

• The Catalyst, Pop Culture:
  “I don’t know where we would be if we didn’t watch Justin Bieber.” — Jordan Turpin [39:08]

• The Aftermath, Strength and Recovery:
  “We always know at the end of the day we’re always going to have each other.” — Jordan Turpin [83:26]
  “I want the last name Turpin to be remembered as a name of strength.” — Jordan Turpin [84:12]

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Important Segments & Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------------|--------------| | Jordan escapes and makes 911 call | 02:00–06:21 | | Deputy arrives, bodycam footage begins | 09:31–10:03 | | Police enter “house of horror” | 51:06–56:52 | | Discovery of chained children, police intervention | 55:13–56:52 | | Parents arrested, aftermath | 57:03–59:31 | | Legal process, children testify | 61:34–67:10 | | Systemic failures after rescue | 69:01–77:54 | | Jordan reunites with Deputy Kolachi | 78:32–79:57 | | Siblings’ dreams and messages of hope | 80:38–84:24 |

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Themes and Tone

• Raw, first-person testimony: Candid, unscripted, sometimes halting as trauma resurfaces (especially from Jordan and Jennifer).
• Outrage and sadness: From both hosts and investigative reporters, especially regarding systemic failures and bureaucratic indifference.
• Triumph and resilience: The closing notes are of hope, determination, and sibling solidarity, with a deliberate shift to future aspirations and reclaiming identity.

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Conclusion

“Escape from a House of Horror” is a gut-wrenching narrative that illuminates not only the unimaginable abuse suffered by the Turpin children and their heroic escape but also the long, fraught journey to freedom and safety—both undermined and aided by the very systems meant to protect them. It’s a searing indictment of institutional failings and a tribute to the indomitable spirit of survivors who refuse to let their trauma define them.

Transcript

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart choice. Make another smart choice with Auto Quote Explorer to compare rates from multiple car insurance companies all at once. Try [e-mail], progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy. Hi there, it's Deborah Roberts. And before we jump into this week's true crime vault, I want to let you know about a special new program airing on ABC about a story that we're going revisit. My colleague Diane Sawyer is bringing us a fascinating update on the Turpin family. You may remember the Turpins first shocked the world in 2018 when 13 children were saved from a house of horror where they had suffered a lifetime of abuse and imprisonment. Diane was the first to bring viewers inside their experience when she interviewed two of the Turpin daughters. And now three more siblings who've never spoken out before are coming forward to tell their side of the story. Ms. The Turpins, a new house of Horror, a Diane Sawyer special event, airing Tuesday, February 3rd on ABC and streaming next day on Disney and Hulu. And now here's our True Crime Vault episode on the Turpin family. A security camera is rolling in a quiet suburban California neighborhood. The house across the street. In the shadows, someone quietly opens a window and slips out. Watch there. A blurry figure stepping forward. A small, uncertain girl heading one way. Then she turns, hesitates and starts to run, clutching an old cell phone.

[Jordan Turpin]

That was my only chance. At least if something happened to me, at least I died. Nine one emergency. What are you reporting? Hello, this is 911. Do you have an emergency? I just ran away from home. Do you know what street you're on? No, I just ran away from home because I live in a family of 15. Okay, can you hear me? And we have abusing parents. Did you hear that? Okay, how did they abuse you? Okay, they hit us. They throw us. They like throw us across the room. They pull our hair. They yank out our hair. I have two. My two little sisters right now are teamed up. Okay. How old are you? I'm 17. What's your name? Jordan. Turkish. Okay, I'm gonna connect you to the sheriff's department so that they can help one mama. Don't hang up. I won't.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

A second dispatcher picks up. Hello?

[Jordan Turpin]

Oh, yes, I'm still here.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Nearly four years later, this is Jordan Turpin.

[Jordan Turpin]

Remembering that night, my whole body was shaking. And when I was holding the phone, I remember the phone was like, I couldn't really dial 911 because. I'm sorry. Shaking tonight? Yeah, I was shaking again. So I was trying, like, to dial 911, but I couldn't even get my. My thumb to press the buttons because I was shaking so bad. But I was, like, trying to, like, calm down. Thank you so much. I was trying to, like, calm down so I could. I could to do it. And then I finally, like, pressed it, and when they answered, I literally never talked to somebody on the phone. What's your address? Okay, you got. Excuse me a minute. It's going to take a while. I've never been out. I don't go out much, so I don't know anything about the streets or anything.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The dispatcher tracks her location from the GPS on her cell phone and sends out a request for a police officer. A deputy across town volunteers. He's 14 minutes away.

[Jordan Turpin]

And I was freaking out because I was like, wait, are they going to take me back there? Like, I was so scared in that moment. I was actually on the road because I didn't even know about the sidewalk. You're supposed to be on the sidewalk. But I never been out there.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The caller tries to find her house address on a piece of envelope she stuffed in her backpack.

[Jordan Turpin]

My address is 925-70574. Did you get it? Okay, so now you just gave me a whole bunch of numbers. You didn't give me any kind of street name there. Oh, okay, I'm sorry. Those are the numbers on my house. That's your zip code. Your. The numbers on your house should only be three digits.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Finally, she reads the correct address, but is panicking, not knowing whether her parents can look out a window and see her.

[Jordan Turpin]

Are you in a corner right now? I might be. Are you at. Is there a street sign? Is there a pole with two names at the top? I just see a stop sign. Okay, can you go over and stand right at that stop sign? Yes. And then eventually, I saw a stop sign, and I stood by the stop sign, and she told me to stay there. And I was like, I'm scared they're gonna come. Like, I wanted to leave. I was so terrified because I know the way they were. They wouldn't care if they knew police were coming. They would just kill me right there and there if they realized that, especially if they knew I was on the phone with the police.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

But she tries to remain brave because of her siblings. She is their hope.

[Jordan Turpin]

The reason I ran away from home was because the chains will make them places. And they will wake up at night and they will start crying. And they wanted me to call somebody and tell them. And so I wanted to call. I wanted to call y' all so y' all can help my sister. Do you think anybody in the house will need to go to the hospital? I'm not sure. Sometimes we live in silk, and sometimes I wake up and I can't breathe because how dirty the house is. We never take baths. When was the last time you had a bath? What? When was the last time you had a bath? Almost a year ago. I had to make sure that if I left, we wouldn't go back because. And we would get the help we needed. Because if we went back, there's no way I would be sitting here right now.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

I don't know how you had the courage, never having spoken to anyone like that.

[Jordan Turpin]

I think it was like us coming so close to death so many times, and, like, I was worried about my siblings. And when I saw them crying and worried, I just felt like I had to do it. Like, I just wanted to do it. I wanted to help everyone. Do you know if your parents keep any kind of weapons in the house? Uh, I think that my father has a gun. Have you seen the guns? No, but they've talked about it.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The dispatcher knows if this girl with the strange cadences and vocabulary hangs up or the call drops, there's no way to get her back. Her old phone has been disabled. It can only call out to 911, so the dispatcher tries to keep her talking.

[Jordan Turpin]

Do you know what your dad's name is? David Turkin. I don't know much about my mom. He doesn't like. He doesn't spend time with us ever. Does anybody at the house take any kind of medication? Oh, I don't know what medication is. Any medicine. We have a cold. Sometimes we take gravitation at incredible speed.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The girl rattles off the names and ages of each sibling. Their names have been redacted.

[Jordan Turpin]

It's two. Here's a leg. 12, 14, 16. I'm 17. 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 20. I think five, 29.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The deputy is now just seven minutes away.

