The Turpin family documentary latest

‘BEAT UNTIL I BLED’

Jennifer Turpin spoke during an ABC interview about how before the siblings were freed, she was afraid to do anything wrong because her parents would beat her.

“If I did one little thing wrong, I was going to be beaten,” she said. “And not just beat, beat until I bled.

The malnourished siblings, who ranged from 29 to three, were locked in cages and chained to beds by parents Louise and David Turpin.

Some of the children were abused for decades. Jennifer was held captive for nearly 30 years.

‘I COULD SMELL THE GRASS’

When the Turpin children were eventually rescued, Jennifer and Jordan described how the smallest things — like being able to listen to music or smell the grass outside — meant the world to them.

Jordan described her first experience at a park.

“I was so excited because I could smell the grass,” she said. “I was like, ‘How could heaven be better than this? … Oh my gosh, this is so free, this is life.'”

WHERE IS JENNIFER TURPIN NOW?

Since the Turpin children escaped their house of horrors, Jennifer Turpin, who was 31 at the time, turned to music as an outlet.

Her first moment of freedom hit her sitting in her hospital room and she said she just danced. “Music was playing, I got up,” she told Sawyer.

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

She told Sawyer that she “daydreams of becoming a Christian pop artist” and that her favourite song is Kelly Clarkson’s Broken & Beautiful.

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

But for now she works in a restaurant and finds simple pleasure in the act of getting fresh air and going for a walk.

WHERE IS JORDAN TURPIN NOW?

During an interview with Dian Sawyer, 21-year-old Jordan Turpin said: “Right now, I don’t really have a way to get food right now.

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

Jordan is currently in a school program that provides temporary housing

BODYCAM VIDEO SHOWS SQUALOR INSIDE TURPIN HOME

In a special ABC report on the family, bodycam footage of the moment police first arrived at the Trupin home has been released for the first time.

Louise Turpin can be heard saying they were in bed as cops informed her they were there for a welfare check after her daughter called them.

Once inside, officers found mounds of garbage, feces, moldy food.

They also found dirty, pale and extremely skinny kids.

In one filthy bedroom, a cop discovered two frail girls, bruised and caked in dirt.

HOW MANY TURPIN KIDS ARE THERE?

There are 13 Turpin children.

All the children’s names begin with the letter J, according to court documents that didn’t provide their full names.

WHERE WAS THE TURPIN HOUSE OF HORRORS?

As the case gained media attention, the Turpin house became known as the “Turpin House of Horrors” and was located in Perris, California, around 70 miles east of Los Angeles.

In 2021, Jordan Turpin, who escaped in 2018 and made the 911 call, opened up for the first time on ABC’s 20/20 about what it was like in the household, saying she thought she was “going to die.”

“I knew I would die if I got caught,” Jordan, 21, told ABC News’ Diane Sawyer.

“I think it was us coming so close to death so many times. If something happened to me, at least I died trying.”

While the Turpin House of Horrors is in reference to the California house, the oldest Turpin child, Jennifer, 33, revealed that the abuse began in Texas.

Prior to their California move, David and Louise lived in Fort Worth and Rio Vista, Texas.

JENNIFER DREAMS OF BECOMING CHRISTIAN POP ARTIST

Jennifer Turpin told ABC’s Diane Sawyer she “daydreams of becoming a Christian pop artist.”

She revealed her favorite song to be Kelly Clarkson’s Broken & Beautiful.

Jordan Turpin said she “loves doing TikToks ” and “loves to learn.”

She has already graduated high school in just one year and is now taking college classes.

Aside from their life dreams, what matters to them the most is getting to see their brothers and sisters.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TURPIN CHILDREN, PART TWO

The kids had to sleep during the day and were active for only a few hours at night.

The Turpins imprisoned the children in a house that appeared neatly kept outside, but was actually filled with filth and reeked of human waste inside.

Finally, cops discovered the kids in the dark and foul-smelling house about 70 miles east of Los Angeles on January 14, 2018.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TURPIN CHILDREN?

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

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

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

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

JENNIFER: WE LIVED ‘IN HOUSES PILED WITH TRASH’

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

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

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

LOUISE TURPIN ‘CHOKED’ JORDAN TURPIN AFTER DISCOVERING BIEBER VIDEOS

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

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

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

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

That’s when Jordan began planning her escape.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JUSTIN BIEBER INSPIRED JORDAN TURPIN

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

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

WHAT HAS LOUISE TURPIN’S YOUNGER SISTER SAID?

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

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

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

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

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

CHILLING 911 CALL

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

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

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

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

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

JORDAN TURPIN STRUGGLES ‘TO GET FOOD’

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

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

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

Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin told Sawyer that most of the Turpin siblings are still “living in squalor.”

MOTHER LOUISE WAS PRONE TO MOOD SWINGS, SAYS JENNIFER

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

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

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

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

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

JENNIFER REACHED A BREAKING POINT

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

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

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

‘THEY ARE MOVING ON WITH THEIR LIVES’

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

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

“They are moving on with their lives.”.

JANE DOE NO. 4’S WORDS OF HOPE

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

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

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

WHEN WERE THE TURPINS SENTENCED?

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

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

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

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

JENNIFER AND JORDAN HAVE RECEIVED ‘HUNDREDS’ OF DMS

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

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

JENNIFER TURPIN IS ‘PROUD’ OF HER SISTER JORDAN

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

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

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

“I couldn’t have been more proud.”

JENNIFER TURPIN ON ‘RELIVING’ THE NIGHT THEY WERE RESCUED

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

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

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

“I’m so glad we got out of there.”

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