Crime & Safety
Turpin Criminal Filing Challenges 'Fulltime' Home School
Prosecutors trying Perris parents, accused of child abuse, contend "perjury" on "fulltime education in a private day school" claim.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA – An amended criminal complaint was filed Friday alleging multiple acts of perjury by a Perris man who's accused, with his wife, of imprisoning, abusing and starving 12 of their 13 children.
Prosecutors submitted the revised complaint against 56-year-old David Allen Turpin during a status hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The document alleges the defendant committed eight counts of perjury in papers he signed and filed with the California Department of Education between 2010 and 2017. According to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, Turpin claimed that his children "were receiving a fulltime education in a private day school" when, in fact, they were following no structured home-school curriculum.
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David Turpin and 49-year-old Louise Ann Turpin were both previously charged with 12 counts each of torture and false imprisonment, as well as nine counts of child abuse and seven counts of cruelty to a dependent adult. He also faces one count of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old, and his wife is additionally charged with assault resulting in great bodily injury.
During the status conference before Superior Court Judge Emma Smith, the judge certified the amended complaint and canceled the preliminary hearing that she had scheduled for later this month because Louise Turpin's attorney, Jeff Moore, is immersed in another high-profile case involving a decade-old triple murder near Palm Springs.
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Moore and David Turpin's public defender, David Macher, along with Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham, conferred with Smith regarding another court date, and all agreed June 20 would be suitable. The hearing will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.
Smith scheduled an intervening felony settlement conference for May 18 to confirm that all parties are on track.
Both defendants are being held in lieu of $12 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside and are facing 94 years to life in state prison if convicted.
Their children, whose ages range from 2 to 29, are in the care of county Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services staff. Most of them were hospitalized in January for treatment of malnourishment and other disorders, but they have since been released and placed in undisclosed residential facilities, according to county officials.
District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in January that the siblings suffered "severe neglect" and the alleged prolonged harm left them physically and cognitively impaired.
Hestrin acknowledged that while the abuse was extreme, there's no evidence the Turpins had an intent to kill. The county's top prosecutor would say nothing about a motive, only alluding to an alleged pattern of behavior that pointed to the defendants' gratification from manipulation.
Louise Turpin's younger sister, Teresa Robinette, told media outlets that while she and other members of the family knew nothing of the alleged abuse, she believed it may have begun after the couple began drinking and experimenting with an unconventional lifestyle, including regular trips to Las Vegas and plans for Louise Turpin to take a lover.
Another sister, Elizabeth Flores, has written a book, "Sisters of Secrets," due out next week, in which she details their troubled childhood in Princeton, West Virginia, and living with the Turpins for a summer in Fort Worth, Texas, when she was 20. Flores says her older sibling tried to protect her from sexual abuse at the hands of a relative, but began pulling away from her family after marrying David Turpin, whom she met in church, when she was 16.
Flores told People magazine that Louise Turpin started practicing witchcraft and began going to snake-charming festivals and eating the reptiles.
The alleged abuse of the couple's children at the family's Perris residence involved choking and beatings, according to Hestrin, who said the punishments worsened, particularly after the family moved to California.
He said the children were initially bound with ropes, but when they figured out how to free themselves from those bindings, the couple switched to chains and padlocks.
The siblings were allowed to shower once a year, and if they washed their hands above the wrist, "they were accused of playing in the water and they were chained up," Hestrin said.
According to sheriff's investigators, the family moved to Murrieta in 2010, then to Perris in 2014. They were reportedly preparing to relocate to Oklahoma, which may have prompted the defendants' 17-year-old daughter to sneak out of the home and seek help.
The girl jumped through a window of the Muir Woods Road residence shortly before 6 a.m. on Jan. 14, carrying a deactivated mobile phone with which she was able to dial 911, according to sheriff's Capt. Greg Fellows. She told dispatchers her brothers and sisters were in distress, and when deputies arrived, she presented them with photographs documenting conditions inside the residence, the captain said.