[Jordan Turpin]

I just want to stay on the phone with you. How did you get this phone that you have? It was a phone that my brother had that he was going to throw away. And I had to have a way to contact somebody like you. So I got it So I could call 91 1. And you guys don't have any friends or anybody who comes over to the house. Hi. Okay. Is that the deputy? Yes. Go talk to him. Okay. Yes. Bye. Bye. Hi, Jordan.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

You are looking at the body camera footage from the deputy as he arrives. Hi.

[Jordan Turpin]

What's going on?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Moving into frame. This skittish girl who has to convince this stranger her story is real.

[Jordan Turpin]

I was so nervous because it was. I've never had like a conversation with a stranger before. And so I saw him and he was so serious, he was tall and I've never talked to a stranger. I was so like scared. I didn't know what he was thinking because he had just one straight face.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

You didn't know if he believed you or not.

[Jordan Turpin]

Right. He was like, do you have any proof of any of this? And I was like, yes. He knew they were real. Yeah, they were all a. They were real.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

When we come back, those photos, the body cam footage and what the deputy saw, that changed everything. You're watching footage from a body camera. A deputy walking up to an anxious girl with a disjointed story.

[Jordan Turpin]

Hi. What's going on? Okay. I just ran away from home, okay. And I live in a family of 15.

[David Scott]

Okay.

[Jordan Turpin]

My two little sisters right now are chained up. They're chained up? Yes.

[David Scott]

Where are they chained up at?

[Jordan Turpin]

On the bed. Now mother didn't chain them up just to be mean, okay. They're chained up because they stole mother's food. Uh huh. But I'm sorry if I talk too much, okay? I've never talked to anybody out there, so I don't. I've never been alone with a person. So this is very hard for me to talk. Okay? How did you. Do your parents know you left your house? No, the home. Do you take any medication? What's medication? Medication? Yeah, what's medication? Do you take pills? Do you take pills? Oh, I don't think I've ever taken a pill before. Okay. Right. I haven't got.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The girl with the strange vocabulary nervously puts on a little hat, a reminder of one of her sisters who's depending on her.

[Jordan Turpin]

Our parents are abusing, they abuse us. But the reason I called and the reason I managed to get out here, this is one of the most scariest things I've ever done. I'm terrified. But I called because my two little sisters, they're chained up right now.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The deputy, a nine year veteran of the force, is not sure what to make of this 17 year old girl who looks so much younger. He is ending a graveyard shift and it's been a hard night.

[Jordan Turpin]

Robbery calls, assault calls, deputies or shot at.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

He responded to the runaway call because he knows how they usually end. You take the kids back home to reconcile with their parents.

[David Scott]

I decided to take it, thinking, hey.

[Jordan Turpin]

This might be a good way just to end my shift.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And then on instinct, he asks a question.

[Jordan Turpin]

Do you have pictures of that? Yes, I can show you. I actually didn't have it. And then one of my sisters told me I need to get pictures. You have pictures of your sisters chained up? Yes, but they're. Yeah, they're in here. Okay, I don't have proof of everything, but I have proof that my sisters are chained up, so.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

See, she doesn't seem to know the word bruise.

[Jordan Turpin]

See, those are the places that make an ill men. And see how dirty she is? We are so filthy. We don't take baths. How did your sisters get like this? Okay, your parents chained them up because they stole food. Okay. But they stole it because they were hungry. Who took this picture? I did. I took those pictures. Okay, you make sure to save these, okay? Okay, I will. Don't. Get rid of those. I will. I won't. They looked very, very sad and malnourished. They were very pale.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

This is that deputy Anthony Kolachi.

[Jordan Turpin]

Once I saw that photo, it really sealed the deal for me.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Kolachi knows this girl is not your usual runaway. She has identified a possible crime in progress and her parents could be trying to find her.

[Jordan Turpin]

Can you do me a favor? Take a seat in the back of my car. Do you have any injuries? What's injuries? Are you hurt? Oh, no, not right now.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Kolachi radios in for backup.

[Jordan Turpin]

One pair is 32. Can I have 11 10?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

With his body cam running, he gathers more facts trying to piece this story together.

[Jordan Turpin]

What are your parents gonna do when they find out you left? The girl wants to literally kill me. What's the worst thing they've done to you? They have choked me against the bed and. Did you call the police? I know I didn't have to get home yet. This is the first chance I've ever told.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Suddenly, she remembers another detail, A horror recounted as part of her everyday life.

[Jordan Turpin]

Oh, my brother's chained up too, right now. They're chained up. One of my brothers is. So three people are chained up right now. What does your mom do? Nothing. She just stays at home. But she's always gone. Well, why don't you guys just leave the house? Because we're terrified. We don't really have a way. Everyone's always looking. There's always somebody.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Deputy Kolachi is stunned by the girl in the Backseat. With limited words and so much courage.

[Jordan Turpin]

I asked her what her middle name was. She said it was Elizabeth. I asked her to spell it. She. She couldn't spell it. I wanted her to know people on the outside are loving and caring.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

He notices a video on her cell phone. She's singing. He asks to watch it.

[Jordan Turpin]

You blame me for everything. I don't understand. This is a great video. And you're a beautiful singer.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Daylight arches over a pleasant suburban neighborhood. It's Sunday. Most residents are still asleep. Quietly. Riverside county sheriff's deputies pull up to a house on the outside. A house just like the others. It has been an hour and a half since Jordan Turpin climbed out the window.

[Jordan Turpin]

So they was like, if we walk in, will they still be chained? And I was like, if they didn't notice me missing yet, yes, but if they notice me missing, they're gonna try to cover that all up. And they asked me if I wanted to come up, and I was freaking out. I was like, no, no, no. Like, honestly, I thought, like, knowing them, what if they killed me right there and there? Even if the police were there, saying, doing a welfare check. Yep.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Since a child may be in danger, the deputies do not need a warrant to enter the house. They knock for 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

[Jordan Turpin]

You're obviously not opening.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Then suddenly, the door cracks open. Hi.

[Jordan Turpin]

Hi.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

A mother and father appear. We got a call for Check the welfare beer. Jingha. They are breathing heavily.

[Jordan Turpin]

Yeah. You guys have kids in the house? Yes. Okay. What kind of car did you get? How you doing, sir?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

I'm doing okay.

[Jordan Turpin]

We were just in bed.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

I mean, like David and Louise Turpin, who have concealed a chamber of horrors for almost 30 years now. Watch as deputies start to make their way through the door.

[Jordan Turpin]

We're coming in and check. Okay.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And in one of the the rooms inside the house, someone is waiting in her bed, eyes wide open, praying that the knock on the door means her sister made it to freedom.

[Jordan Turpin]

Knock, knock, knock. And then they said, it's the police. And I'm like, this is it.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

In the next hour, we will show you the video as it happens. What law enforcement sees when they walk into the house. Their first encounter with emaciated children, some of them chained to their beds. This episode is sponsored by Better Help. Sometimes it can feel like everybody's got it together but you. Well, the truth is, no one's perfect. So if you're struggling with feelings of inadequacy or like you're always comparing yourself to your friends and neighbors, therapy can help you find your way. BetterHelp is one of the world's largest online therapy platforms. They have over 30,000 licensed therapists across BetterHelp's 12 years in business. They've served more than 6 million people worldwide. To get started, all you gotta do is fill out a short questionnaire about yourself and what you're looking for. BetterHelp will match you to a qualified licensed therapist who you can open up to somebody who'll listen and support you with getting past whatever's in your way. All their therapists work according to a strict code of conduct, and they're trained to listen to whatever's on your mind, no matter how big or small. BetterHelp makes it easy to get matched online with a qualified therapist. So sign up and get 10% [e-mail] 2020That's betterhelp.com.

