PERRIS, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on family members found shackled in a California home (all times local):
6:45 a.m.
The sister of a woman accused with her husband of keeping their 13 children captive in California says she never got to know her nieces and nephews.
Elizabeth Jane Flores tells ABC News' "Good Morning America" that she tried for years to get in touch with her sister, Louise Anna Turpin, but Turpin shut her out.
Louise Turpin, 49, and her husband, 57-year-old David Allen Turpin, face torture and child endangerment charges. Officials say their children were malnourished and chained to furniture.
Flores tearfully said Wednesday that she and Turpin didn't have a relationship for decades beyond the odd phone call. Flores says she is shocked by her sister's arrest.
Another sister, Teresa Robinette, tells NBC's "Today" show that Louise Turpin's children lived a strict existence without any social life.
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This Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, frame from video from KABC-TV shows the exterior of the home where police arrested a couple accused of holding their 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif. Authorities said an emaciated teenager led deputies to the California home where her 12 brothers and sisters were locked up in filthy conditions, with some of them malnourished and chained to beds. (KABC-TV via AP)
lessThis Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, frame from video from KABC-TV shows the exterior of the home where police arrested a couple accused of holding their 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif. Authorities said an
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These Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, photos provided by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department show Louise Anna Turpin, left, and David Allen Turpin. Authorities say an emaciated teenager led deputies to a Perris, Calif., home where her 12 brothers and sisters were locked up in filthy conditions, with some of them malnourished and chained to beds. Riverside County sheriff's deputies arrested the parents David Allen Turpin and Louise Anna Turpin on Sunday. The parents could face charges including torture and child endangerment. (Riverside County Sheriff's Department via AP)
lessThese Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, photos provided by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department show Louise Anna Turpin, left, and David Allen Turpin. Authorities say an emaciated teenager led deputies to a Perris,
... more
Members of the media work outside a home Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, where police arrested a couple on Sunday accused of holding 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif. Authorities said an emaciated teenager led deputies to the California home where her 12 brothers and sisters were locked up in filthy conditions, with some of them malnourished and chained to beds.
lessMembers of the media work outside a home Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, where police arrested a couple on Sunday accused of holding 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif. Authorities said an emaciated teenager led
... more
Riverside County Sheriff's Capt. Greg Fellows speaks with reporters during a news conference in Perris, Calif. on Jan. 16, 2018. A 17-year-old girl called police after escaping from her family's home where she and her 12 brothers and sisters were locked up in filthy conditions, some so malnourished officers at first believed all were children even though seven are adults.
lessRiverside County Sheriff's Capt. Greg Fellows speaks with reporters during a news conference in Perris, Calif. on Jan. 16, 2018. A 17-year-old girl called police after escaping from her family's home where she
... more
Members of the media work outside a home Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, where police arrested a couple on Sunday accused of holding 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif. Authorities said an emaciated teenager led deputies to the California home where her 12 brothers and sisters were locked up in filthy conditions, with some of them malnourished and chained to beds.
lessMembers of the media work outside a home Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, where police arrested a couple on Sunday accused of holding 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif. Authorities said an emaciated teenager led
... more
Detective walks next to a home Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, where police arrested a couple on Sunday accused of holding 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif. Authorities said an emaciated teenager led deputies to the California home where her 12 brothers and sisters were locked up in filthy conditions, with some of them malnourished and chained to beds.
lessDetective walks next to a home Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, where police arrested a couple on Sunday accused of holding 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif. Authorities said an emaciated teenager led deputies to
... more
Captain Greg Fellows, Riverside County Sheriff's Department Perris Station Commander, answers questions from the media regarding the case involving 13 captive siblings in a Perris, Calif., home on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, in Perris. California authorities say the mother of 13 children kept locked in filthy conditions was "perplexed" about why police came to their home. Fellows described the reaction of 49-year-old Louise Turpin but didn't know the reaction of the father, 57-year-old David Turpin.(Stan Lim/Los Angeles Daily News via AP)
lessCaptain Greg Fellows, Riverside County Sheriff's Department Perris Station Commander, answers questions from the media regarding the case involving 13 captive siblings in a Perris, Calif., home on Tuesday, Jan.
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Dr. Sophia Grant, medical director of Child Abuse and Neglect at Riverside University Heath System, prepares to speaks to the media regarding the case involving 13 captive siblings in a Perris, Calif., home during a press conference on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, in Perris. (Stan Lim/Los Angeles Daily News via AP)
lessDr. Sophia Grant, medical director of Child Abuse and Neglect at Riverside University Heath System, prepares to speaks to the media regarding the case involving 13 captive siblings in a Perris, Calif., home
... more
This photo shows the exterior of the home where police arrested a couple accused of holding their 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Authorities said an emaciated teenager led deputies to the California home where her 12 brothers and sisters were locked up in filthy conditions, with some of them malnourished and chained to beds.
lessThis photo shows the exterior of the home where police arrested a couple accused of holding their 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Authorities said an emaciated teenager led
... more
This photo shows the exterior of the home where police arrested a couple accused of holding their 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Authorities said an emaciated teenager led deputies to the California home where her 12 brothers and sisters were locked up in filthy conditions, with some of them malnourished and chained to beds.
lessThis photo shows the exterior of the home where police arrested a couple accused of holding their 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Authorities said an emaciated teenager led
... more
Members of the media work outside a home Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, where police arrested a couple on Sunday accused of holding their 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif. Authorities said an emaciated teenager led deputies to the California home where her 12 brothers and sisters were locked up in filthy conditions, with some of them malnourished and chained to beds.
lessMembers of the media work outside a home Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, where police arrested a couple on Sunday accused of holding their 13 children captive, in Perris, Calif. Authorities said an emaciated teenager
... more
In this grab taken from video provided by KABC-TV on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, the exterior of the home where police arrested a couple accused of holding their 13 children captive, in Perris, east of Los Angeles. Authorities say an emaciated teenager led deputies to a California home where her 12 brothers and sisters were locked up in filthy conditions, with some of them malnourished and chained to beds. (KABC-TV via AP)
lessIn this grab taken from video provided by KABC-TV on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, the exterior of the home where police arrested a couple accused of holding their 13 children captive, in Perris, east of Los Angeles.
... more
The Latest: Aunt: Captive children kept from extended family
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4:25 a.m.
The sister of a woman who along with her husband faces allegations of keeping their 13 children captive in their California home says her nieces and nephews faced an extremely strict existence.
On the "Today" show Wednesday, Teresa Robinette, whose sister, Louise Anna Turpin, and brother-in-law, David Allen Turpin, have been jailed and could face charges of torture and child endangerment, says the children didn't live a normal life.
Robinette says the children didn't have a social life and weren't allowed to watch TV.
Officials said the children, ranging in age from 2 to 29, were so malnourished the older ones looked like children. Robinette says she voiced her concerns about the children to her sister but was told their father was tall and lanky and they'd grow up to be like him.
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11:40 p.m.
A 17-year-old girl who looked closer to 10 jumped out a window, called 911, and showed the world the secret horror she and her 12 brothers and sisters had been living through.
Her suburban Southern California home served as a private school and a prison for the siblings aged 2 to 29.
And until the girl fled with photographic evidence, it appears no one, neither neighbors nor public officials, knew anything about what was happening inside.
Deputies said some siblings were shackled to furniture in the filthy, foul-smelling conditions. They were so malnourished the older ones still looked like children.
The parents, 49-year-old Louise Anna Turpin and 57-year-old David Allen Turpin, were jailed on $9 million bail. Charges that may include torture and child endangerment could come Wednesday.