Fellows said three children were found chained to furniture.
The couple were not charged with torturing their 2-year-old, who appeared in good health.
The lewd acts charge against David Turpin stems from his alleged molestation of one of the girls.
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Attorneys are expected Friday to request that a Riverside County Superior Court judge postpone a preliminary hearing by at least a month for a Perris couple accused of imprisoning, abusing and starving 12 of their 13 children.
David Allen Turpin, 56, and Louise Ann Turpin, 49, are charged with 12 counts each of torture and false imprisonment, as well as nine counts of child abuse and seven counts of cruelty to a dependent adult. David Turpin is additionally charged with one count of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old, and his wife is additionally charged with assault resulting in great bodily injury.
The couple are slated to appear Friday afternoon for a status conference before Judge Emma Smith, who in March scheduled a preliminary hearing for May 14 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
However, since then, Louise Turpin's attorney, Jeff Moore, has been busy with another high-profile case involving a decade-old triple murder near Palm Springs. He told City News Service on Thursday that the preliminary hearing -- which will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial -- will need to be rescheduled, probably to the latter half of June.
Moore and David Turpin's public defender, David Macher, are slated to confer with Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham during Friday's hearing, settling on a new date that Smith will place on the court's calendar.
The preliminary hearing, which is likely to last several days, will determine whether there's sufficient evidence to warrant a trial for the Turpins.
Both defendants are being held in lieu of $12 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside and are facing 94 years to life in state prison if convicted.
Their children, whose ages range from 2 to 29, are in the care of county Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services staff. Most of them were hospitalized in January for treatment of malnourishment and other disorders, but they have since been released and placed in undisclosed residential facilities, according to county officials.
District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in January that the siblings suffered "severe neglect" and the alleged prolonged harm left them physically and cognitively impaired.
Hestrin acknowledged that while the abuse was extreme, there's no evidence the Turpins had an intent to kill. The county's top prosecutor would say nothing about a motive, only alluding to an alleged pattern of behavior that pointed to the defendants' gratification from manipulation.
Louise Turpin's younger sister, Teresa Robinette, told media outlets that while she and other members of the family knew nothing of the alleged abuse, she believed it may have begun after the couple began drinking and experimenting with an unconventional lifestyle, including regular trips to Las Vegas and plans for Louise Turpin to sleep with another man.
The alleged abuse of the kids at the family's Muir Woods Road residence involved choking and beatings, according to Hestrin, who said the punishments worsened, particularly after the family moved to California. He said the children were initially bound with ropes, but when they figured out how to escape those bindings, the couple switched to chains and padlocks.
The siblings were allowed to shower once a year, and if they washed their hands above the wrist, "they were accused of playing in the water and they were chained up," Hestrin said.
According to sheriff's investigators, the family moved to Murrieta in 2010, then to Perris in 2014. They had previously resided in Fort Worth, Texas, and were reportedly preparing to relocate to Oklahoma, which may have prompted the defendants' 17-year-old daughter to sneak out of the home and seek help.
The girl jumped through a window shortly before 6 a.m. on Jan. 14, carrying a deactivated mobile phone with which she was able to dial 911, according to sheriff's Capt. Greg Fellows. She told dispatchers her 12 brothers and sisters were in distress, and when deputies arrived, she presented them with photographs documenting conditions inside the residence, the captain said.
Fellows said three children were found chained to furniture.
The couple were not charged with torturing their 2-year-old, who appeared in good health.
The lewd acts charge against David Turpin stems from his alleged molestation of one of the girls.
Investigators said he was supposed to be home-schooling the victims, but it's unclear what, if any, curriculum they were following.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
--City News Service/ PHOTO: David Allen Turpin (L) and Louise Anna Turpin (R), accused of abusing and holding their children captive, appear in court on February 23, 2018 in Riverside, California. CREDIT: Gina Ferazzi-Pool / Getty Images News / Getty Images