[Jordan Turpin]

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[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

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[Jordan Turpin]

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[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

I can't believe the two young women walking toward our cameras. Travelers from a dark world who invented their own light. It's been four years since the day in January 2018 when they were rescued, treated at a hospital and given new life. Jordan Turpin, now 21 years old. Her sister who helped plan the escape. The oldest Turpin child, Jennifer, now 33. How are you?

[Jordan Turpin]

Awesome. I'm doing really good.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

January 14, 2018.

[Jordan Turpin]

Yeah, big day.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

What's the first thing you did that you look back on and think that was my first moment of real freedom.

[Jordan Turpin]

Actually being in the hospital when music was playing. I got up and I made sure there's a little bit of a floor cleared out and I danced. The first place we went, we went to a park with two of my sisters. And I was so excited because I could smell the air, I could smell the grass. I was like, how could heaven be better than this? Oh, my gosh, this is so free. Like, this is life.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

They are speaking for the first time, ready to talk about their lives but respecting the privacy of the siblings they love and the stories written on all their bodies. When they arrived at the hospital where doctors and nurses wept at what they saw. Children so emaciated they had difficulty walking, stunted growth, heart damage from a lack of nutrients. A preteen whose arm was the size of a four month old baby. Their speech, their language limited by the isolation and neglect.

[Jordan Turpin]

All of us went through a lot. And all of us went through our own things. And to be honest, not even all of us know every single thing each one of us went through. And nothing's ever going to be that bad. Nothing's going to be as bad as 29 years in what the only word I know to call it is hell.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

A hell created by her own parents, who started out two kids growing up in a small town in West Virginia. David Turpin, by all accounts a nerdy boy with bowl cut hair and a shy stutter. He graduated from Virginia Tech and was offered a well paid job at Lockheed Martin. Louise Robinette, a girl six years younger, a member of the Bible Club. She sang in the choir. She grew up suffering. A family secret, which we'll tell you later. This is their wedding photo. She's just 16. They are a couple, both steeped in the Pentecostal Church with its message about the insidious power of the devil. And the rules. No drinking, no sex before marriage. And that's how the young couple began life in this nice house in a nice neighborhood in Fort Worth, Texas. They tell family God has called on them to have as many children as they can. He is 26, she's 20. When they have their first little girl, there's Jennifer. You can see her smile is so much like the smile of the mother she once loved.

[Jordan Turpin]

My first memory, I was about 2 years old and it wasn't to me.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

What was it?

[Jordan Turpin]

I went downstairs for a glass of water, for a cup of water. And on the stairs I saw my father yelling very loudly at my mother. My mother was crying. She started to say something, he's like, no, you shut up. And he took his fist and punched it in the wall, made a hole in the wall. I was terrified.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

As her father yells in anger, she says her loving mother heads into unpredictable mood swings.

[Jordan Turpin]

It's like I never knew which side I was going to get of her, if I was going to ask her a question. Like, she gonna call me stupid, stupid or something? But anyway. Or like yank me across the floor or is she gonna be nice and answer my question?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Neighbors are never invited inside that house where the bright white walls are now gray with dirt and stains, carpets with human filth. The shower floor seems black with mold. When Jennifer shows up at grade school, she's a little girl with unwashed hair, unwashed clothes.

[Jordan Turpin]

I remember wanting to make friends. I remember a lot of them didn't want to be my friend. Didn't really understand why they called me skinny bones and acted like they didn't want to be around me. I probably smelled, but I didn't realize at the time I smelled. But that stench clings to you. It stays with you. Because we would literally live houses piled with trash. And I mean literally piled with trash, mold and everything. And there's no good way to get rid of a smell like that. So it was all my clothes, it was on me. And I think that had a lot to do with it.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Is it possible that some of her teachers noticed something years later? There are no records from the school, but after the third grade, Jennifer's parents take her out. And no Turpin child will go to grade school again. The family moves into an isolated house in rural Texas. David Turpin commutes to Lockheed Martin. They pose for photographs to send home to family as four kids become nine, nine become 12. But when they go back to the house, the children are not allowed outside. All of them. Taught to honor thy father and mother and only to call them that.

[Jordan Turpin]

We'll call them mother and father for the sake of the interview, but I don't like calling them that because they're not that to me. They literally use the Bible to explain their behavior toward us.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

What parts of the Bible?

[Jordan Turpin]

They love to point out things in Deuteronomy. Saying that we have the right to do this to you, that they had the right to even kill us if we didn't listen.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Disobey mother, talk back, steal a piece of candy you can be thrown across the room, pushed down the stairs. Father also used belts and sticks and eventually dog kennels with padlocks and homemade cages. Jennifer draws the shape of the cage and every day. Did you wake up in terror?

[Jordan Turpin]

Yeah. Cause I. I was afraid to do one little thing wrong. If I did one little thing wrong, I was gonna be beat. And not just beat like beat till. You okay.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

You want to take a minute?

[Jordan Turpin]

I want to take a break. Yeah, a little. A little break. I'm sorry. Let's do.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Let's do. We'll just take a break here. Wade Walsvik, lead investigator on the Turpin Case, a 33 year veteran of abuse and homicide cases. How long did it take you to figure out that this was unlike anything you'd seen before?

[Jordan Turpin]

Probably within the first Couple days.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The parents move their children further off the radar. A trailer behind the house. And then they abandon them to seek their own adventures. They drop off weekly groceries. Never enough. Jordan was 6 when her parents left. She says at times she ate leaves, grass.

[Jordan Turpin]

There was a lot of starving, so I would have to figure out how to eat. Like I would either eat ketchup or mustard or ice.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Ice cubes and ketchup.

[Jordan Turpin]

Yeah.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And Jennifer is forced to discipline the children by putting them in father's cages. Cages that they were instructed to put.

[Jordan Turpin]

Their siblings in or that they would be put in if they didn't.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

That is the nightmare choice you.

[Jordan Turpin]

Which is why she struggled so hard as a 17, 18, 19 year old. So much.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

It's not a choice if survival is the answer.

[Jordan Turpin]

But living in that, you kind of feel like you're torn. You don't know what to do. Because I was on the brink of suicide, I wanted to just end it all, all my pain, everything.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Three years go by and no one seems to notice them. No one intervenes. But after the Turpin story breaks, a little boy remembers he once had a classmate in Fort Worth named Jennifer Turpin. A frail girl with a brave smile, he has since become a doctor. He wrote this plea on Facebook. Jennifer Turpin was the one girl nobody wanted to be caught talking to. I can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame. The person who sat across from you at the lunch table went home to squalor and filth, while you went home to a warm meal and a bedtime story. The resounding teach your children to be nice. Befriend the Jennifer Turpins of the world. Coming up, the video of David and Louise Turpin celebrating their love story. Certainly their abused children will keep their secret. What did they tell these children that paralyzed them with fear of the outside world? In a Las Vegas chapel, a middle aged couple is renewing their vows. The chapel is filming the occasion.

[Jordan Turpin]

I did. I did.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

I take thee, Louise.

[Jordan Turpin]

I take thee, Louise, to be my wedded wife. Be my wedded wife.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

My best friend.

[Jordan Turpin]

My best friend. My soulmate. My soulmate.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

To have it, to hold.

[Jordan Turpin]

To have it, to hold. From this day. From this day and forever and forever. Baby, baby. Wise men.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And while their children were starving in that Texas trailer, investigators say the devoted couple had moved into a motel to go out drinking, posting photos of their adventures. And now the children they had abandoned are in the chapel with them, dressed in identical outfits to celebrate their parents love story.

[Jordan Turpin]

You ain't nothing but a house, a hound dog.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Mama.

