California Couple Charged With Locking Up Their 13 Children
CHICAGO (CBS) -- 13 siblings, aged 2 to 29, were rescued Monday from a California home where they were found chained to beds and malnourished, police say.
The discovery was made when a 17-year-old girl escaped the residence in Perris, California on Sunday and called 911 from a cellphone she found in the home, police said. She told police that her parents were holding her and her siblings captive.
Authorities said they discovered "children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings" with little food and water.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department said deputies were shocked to learn that seven of the victims were adults between the ages of 18 and 29.
David Turpin, 57, and Louise Turpin, 49, were arrested at the scene and each charged with nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment.
They are each being held on $9 million bail.
Police said the victims were transported to the police station to be interviewed and were given food and water after they told deputies they were starving, CBS News reports. The six children and seven adult victims were transported to a local hospital and admitted for treatment.
How 13 young people could be held captive in a home without raising suspicions is under investigation. The New York Times is reporting David Turpin received approval from the state of California to run a private school in his home.
A statement from the sheriff's department said the parents were "unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner."