The nutters in CA who chained up 13 kids...

[RedAngie]

I wouldn't be surprised if the 2 year old is really the child of the Daddy and one of the daughters.

 

[Wishing on a star]

OHHHHH, that crossed my mind, immediately!!!!!

Yes, evil, sickness, and depravity....

 

[cabanafrau]

I wouldn't be surprised if the 2 year old is really the child of the Daddy and one of the daughters.

Have to admit to thoughts along that line, and further. Hesitate to put that out there because I realize these are real people, extremely vulnerable people who have been through a lot and I fear what public scrutiny will inflict on them.

 

[StephMK]

I don’t think people look out for each other like they used to. Think about how many threads come up on here and many posters reply with MYOB or it’s not your concern, why are you worried or getting involved. If someone posted about a weird neighbor with some kids who aren’t out much, I don’t think everyone would be telling that person to call it in.

We have students who move frequently and I can totally see them getting “lost” in the system and no one following up. I wonder if these kids were ever schooled, I’m guessing not? I can’t imagine all of the life and social skills they must be missing. Incredibly sad.

 

[scrhsa]

I read that neighbors thought things were off but no one said anything. We all need to look out for each other.
Such a sad story.

What's sad about our society is that we're damned if we do and damned if we don't. If someone had said anything "people" would have gone off that they should mind their own business! You just can't win. And unfortunately, it's the victims that will continue to suffer.

I hate that this gives homeschooling and belief in God a bad name!! Homeschoolers/homeschooling is SO not like that. It's sad that it gives people like that a chance to hide within.

 

[AndreaDM]

I wouldn't be surprised if the 2 year old is really the child of the Daddy and one of the daughters.

I immediately thought of the Sexton family from Ohio (the same county I live in so it was a HUGE scandal here). Lots of kids that were kept at home for the most part, although a few attended school for a while. The physical and sexual abuse was something out of a horror movie, you couldn't make that stuff up. They were recently back in the news in the past year or so because the mother died in prison.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Lee_Sexton

 

[NHdisneylover]

Their facebook page was still open a few hous ago--those photos of the vow renewal with the girls in the purple plaid dresses---that was in 2016. That means several of hte kids were adults by then---but yep, they are so malnourisehd it appears they never really had a full puberty.
The grandparents said that for "safety" at Disney and in other public spaces the kids would be dressed alike and lined up by age with one parent at the front and other at the back.
And neighbors said they rarely saw kids and when they did they went out in pairs to do yardwork and then went back in together.
Sounds like the kids (and adult children) were super tightly controlled and always chaperoned, and being homeschooled probably had little to no concept of how to get help for themselves---the initial reports guessed the age of the one who called as 10, but she is actually 17. Those poor, poor kids.

Like others, I am struck that the kids being "thin" (one of the older girls looks super thin in several photos), pale, and never hitting puoberty or doing anyhting on their own was not enough for grandparents to question.

The parents were busy starving their kids and filing for bankruptcy repeatedly all while doing "look at me" matchy outfits trips to Disney and multiple vow renewals. They are about the lowest of the low, that level of cruelty is unfathomable to me.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Should we really excuse this couple's behavior as "mental illness"?

Maybe they are just bad people. Some people are just evil.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Should we really excuse this couple's behavior as "mental illness"?

Maybe they are just bad people. Some people are just evil.

and most mentally ill people are not.

It seems clear they knew this was not an acceptable waxy to treat their children---thus the image the put out there.

 

[Hikergirl]

I don’t think people look out for each other like they used to. Think about how many threads come up on here and many posters reply with MYOB or it’s not your concern, why are you worried or getting involved. If someone posted about a weird neighbor with some kids who aren’t out much, I don’t think everyone would be telling that person to call it in.

We have students who move frequently and I can totally see them getting “lost” in the system and no one following up. I wonder if these kids were ever schooled, I’m guessing not? I can’t imagine all of the life and social skills they must be missing. Incredibly sad.

The thing is not seeing the kids out wouldn't really send a red flag up for me. I rarely see some of my neighbors out, some families here are out all the time but some just aren't. I wouldn't think to get involved unless I actually saw something that concerned me.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I don't understand all of the reports of the grandparents stating to the media that they just spoke to the parents this past weekend and nothing seemed amiss. Didn't the grandparents find it unusual that all of their grandchildren looked so small and frail and much younger than their age? Didn't the grandparents question why not one of the adult grandchildren had gone on to college, gotten a job, etc.? They seemed abreast of the fact that the parents were "called by God" to have so many children, yet turned their heads to the rest?

I hope a safety net is prepared for the kids to take care of them medically, psychologically, financially, educationally -- without a media circus around them or forcing them to be paraded in front of cameras or interviewed to earn their keep like reality TV buffoons schilling for a living.

The grandparents said they had not seen any of that family in sometime what with living in another part of the country.


A quote from ABC News:

"When they visited the family in Perris around four or five years ago, they remembered the children looking thin, but believed the kids appeared to be part of a “happy family.”

Certainly a sister of the wife, who lives in TN, said she hadn't seen them for several years, they refused to give their exact address, and excuses were constantly made when she asked to speak to the children. This all points to a decided disadvantage to relying on telephones and Facebook for long distance communications IMO.

As for the grandparents not questioning an adult child making a 6 figure annual salary with the educational background to back it up.............some parents believe there's a time when the umbilical cord is cut and they don't ask their children those type of questions and merely accept that their childrens' ways may not be their own.
Truly bizarre and tragic news story.