[Jordan Turpin]

Mama. Mama. And we put our hands together, ladies and gentlemen.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

There's Jennifer, the oldest. There's Jordan, the eighth. Children with real thin arms and awkward dancing. So these are the pictures that we saw, what.

[Jordan Turpin]

Moment. We of course, were happy to be out doing something at the same time. I know inside I was like, this is all a mask. This is all fake. We're not this big happy family that they always betray to everyone. And that always bothered me. And. There's like a mix of things in that moment that I was feeling personally. She would get us all dressed, we would get clean, and then we would go out and it would be like the best day ever. We were so happy, all of us falling in love with. But then when we would come back, it was just like put on the same dirty clothes and sit back to wear. And I used to always wonder, like, why couldn't we just be a family like that all the time?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The family now lives under one roof in Paris, California, a suburb of Spanish style homes, flowers by the door. David Turpin has a new job as an engineer at Northrop Grumman. He also has a new Mustang. On another car, a vanity plate. David and Louise forever. But behind the closed door of this house in the suburbs, Louise Turpin seems to have a manic pattern of shopping sprees. Racking up huge credit card debts with her childlike obsession with buying children's clothes, toys, games she hoards. The children are not allowed to touch mother's toys unless she gives permission. This is a video made in the house of one of the children's closets. Brand new clothes with price tags on them while the children remain dressed in filth.

[Jordan Turpin]

They would buy literally so many expensive clothes and toys and stuff that they wasn't ever going to use about a hundred different collector monopolies and stuff like that.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

At this point, David Turpin files for bankruptcy. They decide the children will have to accept. So every day it was bread and peanut butter mostly.

[Jordan Turpin]

Very occasionally we would get like food frozen or maybe fast food place.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

So what did your mother and father eat?

[Jordan Turpin]

Oh, they, they always ate fast food. Frozen meals. They had the good stuff and I was the one usually preparing it.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

A video of the Turpin refrigerator stocked with items the parents eat. What did they say to you about eating what they wanted?

[Jordan Turpin]

They blamed it on us. They said they couldn't afford it because we were stealing.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And by stealing you're really. You're talking about food?

[Jordan Turpin]

Yeah, we had a weird schedule Most of the time we were up at night and then sleeping in the day.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And the blinds were closed so the neighbors couldn't see.

[Jordan Turpin]

We wasn't allowed to look out or open them. We wasn't even allowed to stand up. We were supposed to be sitting down all the time.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Later, police find a video of the hungry, unbathed children hiding from view in a hallway. Their father, en route to his job, smiles. Jordan is filming this. It's a little camera she found on her Barbie doll. You can see the camera there on the Barbie's neck, the record button on her little belt. So take a look at this scene again. 13 children in their Paris, California, home. So many houses just a few feet away.

[Jordan Turpin]

That bothers me because I know some neighbors knew things were going on. So I wish they did something like just have somebody look into it.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And why did the California school system never check up on a home school called the Sandcastle Day School? These are documents filed by David Turpin, who proclaims himself principal. Louise is the teacher. A lot of child abuse gets reported through our schools. Teachers and school administrators are mandated reporters. So, you know, if a child comes to school with bruises or emaciated, that is a very common way that it gets reported. Mike Hestrin is the Riverside County District Attorney. In this case, the Turpin family claimed they were homeschooling their kids. They weren't. They used the homeschooling system as a way to avoid any scrutiny. And when mother and father are out of the house, the little prisoners emerge.

[Jordan Turpin]

When mother was gone or father was gone, we would, like, sneak and talk. And, like, sometimes we would open the window and we would stick our head out.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

They listen to music. There's a TV to watch. A few trusted older siblings now have smartphones so that mother and father can always reach them with instructions. They take videos of the food. They hide in their beds. And most of all, these children are so desperate for an education, they try to teach each other language and what it is to be human. You taught each other?

[Jordan Turpin]

Yes.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

What you knew?

[Jordan Turpin]

We just did the best we could with what we did know. I knew the whole Alphabet, but I had my sisters help me with that. They taught me that I, eh. It all the vowels. Yeah, the vowels.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The children are told not to speak to strangers when they're taken out on rare occasions to get those posed photographs. And again, that video in Las Vegas. Would you have spotted any fear in their faces? They've been told one mistake and something called Child Protective Services could come and separate them. Forever.

[Jordan Turpin]

I thought that we would all go in different countries and I thought that we would never see each other again. And I thought that we would be put into cages and they would starve us. And then as soon as we turn 18, just throw us out on the street. Mother usually spoke for us. We were also instructed on certain questions that may be asked of us. Like if they say what grade you're in, you tell them this. There'll be times I'll be like, wait, what grade am I going to? One of my memories, like six, seven, eight. I know if I'm eight and I'm supposed to be in third grade, nine, you know.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

So they dance, they pretend, and the parents don't know that one of their children has borrowed a sibling's phone and is about to see something that will ignite a plan to escape. In 2015, how does Jordan 2 start to summon the courage to run? She secretly opens a sibling smartphone.

[Jordan Turpin]

I don't know where we would be if we didn't watch Justin Bieber.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Justin Bieber was the first thing who fascinated you.

[Jordan Turpin]

Oh, well, I never talked to Justin Bieber. No, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Yes. I loved as long as you love me and boyfriend and baby, if I.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Was your boyfriend, never underestimate the power and reach of a teenage heartthrob to enchant a 14 year old fan, even one trapped in a cruel prison.

[Jordan Turpin]

I started realizing that there is a different world out there. I only knew one world and that was like always being there. I was just blown minded by how different it is up there and I was always like, I want to be out there. I want to be like that. I want to experience that. I want to do that.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

In Bieber's videos, the houses are nice, he has friends and he talks about being sad and searching for God and comfort just like her. She says she loved learning new words from him for her stunted vocabulary.

[Jordan Turpin]

I like watched all his interviews and it's actually watching him that made me learn fast, smarter because I started paying attention. If God is based on love, it's I love you first, regardless of what you do, rather than you do this and I'll love you.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

She started to understand the fragments of hope she'd seen on tv.

[Jordan Turpin]

We're all in this together.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Happy kids in pretty dresses. So far away from her life. She had tried to make make a pretty dress with old paper she found around the house.

[Jordan Turpin]

But yeah, like High School Musical and all those other Disney channels and stuff like Hannah Montana, why don't you tell me what's really on your mind? Those movies when their daughter would feel like they could talk to their mom and we'd be like, oh, my gosh, like, if I did that, there's no way, like. But it's like, she's always like, it's that really how it is in real life?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Something is changing inside this quiet child.

[Jordan Turpin]

I wanted to get that phone and, like, somehow get, like, social media and then start talking to other people because I've never talked to strangers before.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

With her secret phone, she decides to post a little song she has written online.

[Jordan Turpin]

You blame me for ever. Every single. When mother and father would leave, I would. That's when I would sneak in the bathroom and I would make my videos and put them out. And I was hoping, like, if I made those videos, then people might follow me on social media. And some did.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

A stranger writes asking why she's always inside and up at night.

[Jordan Turpin]

He kind of just realized that I was always in my room. And then he started asking questions, and I told him how we eat and how we're not allowed to get out of bed. He was like, this isn't right. You should call the cops. Like, I was so happy to hear him say that because I was like, I was right. I was right that the situation was so bad.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And one day Jordan is to going caught secretly watching a Justin Bieber video.

[Jordan Turpin]

Mother. She choked me. And I thought I was gonna die that day. And after that whole day happened, I kept having nightmares that we were gonna. That she was killing me.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

What Jordan Turpin knows is that the moment has arrived. You either crack or you decide to fight.

[Jordan Turpin]

I kept having nightmares that I was dying. And when I woke up, I was crying so hard. And that day was when I was like, I told my two sisters, I'm gonna leave.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Coming up, she starts to plan her escape. But the clock is ticking. One chance to get out and not pay with her life. And the video cameras in real time as police move through that house.

[Jordan Turpin]

Well, the holidays have come and gone once again.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

But if you've forgotten to get that.

[Jordan Turpin]

Special someone in your life a gift.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Well, Mint Mobile is extending their holiday.

[Jordan Turpin]

Offer of half off unlimited wireless.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

So here's the idea.

[Jordan Turpin]

You get it now. You call it an early present for next year. What do you have to lose? Give it a [e-mail] Switch limited time. 50% off regular price for new customers. Upfront payment required. $45 for three months, $90 for six.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Months or $180 for 12 month.

[Jordan Turpin]

Plan taxes and fees. Extra speeds may slow after 50 gigabytes per month when network is busy See terms. This is a Monday.com ad the same Monday.com helping people worldwide getting work done faster and better. The same Monday.com designed for every team and every industry. The same Monday.com with built in AI scaling your work from day one. The same Monday.com that your team will actually love. Using the same Monday.com with an easy and intuitive setup. Go to Monday.com and try it for free. Yes, the same Monday.com.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The time for escape is now.

[Jordan Turpin]

This is 91 1. Do you have an emergency? It was literally a now or never.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

A desperate plan for freedom.

[Jordan Turpin]

If something happened to me, at least I died trying.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

13 siblings held captive by their parents, locked inside for decades. For the first time, we're taking you inside that house of horrors as the police saw it in real time. The sights, the secrets.

[Jordan Turpin]

I found the missing link.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

What do you know about why these two people did this to their children 13 times over? And what's happened since then? Were many of the promises made to them, Promises broken? Who is accountable? We're looking for answers.

[David Scott]

Can I ask you, sir?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And looking at Joy, I want my.

[Jordan Turpin]

Name and her name, the Turpin name. Like, wow, they're strong.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Behind the closed door of a suburban house in a nice neighborhood where a Christmas ornament hangs in the window. Inside, there is a cruelty you do not have to imagine. You can see it in the pictures. Chains used to tie little arms and legs. One child tied with a rope uses his teeth to escape, so they switch to thicker, heavier chains. A child, both hands attached to one railing, can't roll over or. Or itch the lice on his head. Chained for up to a month, two months. Only released to eat or go to the bathroom. If they can make it in time. Jordan Turpin looks at what is happening to her siblings and wrestles. An agonizing choice.

[Jordan Turpin]

I knew I would die if I got caught. But at the end, when I saw, like all my younger siblings and everyone, everyone was scared, I knew that's what I had to do.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

She decides to go to her sister secretly to ask for help.

[Jordan Turpin]

She's like, we need to get out of here. So I gave her all the advice I knew, all advice I could.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Jennifer had tried to escape herself long ago, but came back. She wrote a song, a kind of prayer for God to help them.

[Jordan Turpin]

Lord, I hate my life. Help me see the light. I am losing faith. Help me see, Lord. Help me see the light.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

In this darkness, she draws a primitive little map for her sister Jordan, trying to recreate what she knows about the world outside their house. She thinks the road out may be there or there. It's hard to be sure. In a dark room, Jordan films a phone call with another sister who asks a taxi company how much it would cost to take someone out of California to Nevada.

[Jordan Turpin]

The very beginning of Nevada, Yeah. How much would it cost? A couple hundred. I'm not going. I'll take a bus.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Did your parents know you had the phone?

[Jordan Turpin]

No.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

No, they didn't, since a taxi cost too much. Jordan remembers something she's seen on a TV show called Cops911.

[Jordan Turpin]

I got those photos because I knew that I would need proof of that. Get pictures, anything to prove so they can't think you're just a teenager looking for attention.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Two of Jordan's little sisters have now been chained to their beds in the room they all share. They were caught stealing mother's candy. She cannot bear their cries at night. Photos of them would be proof.

[Jordan Turpin]

I asked them permission before taking it and they said yes. So they knew why I was taking the picture and they knew what it was for and they let it me.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And then on January 14, 2018, the signal that time has run out, Jordan hears mother say the family is moving to Oklahoma and everyone is getting chained.

[Jordan Turpin]

The very next day we were moving. It was literally a now or never. Everyone's getting chained. I knew I had to leave that night. That was my only chance. At least if something happened to me, at least I died trying because if we went to Oklahoma, there was a big chance that some of us would have died. I honestly think, I don't know that at least one, maybe two of them would have survived the trip. They were in such horrible decline and on the edge of starvation. So I started grabbing my bags and I put on like some clothes, clean clothes so I wouldn't like smell or anything.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

She puts pillows under a blanket to look like her in case her parents peek into the bedroom. She climbs up on the windowsill and drops down. There she is again in that security camera footage, starting to run.

[Jordan Turpin]

I could barely walk. My legs were shaking. Everywhere was shaking. I was so scared.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And something she didn't know at the time. There in the shadows, someone else is slipping out the window and running in the opposite direction. It's her sister who can't find Jordan and then slowly makes her way back. You can see that too on the security camera footage. While somewhere in the darkness, Jordan is making the life saving call.

[Jordan Turpin]

911. What's your name? Jordan. Turkish. I was trying to die on 911, but I couldn't even get my thumb to press the buttons because I was shaking so bad. My two little sisters right now are chained up. They will wake up at night and they will start crying, and they wanted me to call somebody and tell them, hi, Jordan. Hi. What's going on?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The deputy who arrives is so intuitive, he asks that critical question and she is ready.

[Jordan Turpin]

You have pictures of your sisters chained up? Yes. I don't have proof of everything, but I have proof that my sisters are chained up. Who took this picture, 13? I did. I took those pictures. Okay. You make sure to save these, okay? Okay, I will. Don't get rid of those. I will. I won't. Take a seat back here. Okay.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Okay. The sun is up. Reinforcements arrive. Riverside county deputies walk up to the door, no idea what they'll find on the other side. This is body camera footage of the police officers knocking on and off for 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

[Jordan Turpin]

We're obviously not opening.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Suddenly, the door cracks open.

[Jordan Turpin]

Hi.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Hi.

[Jordan Turpin]

Sorry to bug you. Good. We got a good call for a.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Check the welfare here at your house.

[Jordan Turpin]

So check the welfare. So just basically check on everybody, make sure everybody's okay? Yeah, go ahead. You guys have kids in the house? Yes.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

We now know they had been scrambling to have someone unlock the chains.

[Jordan Turpin]

Okay. Do you mind if we come in and just take a look, make sure everybody's safe and everything's okay?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Okay.

[Jordan Turpin]

What kind of call did you get? Well, we got a call that there was young female walking around saying that she came from a house over here. We were able to find out that this was a house. We just wanted to check and make sure everybody was okay. Thinking she came from here. That's what she said. From inside this house? We think so.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Otherwise we wouldn't be knocking on your door at Sunday.

[Jordan Turpin]

Her name? I don't know. Did she say her name? I don't know off hand, but we need. We just need to check and make sure everybody's okay once we get in. Make sure everybody's okay.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

We'll. We'll get out of here.

[Jordan Turpin]

We have a lot more work packing. Okay. Getting ready to move, so. It's a mess in here, so. All right. We don't mind messes.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

We've been at work.

[Jordan Turpin]

How you doing, sir? I'm doing okay.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Okay.

[Jordan Turpin]

No weapons in the house or anything like that. I do have. I do. I do have a gun. That's. It's locked up. Okay. Locked up is good.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

We like that. Okay.

