The Turpin Siblings’ Escape from a Living Hell and Their Struggle to Reclaim Life

Jordan and her 13-year-old sister escaped the house together by crawling out a window in January 2018, but the younger girl went back home after she got scared. Jordan, who had spent two years devising the plan with some of her siblings, carried her older brother’s deactivated cellphone and called 911.

Once they arrived at the Turpin home, authorities found three children chained to their beds and the rest in small, foul-smelling rooms. Authorities arrested David and Louise and charged them with 12 counts of torture, seven counts of abuse of a dependent adult, six counts of child abuse and 12 counts of false imprisonment.

What happened to David and Louise Turpin?

Beecham explained to PEOPLE that when the parents were arrested, Louise didn’t seem to understand the gravity of what they had subjected their children to. He explained, “She wrote an apology letter basically saying, ‘Sorry I chained you up. It won’t happen again. I’ll be a better mother.’ She was just very naïve to the whole thing.”

“She was just thinking that she needed parenting classes and that would be the end of it. David, not so much. I think he knew the writing was on the wall early on,” Beecham added.

Both David and Louise were charged with multiple counts of torture, false imprisonment and child abuse. David also received one count of a lewd act on a child under 14.

Additionally, the Turpin family patriarch received an additional charge of perjury after affidavits he submitted to the California Department of Education were reexamined. The affidavits claimed the children were enrolled in a private school.

On Feb. 22, 2019, both David and Louise pleaded guilty to 14 felony counts including cruelty to an adult dependent, child cruelty, torture and false imprisonment. They were sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 22 years.

Where are the Turpin family siblings now?

After their rescue, the youngest Turpin children were placed in foster care in California.

In November 2021, Jordan and her sister Jennifer were interviewed by Diane Sawyer for 20/20. The pair were open about their experiences in the “House of Horrors,” and Jordan told Sawyer that making the phone call that set her and her siblings free was difficult. “My whole body was shaking. I couldn’t really dial 911 because …”

Jordan also told Sawyer that when she left her home, “I was actually on the road because I didn’t even know about the sidewalks. You’re supposed to be on the sidewalk, but I’d never been out there.”

Days later, the pair appeared on Good Morning America, where they spoke about the response their story had received. Jennifer said that she had received “hundreds of DMs” and “all the love and support I’m getting, it’s overwhelming, but it’s awesome.”

Jordan also revealed on the special that she hopes to become a motivational speaker. She said of the possibility, “My whole life it has been so hard for me to understand why everything has happened, but if I can use what I went through to make a difference in the world, then I think that can heal me.”

The 20/20 special also revealed that several of the siblings were abused by foster families that they lived with after their rescue. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in the special, “[It’s] 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.”

In July 2022, six of the Turpin siblings filed a lawsuit against the foster parents they lived with after being rescued from their parent’s home. Their attorneys filed suits against Riverside County, ChildNet Youth and Family Services and the Foster Family Network.

The foster parents were accused of “grabbing and fondling their buttocks, legs and breasts, kissing them on the mouth and making sexually suggestive comments” as well as “pulling their hair, hitting them with a belt and striking their heads.”

The most outspoken of the Turpin siblings, Jordan has been focused on healing from her horrific experiences with both her parents and foster parents. She moved into a new home in 2023 with her four guinea pigs and four dogs. In November, she opened up to PEOPLE about her past year and hopes for the future.

“Over this last year, I have learned a lot about mental health and everything. It was a really rough year,” Turpin said. “The last few months it’s been really good because I’ve really learned so much about mental health [and] why everything has affected me the way it affected me.”

Are the Turpin family kids still close?

Despite the horrors they survived, or perhaps because of them, the Turpin siblings have a very strong bond now. In July 2022, Jordan explained, “We all look out for each other. We all have this super big bond. We have our inside jokes, and we’re all very, very close.”

She also said that she’s always watching out for her siblings. Jordan added, “After everything that happened, I’m so protective over each one. Nothing could ever break our bond. I always try and stay strong and positive for them.”

Earlier that year, the 13 siblings all attended a Justin Bieber concert together. Jordan, who often watched Beiber’s videos while held captive by her parents, said, “We were jumping, screaming and even got emotional. I got to experience it with my siblings and it didn’t feel real.”