 

[cabanafrau]

The thing is not seeing the kids out wouldn't really send a red flag up for me. I rarely see some of my neighbors out, some families here are out all the time but some just aren't. I wouldn't think to get involved unless I actually saw something that concerned me.

I don't know how many neighbors of this family were even aware how many children there were. I can understand living next door, across the street, a few houses down and maybe seeing a couple kids from time to time and not even realizing you weren't necessarily seeing the same kids you saw three months ago and having no idea. The neighbors may have thought something was odd, but couldn't put their finger on it. What do you report and to whom?

So far the grandparents bother me. I feel like the neighbors didn't have enough to work with to be able to do anything about the situation, even be aware of the situation. Seems odd since the grandparents were across the country and the neighbors lived right there, but right now that's how it looks to me.

 

[cabanafrau]

The grandparents said they had not seen any of that family in sometime what with living in another part of the country.


A quote from ABC News:

"When they visited the family in Perris around four or five years ago, they remembered the children looking thin, but believed the kids appeared to be part of a “happy family.”

Certainly a sister of the wife, who lived in TN, said she hadn't seen them for several years, they refused to give their exact address, and excuses were constantly made when she asked to speak to the children. This all points to a decided disadvantage to relying on telephones and Facebook for long distance communications.

As for the grandparents not questioning an adult child making a 6 figure annual salary with the educational background to back it up.............some parents believe there's a time when the umbilical cord is cut and they don't ask their children those type of questions and merely accept that their childrens' ways may not be their own.
Truly bizarre and tragic news story.

The level of malnourishment and under development being described has been a very long and ongoing situation. The circumstances today reveal a 17 year old authorities mistook for a 10 year old. Some of the victims are older and therefore their appearance should have been cause for concern four or five years ago. The 29 year old would have been 24 or 25 years old at that point.

I've seen families inexplicably turn deliberate blind eyes too many times. Heinous and sickening.

 

[Kellykins1218]

Their facebook page was still open a few hous ago--those photos of the vow renewal with the girls in the purple plaid dresses---that was in 2016. That means several of hte kids were adults by then---but yep, they are so malnourisehd it appears they never really had a full puberty.
The grandparents said that for "safety" at Disney and in other public spaces the kids would be dressed alike and lined up by age with one parent at the front and other at the back.
And neighbors said they rarely saw kids and when they did they went out in pairs to do yardwork and then went back in together.
Sounds like the kids (and adult children) were super tightly controlled and always chaperoned, and being homeschooled probably had little to no concept of how to get help for themselves---the initial reports guessed the age of the one who called as 10, but she is actually 17. Those poor, poor kids.

Like others, I am struck that the kids being "thin" (one of the older girls looks super thin in several photos), pale, and never hitting puoberty or doing anyhting on their own was not enough for grandparents to question.

The parents were busy starving their kids and filing for bankruptcy repeatedly all while doing "look at me" matchy outfits trips to Disney and multiple vow renewals. They are about the lowest of the low, that level of cruelty is unfathomable to me.

They were using that same purple plaid dress photo as their cover photo back in 2010

 

[NHdisneylover]

They were using that same purple plaid dress photo as their cover photo back in 2010

really? Interesting--it is labled July 24, 2016 as ar a bunch of other photos from that day.
Weird.
(but good---that those kids would look tht young when some were as old as 27 is really concerning---even 21 seems off, but less horrible ast least)

 

[AndreaDM]

I think the purple dresses were used multiple times, I mean, those kids aren't really growing are they?

 

[cabanafrau]

They were using that same purple plaid dress photo as their cover photo back in 2010

Counting the number of kids probably gives more info.

 

[JaneBanks]

They give me Duggars to the extreme vibes.

 

[robinb]

I found an article about Louisa's sister Elizabeth. They had been raised in a very religious home and Elizabeth had been molested as a child by someone she trusted and loved. Elizabeth's religion is very important to her and joined ‘Pioneers for Christ’ and ministered internationally and is now a Christian writer.

It would explain a lot if Louise was raised in a very religious household also abused like her sister.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...na-Turpins-sister-not-allowed-visit-home.html

 

[Wendy31]

I found an article about Louisa's sister Elizabeth. They had been raised in a very religious home and Elizabeth had been molested as a child by someone she trusted and loved. Elizabeth's religion is very important to her and joined ‘Pioneers for Christ’ and ministered internationally and is now a Christian writer.

It would explain a lot if Louise was raised in a very religious household also abused like her sister.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...na-Turpins-sister-not-allowed-visit-home.html

What's weird is that on the family's Facebook page, the sister comments on a couple of the pictures from 2015. One is a picture of Louisa holding the baby & the sister says, "That's my sister w/ my baby! Love y'all!" And, then, on another pic of David & Louisa kissing, she says, "Love, love, love my sister & brother-in-law!"

Yet, in the above article, she claims she had not seen her sister & her sister's family in 19 years, that she & her parents worried something was a bit "off," & that they had not accepted their Facebook friend requests. She said she had only talked to her sister every now & then on the phone &, when she did, she was never allowed to talk to the children.

Anyway, the Facebook page is haunting, & there are very few comments on any of the pics.

I hate that this gives homeschooling and belief in God a bad name!! Homeschoolers/homeschooling is SO not like that. It's sad that it gives people like that a chance to hide within.

I agree! I hate how this casts such an awful shadow on homeschooling & religion. While they may have hidden behind the name "homeschoolers," this wasn't homeschooling at all.

Very bizarre & very, very tragic.