[Jordan Turpin]

Okay, well, we're gonna come in and check. Okay. We just want to make sure everybody's okay. Do you have a search for it or anything?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

No. The deputies move through the door. Coming up next, the body cameras and the stunning scene inside.

[Jordan Turpin]

Search warrant or anything?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

No. As sheriff's deputy move through a door into a horrifying landscape. The windows are closed. The room is swelteringly hot. Magnifying the stench of excrement, decaying garbage, mounds of mothers, molding food. Every sofa, counter, floor covered in layers of trash and unopened toys.

[Jordan Turpin]

Hi, kid. Hello. It's okay.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Louise Turpin quickly tries to follow the deputies.

[Jordan Turpin]

Stay there for me for now.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

An officer distracts David Turpin with topic after topic.

[Jordan Turpin]

Okay, well, what's your name, sir? David. Where are you guys planning on moving to? No, my job's moving me. Okay.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Louise Turpin is directed to go back to the front door.

[Jordan Turpin]

Why don't you stay over here with my partner? Okay.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

A pale, emaciated child moves through the living room, her clothes dirty. So was her hair. Oh, okay.

[Jordan Turpin]

What do you do for work? I'm an Engineer. Oh, engineer. With 35 goes another 10.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Louise Turpin nervously probes again.

[Jordan Turpin]

You got a call. Yeah, we got a call from. Not sure if it was the young.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Girl that left or if it was.

[Jordan Turpin]

A neighbor that saw her walking around the street. So we'll get to the bottom of it as soon as we make sure everybody's okay. Then we'll decide. We'll. We'll figure out if maybe she was one of your kids that wanted away. How many kids do you have? 13. 13 total? Yeah. You guys are busy. Yeah.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

As the parents are talking, deputies head into the center of the house. There's a hallway. They pass the parents bedroom, then down the hall, two other bedrooms. The deputy looks in the first door and discovers a crushing scene. Those two young girls from their sister's photos. One is on a bed, the other a mattress on the floor. They are limp, frail, eerily quiet, caked in dirt. Their arms are bruised, but where are the chains?

[Jordan Turpin]

Hi, sweetheart. Hi, girls. Can I see your wrist? Yeah. Which one?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Okay.

[Jordan Turpin]

Hi. How old are you?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Next, the deputy heads to the bedroom next door. Two filthy bunk beds, but no child is chained. He pleads with the children, can they tell him where are those chains?

[Jordan Turpin]

Okay. Thank you. We're here to help you, okay? Just work with my guys.

[David Scott]

We will help you guys.

[Jordan Turpin]

Okay?

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Back at the front doorway, the deputy who has Been talking to the parents. Notices something almost obscured by the 6 foot 1 inch David Turpin and the pile of boxes to his right.

[Jordan Turpin]

Another bedroom back here.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

You got another couple kiddos asleep there?

[Jordan Turpin]

Yeah.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Sarge, you got another room in the front right here with two kiddos in.

[Jordan Turpin]

The bed over here.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Deputies move the parents to the living room. And when the officers walk inside the bedroom behind those boxes, they see three remaining children, including a boy shackled to his bed. Thick chains on his wrist, another set of thick chains on his ankle. He has been this way for weeks. A deputy gently asks his name and starts looking for the keys to unlock him. Back in the bedroom down the hall, where the two girls from Jordan's photos sit quietly. The deputy is directed to go to the closet. And there on the floor he finds the chains.

[Jordan Turpin]

Okay, I found the missing link. All right, let's just go ahead and detain the parents. Ma', am, why don't you step over.

[David Scott]

Here for a minute?

[Jordan Turpin]

Okay. With you and sir, step over here for a second.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

After decades of hiding their cruelty, check.

[Jordan Turpin]

Out.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

David and Louise Turpin are in handcuffs. Go ahead and come on out this way.

[Jordan Turpin]

You want to just walk into my car? Yep.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And walked out of the house.

[Jordan Turpin]

Put her in a different car, please.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

As the parents head toward police cars, inside, a problem. Deputies can't find the key to unlock the boy still chained to his bed. Now let me ask you. Yes, quickly, are there keys to the little locks there? Okay.

[Jordan Turpin]

Where are they? My sister, son and daughter can get them. Okay. The ones that are in the house, they know where they are? Yes.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Okay.

[Jordan Turpin]

Is that what this is about? Well, that's part of it, yeah, definitely.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Back in the house, the deputies ask the kids for help.

[Jordan Turpin]

It's in the drawer that I was in.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

They are directed to go back into the parents bedroom. A chaotic mountain of trash. But as you look at this photo, is this a portrait of chaos or derangement? By the way, there's a child in a crib who smiles and waves at the strangers. The missing key is found in mother and father's dresser door. The last child rescued. The last chain unlocked. Outside, a 17 year old girl sits in a police car. It has been less than two hours since she climbed out of the window.

[Jordan Turpin]

I saw them taking father and I started freaking out. I didn't know what was gonna happen at all. The person in the car was like saying, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay. Like you don't have to like watch or see. Like he was like, he was really nice. He was really calming me down.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Deputies take all 13 children to the hospital. Children wasted by starvation with atrophied muscles crushed by isolation and emotional abuse. Doctors and nurses give them food, clean rooms, clothes, kindness, love.

[Jordan Turpin]

We were dehydrated. We were starving. They needed to do a lot of stuff to help us get healthy.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Do you remember the first things you ate there?

[Jordan Turpin]

Yes, it was macaroni and cheese and enough of it. Yes, it was good.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Coming up next, inside a courtroom, the parents respond to the charges. Picture chicken nuggets in your head, okay? Now forget them because Taco Bell's crispy chicken nuggets are here. And they're nothing like the nuggets you know, all white meat chicken coated in tortilla chips for that signature Taco Bell crunch. A nugget like that calls for a sauce that can keep up. Introducing Hidden Valley Diablo Ranch, the iconic ranch you love. Fired up with Taco Bell Diablo sauce. Bold meets Boulder. Ranch meets Diablo. And it works. Crispy chicken nuggets from Taco Bell, a brand new classic at participating US Taco Bell locations for a limited time only, while supplies last.

[Jordan Turpin]

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[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

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[Jordan Turpin]

Than what you owe and save thousands of dollars. Just visit nationaldebtrelief.com Imagine only paying one low monthly program payment you can afford and saving money as you become debt free. National Debt Relief has already helped bring debt relief to over 550,000 US consumers, earning thousands of five star reviews and an A rating with the Better Business Bureau. You're stronger than your credit card debt. Let today be the day you start turning things around. Take the first step and Visit National Debt Relief.com to see what debt relief you may qualify for. That's national debt relief.com.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The Riverside County District Attorney's office filed criminal charges against David and Louise Turpin. 12 counts torture, 7 counts abuse of a dependent adult. 6 counts child abuse. 12 counts of false imprisonment. The Turpins sit in a courtroom, chains around their waists and feet. It is four days after their children have been freed. Louise Turpin's attorney is trying to get the case against her decision dismissed, arguing she's now been diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder. A Kind of unstable, extreme narcissism. She even writes that when she gets the family together again, she promises no chains this time. And her sisters say Louise may have been cracked by a truly horrible secret in their family. The trauma of ongoing sexual abuse since she was a child.

[Jordan Turpin]

A very, very close family member that we should have. I'm sorry, joke. We should have loved and trusted. He abused my mother and sexually abused my mother and then me and Louise. Elizabeth.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

But the judge rejects the mental illness plea, saying Louise Turpin poses a risk to the public. To this day, David Turpin has refused to talk to investigators. When you have parents abusing their kids to this level, and they're their own flesh and blood, it begs the question, how could any sane person do this? Right. And the truth of the matter is, is that sane people commit evil acts all the time.

