Photo: ABC
After years of torture and abuse, 17-year-oldJordan Turpincalled 911in 2018 and revealed that she and her 12 siblings needed help. In a quavering voice, she told the dispatcher about the unspeakable living conditions inside the house.
“I just ran away from home,” Jordan is heard telling the 911 dispatcher. “And we have abusing parents. They hit us. They like to throw us across the room. They pull out our hair. They yank out our hair. My two little sisters right now are chained up.”
In a20/20special airing Friday, Nov. 19 at 9:01 to 11 on ABC, Jordan speaks out alongside one of her sisters in an exclusive interview — and tells journalist Diane Sawyer about the harrowing call.
“I was actually on the road,” Jordan, now 21, tells Sawyer, “because I didn’t even know about the sidewalks. You’re supposed to be on the sidewalk, but I’d never been out there.”
The 911 call led to a police investigation into theTurpin family. The 13 siblings, who ranged in age from 2 to 29 at the time they were rescued, endured regular beatings, starvation and strangulation at the hands of their parents, which prosecutors described in court as “severe, pervasive, [and] prolonged.”
The case became known as the “House of Horrors” as details of the abuse were made public.
In 2019, the Turpin parents, David and Louise Turpin, were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after eachpleaded guiltyto 14 felony counts including cruelty to an adult dependent, child cruelty, torture and false imprisonment.
They are both eligible for parole in 22 years.
David and Louise Turpin.
Their children confronted them in court before they were sentenced. One daughter, identified in court as Jane Doe No. 4, told the packed courtroom that her parents had taken “my whole life away from me, but now I am taking it back.”
She said she was in college, lived independently and had friends.
“I believe everything happens for a reason,” she said. “I fought to become the person I am. I saw my dad change my mom. They almost changed me but I realized what was happening and I immediately did what I could to not become like them. I am a fighter. I am strong and I am shooting through life like a rocket.”
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“I cannot describe in words what we went through growing up,” he said. “Sometimes I still have nightmares of things that had happened — such as my siblings being chained up or beaten — but that is the past and this is now. I love my parents and have forgiven them for a lot of the things they did to us.”
Before he was sentenced, David Turpin’s attorney read a prepared statement from him, which said he “never intended for any harm to come to my children…. I hope the very best for my children in their future.”
Louise Turpin, who read her statement in court, tearfully apologized.
“I want to say I am sorry for everything I have done,” she said. “I love my children so much… I pray for my children every day. I am truly sorry for everything I have done to hurt them. I love them more than they can ever imagine.”
The Turpin family.David-Louis Turpin/Facebook
Speaking to Sawyer, Jordan details the 911 call that eventually landed her parents in jail, explaining that she crawled through a window of the home to escape. Within two hours of Jordan’s call to authorities, her parents were in custody.
In a trailer of the episode, which is shown below, Jordan chokes up while describing the terror of placing that call: “My whole body was shaking,” she says. “I couldn’t really dial 911 because….”
Explaining her decision to call authorities, Jordan tells Sawyer, “I think it was us coming close to death so many times.”
She adds, “It was literally now or never.”
Another Turpin sibling also speaks in the episode, saying of their living conditions, “The only word I know to call it is ‘hell.'”
“Escape from a House of Horror - A Diane Sawyer Special Event” airs on20/20Friday, Nov. 19 (9:01-11:00 p.m. EST), on ABC.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go tohttp://www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
