Christian parents arrested for starving and chaining their 13 children inside 'house of horror'

A California couple was arrested on Sunday after their 17-year-old daughter alerted the police, claiming that they were keeping their own children captive in what has been described as a "house of horror."

David, 57, and Louise Turpin, 49, were detained and charged with multiple counts of child abuse after the authorities discovered that the couple's 13 children, ages 2 to 29, were held in captivity in their house and said to be starving.

The Perris Police Department has responded to the home on Sunday when the 17-year-old girl escaped from the house with a mobile phone and called 911, saying her parents were holding her 12 brothers and sisters captive.

When the officers saw the "slightly emaciated" girl, they thought that she was only 10-years-old due to her small size.

According to The Mirror, police found some of the children "shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings."

"Deputies located what they believed to be 12 children inside the house, but were shocked to discover that seven of them were actually adults," a police spokesman said in a statement.

Grandparents James and Betty Turpin said that they were "surprised and shocked" when they found out about the allegations, noting that their son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren make up a good Christian family who were "highly respected."

They said that the children were given "very strict home-schooling" and were required to memorize long passages of the Bible.

Neighbors have described the family as strange but said there was nothing untoward that would have suggested that something sinister was taking place inside the home.

Some have said that the children were shy and pale, but did not appear to be in poor health. Neighbors also noted that they saw some of the children digging for food in rubbish bins.

Neighbour Kimberly Milligan, 50, said she thought that it was strange that she never saw the children playing outside.

The police noted that the parents were not able to provide a logical reason for shackling the children to their beds.

The house was reportedly registered as a private-non-religious school called Sandcastle Day School, with David Turpin listed as the principal. The registration indicated that the school had six students and was founded in the 2014–15 school year.

Lawyer Ivan Trahan, who represented the couple in 2011, said that David Turpin had "relatively high" income, but he had difficulties keeping up with expenses due to his large family.

It was reported that the family previously lived in Murrieta and had declared bankruptcy in 2011. Records showed that David Turpin had worked as an engineer for Northrop Grumman in San Diego, earning $140,000 annually.

The Turpins have listed $150,000 in assets, but they had a debt of about $240,000, including a foreclosed farm in Rio Vista, Texas.

"They came with a lot of debt. We just knew there was no way they could make their payments," said Trahan.

They reportedly bought their four-bedroom, three-bathroom house in Perris, California for $351,000 in August 2014.