[Jordan Turpin]

Sometimes there is no why in my work. There's no reasoning, there's no logic to explain that type of behavior or why someone would actually do that, not only to anybody, but your own offspring. I don't have a why. I really don't.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

The DA Amasses a mountain of evidence. The Turpins make a deal. No trial. They're ready to submit their plea.

[Jordan Turpin]

Count one, which is a violation of torture. How do you plead to that charge, Sir? Guilty. And Mrs. Turpin? Dependent adult abuse? Guilty. The child endangerment.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

At the sentencing, the parents weep when a few of the children send notes saying they forgive them. But the two oldest children come to the courtroom to face their parents. The camera turned away to protect their identity. The eldest son speaks.

[Jordan Turpin]

I cannot describe in words what we went through growing up, but that is the past, and this is now. I'm getting a bachelor's degree in software engineering. In June of last year, I learned how to ride a bike.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

I also have learned how to advocate.

[Jordan Turpin]

For myself, how to swim, how to eat healthy and prepare a balanced meal.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

That young man is still not ready to go on camera, but he sent us a video and wants to send a message. You'll hear coming up after the break. And next up in the courtroom, the oldest daughter speaks. It is Jennifer looking her parents in the eyes.

[Jordan Turpin]

My parents took my whole life from me, but now I'm taking my life back. They almost changed me, but I realized what was happening. I immediately did what I could to not become like that. I'm strong and I'm shooting through life like a rocket.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

It's the parents turn to speak. David Turpin starts, breaks down.

[Jordan Turpin]

I love my children and I Believe my children love me.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

He asks his lawyer to let him try again.

[Jordan Turpin]

I miss all of my children. And I will be praying for them along for the opportunity to have contact with them. Thank you, Daddy. I want to say to you, your honor, and the court, I'm sorry for everything I've done to hurt my children. I don't want any of them to be sad or depressed because of all of this. I want them to know that mom and dad are going to be okay.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And in the courtroom, when she said she was sorry for hurting her children, I believed it.

[Jordan Turpin]

I'm going to be honest. But then I remembered that they both are extremely good at manipulation. Whether that was true or not at the courtroom. Yeah, it's too late. When they cry and stuff, I feel bad. But also, it's like, why? It's just confusing. I don't know. I'm never gonna know. I mean, sometimes I think maybe they didn't have a good childhood, but. But it's still their choice. You always have a choice. I don't know what it's called. Maybe bipolar, but I definitely think it could have been something like that with her. I've just always known him as a monster. That's the only way I can describe it. Sentence will be the same as to both defendants. Both defendants are sentenced to life.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Can you imagine seeing them?

[Jordan Turpin]

No, definitely not anytime soon. I've been up and. No, never, never, never. I guess I get afraid of them manipulating the system and getting out and then somehow trying to find us. Yeah.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

There's nothing you think you want to say to them?

[Jordan Turpin]

I want to know why. But I would never get that answer.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

So it's not.

[Jordan Turpin]

It's just like a hundred whys.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Tonight. We have requested statements from David and Louise Turpin. We have not heard back. They are currently serving their time in separate prisons in California. And three years ago, after their parents were sent to prison, we imagined the Turpin children finally heading out into their new lives with a team of people who would ensure that they could navigate the world. Strangers had even donated money. So where is that money? And where is the team supposed to be helping them? We've got to shine a light on this. The public deserves to know what their government did and didn't do and how we failed these victims. They need to know that. District Attorney Mike Hestrin says there are a number of agencies in California that should be accountable for what happened to the Turpin children after they were freed. There are resources for them that they can't access. They're living in squalor. They're living in crime ridden neighborhoods. There's money for them, for their education. They can't access it. This is impossible. Coming up next, my colleague David Scott and the ABC ABC News investigative unit set out to get those answers.

[David Scott]

Sir, would you talk to me for a moment? I'm David Scott with the ABC News investigative unit. We needed to go to Riverside county to figure out who failed these kids after they escaped their parents and led the district attorney to take the unusual step of speaking out.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

They have been victimized again by the system and that is unimaginable to me that we could have the very worst case of child abuse that I've ever seen, maybe one of the worst in California history, and that we would then not be able to get it together to give them basic needs, basic necessities.

[David Scott]

It turns out the siblings post rescue lives have been marred by the county's missteps and mistakes. And the facts of the case have been hidden behind a court ordered veil of secrecy.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Everything's, you know, behind closed doors.

[David Scott]

But now for the first time, an insider peels back the curtain on what she says happened to the Turpin siblings after they entered the county's care.

[Jordan Turpin]

They felt betrayed.

[David Scott]

Tonight, Melissa Donaldson is breaking ranks to blow the whistle on the multiple agencies that she says failed to protect the Turpin children from further harm.

[Jordan Turpin]

Did we see kids having to not have a safe place to live or stay at times? Yes. Did they have enough food at times? They did not. They had to go to churches and eat because they didn't know how to manage money. And some without housing at times, without housing, at times. Homeless couch surfing.

[David Scott]

Their housing at some point was located in one of the worst neighborhoods in this county.

[Jordan Turpin]

I will tell you, I would have never placed anybody under my care there.

[David Scott]

One of the adult children was assaulted in one of those environments.

[Jordan Turpin]

I do know they've been in unsafe crime exposure. Absolutely.

[David Scott]

We really want to try and understand and help the public understand, you know, frankly, the jeopardy.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Sorry. They all lack that sixth sense of fear.

[Jordan Turpin]

They had none of that. And they were cast right into the world in a very unsafe, violent, inner city area. We have to fix it. You would think that this is the time to really get it together and do everything we can. And we didn't do it that way. They struggle to eat still. They'll take that. As long as the abuser is gone, I don't really have a way to get food right now.

[David Scott]

When Jordan met Diane in July, she had just been Released, she says, without warning from extended foster care, with no plan for food, health care, life skills training or even shelter.

[Jordan Turpin]

One of my brothers and me are the ones that don't have a place to really stay and we're just being like passed around.

[David Scott]

And the same goes for some of the older children whose safety and well being was supposed to be guaranteed by the court appointed Riverside public guardian.

[Jordan Turpin]

Well, where I live is not the best area.

[David Scott]

And this despite more than $600,000 originally raised from generous strangers. Most of that money went into an official trust overseen by the court and hidden from public oversight. County officials refuse to tell us how much has been spent or on what. But the Turpins we spoke to say those funds are hard to access.

[Jordan Turpin]

Well, when I try to have access, I have difficulty.

[David Scott]

Joshua Turpin, the 29 year old sibling of Jordan and Jennifer, the one you heard earlier reading a letter to the.

[Jordan Turpin]

Court that is the past and this.

[David Scott]

Is now, sent us a video diary but did not want to appear on camera. He says the public guardian responsible for managing the siblings health care, nutrition, housing and education routinely denied simple requests.

[Jordan Turpin]

When I requested for a mode of.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Transportation, I called the public guardian's office.

[Jordan Turpin]

And she refused to let me, you know, request for a bike.

[David Scott]

Melissa Donaldson confirmed that legitimate requests have been turned down. When we asked why officials are restricting the use of private donations, they repeatedly refused to answer, citing court ordered confidentiality. I'm just asking really, really basic questions. You can't tell me any of that. After their rescue, the seven miners were placed into foster homes while the six adults were assigned to deputy public guardian Vanessa Espinosa, seen here in a selfie when she started the job. While she worked full time for the county, she also worked in real estate on the side, according to state records. Here she is promoting her work at one of her previous real estate agencies.

