Parents arrested after 13 emaciated children found chained to bed in California

Two parents have been arrested after 13 of their children were found shackled to beds in their California home.

The victims, all siblings aged between 2 and 29 years old, were being held captive in a home in Perris, California, police said.

Riverside County Sheriff's Department began investigating after a 17-year-old girl managed to free herself and escape, the Daily Mail reports.

The teenager, who was so emaciated police thought she was just 10 years old, told cops her 12 siblings were being held inside the home on the 100 block of Muir Woods Rd.

Officers then arrived at the home and found several children and adults chained and padlocked to beds in a foul-smelling room, ABC 7 reported.

They were malnourished and dirty and all of them have been hospitalised, police said.

Police originally thought all of the victims were children but soon discovered seven were adults.

Parents David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, were arrested and charged with torture and child endangerment. They will appear in court on Thursday.

Their bail has been set at $9 million.

Pictures on Facebook show the Turpins getting married, and 13 children posing for photos in matching outfits for the boys and the girls.

Other pictures show the family smiling on a trip to Disneyland, and another shows them wearing Dr Seuss-style shirts, with each child's top emblazoned with 'Thing 1' to 'Thing 13'.