[Jordan Turpin]

If you guys are interested in buying or selling, feel free to contact us.

[David Scott]

According to the adult Turpin children we spoke to who were under Espinosa's care, she was often unwilling to help them with even their most basic needs, including teaching them how to use public transportation, how to cross the street safely, or how to access their medical and dental benefits.

[Jordan Turpin]

When I would ask her for help, she would just tell me, you know, just go Google it.

[David Scott]

Vanessa Espinosa did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Hi Vanessa, is David Scott calling from ABC News. How are you? We recently tried to meet up with her at her real estate office, but she avoided us and drove home the next day. The county informed us without explanation that Espinosa's employment had ended while Jennifer and the other adult, Turpin, struggled in county guardianship. Some of their younger siblings were failed again by the California Foster Care Agency, contracted by the county Childnet. County officials have told us that some of the Turpin children have been re victimized in their foster care homes.

[Jordan Turpin]

In the instance of the one adult that was a minor, now an adult, she has reported the one foster parent telling her she understands, not denial, why her parents chained her up. The comment was egregious.

[David Scott]

But even that paled in comparison to what is alleged to have happened in another of the Turpin's foster homes. In fact, one foster care family was arrested and charged with abusing multiple children in their care, including at least one Turpin. Several Turpin children remained in that house for three years while the alleged abuse took place. A lawyer for one of the foster family members says his client denies these charges are true. A Childnet spokesman would not answer our questions about the Turpin case because of confidentiality laws, saying only we take our work very seriously, including the extensive vetting of parents. Experts who know the system are shocked.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

It horrifies me to think things like this are happening to people who have been abused in a system that was specifically set up to help them.

[David Scott]

No county official agreed to answer for the alleged mishandling of the Turpin's case, including the county's top lawyer, Gregory Priamas. Oh, Mr. Priamas, David Scott from ABC News. Can I ask you, sir, about the dire conditions facing the Turpin siblings in this county since they've been in the county's care? Some cases, they're walking the streets late at night, sir. So we took our questions to the county's top elected officials. Excuse me, Madam Chair, May I approach Board of Supervisors Chair Karen Spiegel. Who dodged them. We've heard credible reports of unsafe housing, of in some cases, the siblings relying on food pantries and soup kitchens.

[Jordan Turpin]

We are currently looking into this.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

We have been trying to get these answers and we have been unable to get anybody to return our calls. So we just figured that we'd come to you as the chairwoman.

[Jordan Turpin]

Well, I am not have the information you're looking for.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

We're still in investigation stages, so I don't have anything to share with you.

[David Scott]

In a statement, Espinosa's former boss, the head of the public guardian's office, Dr. Matthew Chang, stood by his team's, quote, exceptional work, but said he welcomes an inquiry but the county's chief executive admitted in a statement, quote, there have been instances in which those we seek to protect have been harmed. And the county is committed to conducting a thorough and transparent review. And so some of the Turpin siblings continue to face dangers and hardships in the county that promise to keep them safe.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Shamefully, the system failed this family.

[David Scott]

Tonight, we are not backing off. ABC News has sued to unseal vital documents about the people making decisions, the donated money and who should provide the promised support. The four youngest children are now together in a foster home where their siblings say they are happy, while the other nine older children raised in abuse valiantly navigate the world.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

If we can't care for the Turpin victims, then how do we have a chance to care for anyone? Coming up, a reunion.

[Jordan Turpin]

I'm never going to forget him. I always think it would be cool to see him again. Hey, guys. We are on our way to see Deputy Anthony.

[David Scott]

I cannot wait to see Jordan today.

[Jordan Turpin]

I haven't seen him ever since the day he came and saved me and my siblings.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

21 year old Jordan now trying on blonde hair.

[Jordan Turpin]

Oh, my gosh, guys, we are here. I just hope she's happy. Jordan, wow, it's so good to see you. It's so good to see you. How you doing? I'm okay. I always, like, talk about, like, you and stuff. Like, I've told all my siblings the story more than once and I'm just so thankful because you saved all of us.

[David Scott]

So I'm glad you had that photo.

[Jordan Turpin]

You get all the recognition and credit. Oh, thank you.

[David Scott]

You did the hard part and you.

[Jordan Turpin]

Did the scary part. I'm just so thankful that it was you because you were so gentle and everything.

[David Scott]

I'm glad it was me, too.

[Jordan Turpin]

I think God brought all the right people in my life. Thank you so much.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And not just Deputy Kolachi, but here is that dispatcher who answered the 911 call and sends a message tonight.

[Jordan Turpin]

Hi, Jordan. You're really brave. You're so strong to go out and do what you did. I want to let you know that the world is so wide and so full of bright and wonderful things. I hope you get to spend the rest of your days going out there and exploring and doing fun stuff and really living the life the way you want.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

What question would you ask?

[Jordan Turpin]

Pretty much tell everything to each other.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And back in the interview, we're almost done. So I invite the two young women who just finished their first interview ever to give their take on my technique.

[Jordan Turpin]

So, Ms. Jordan Yes. Jennifer, what do you see in your future? A beautiful house with a handsome husband. Maybe a kid someday. A nice car. Ms. Jennifer, where do you see yourself in 10 years? 10 years. Keep it question. But hopefully have a house. Nice, nice, nice car. Oh, and have a published book. I love it. Love it. Traveling. I want to travel. Really nice.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And where are you going to travel? What's the first stop?

[Jordan Turpin]

Paris. Yes, Paris. I'm going to have little tea cakes and all that stuff. I'm going to a fashion show. Oh, yeah, I'll go in Paris.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Watch out, Paris.

[Jordan Turpin]

Here I come.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Out of a harrowing life. So much hope. No one doubts. Along the way the mountains will be tall. The challenge is great. They'll need a helping hand. But every day the young women who fought their way out are trying to catch up on joy. How does it feel? Jennifer is now in training to be a manager at a restaurant.

[Jordan Turpin]

I'm heading to work. A big dream of mine is to become a Christian pop artist.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Her favorite song right now is Kelly Clarkson's Broken and Beautiful.

[Jordan Turpin]

The way music has helped me, I want to help people with my music. I really like doing tiktoks. I like Charlie d'. Amelio. They're such a cute family.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

Jordan managed to graduate high school in one year and has been taking college classes. What was your favorite subject to study?

[Jordan Turpin]

I loved government and I loved English and I loved math. I would say, can I have double homework? Can I have. I love to learn. And I was a really fast learner and I got good grades and I was really happy.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

She recently got food stamps and housing through school and she has a plan of her own.

[Jordan Turpin]

Me graduating college, being a book writer or a motivation speaker. When I have kids, I want to make sure I'm in a good place. I have a good job because I want to give my kids the best life ever.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

In the meantime, the sisters say the most important thing in their lives is getting to see their siblings and trying to help them be happy and safe. What is it like to be together?

[Jordan Turpin]

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 going to have each other.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

And their brother who sent the video has a message, too.

[Jordan Turpin]

Thank you for your time. Thank you, thank you for everything.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

This is a big help to be.

[Jordan Turpin]

Able to just get this out and let it be heard. I want the last name Turpin to be remembered as a name of so strength. I don't want Jennifer Turpin. Oh that poor, poor, you know, 30 year old woman who went through a tragic life. No, I want that name to be my name and her name, the Turpin name. Like wow, they're strong. They're not weak, they're not broken. They've got this. See.

[Narrator/Deborah Roberts]

We are strong. So glad you have been with us tonight and as we said before, we're going to stay on this story and let you know what happens next. You've been listening to the 2020 True Crime Vault Friday nights at 9 on ABC. You can also find all new broadcast episodes of 2020. Thanks for listening. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.