The current owners of the two Texas homes where a couple charged with torturing their 13 children once lived claim to have found scratch marks on doors, as well as closets that may have been used to keep the siblings.
The owner of the home in Rio Vista said David and Louise Turpin had previously lived there with multiple children and residents would often talk about how the bizarre couple mostly kept to themselves.
The woman, who didn’t want to be identified, told WFAA that she found unusual vents in the master bedroom closet when she moved in after the Turpins left in 2010.
‘There are two vents in the closet and they are covered up now,’ she said.
She believes the couple’s children may have been locked in there.
The people who moved into David and Louise Turpin’s home in Fort Worth, Texas in 1999 took photos of the filthy carpets caked in dirt
The people who bought the Fort Worth home initially thought scratch marks on doors were caused by animals, but now believe it could be something more sinister following the arrest of the parents
The Turpins lived in Rio Vista from around 1999 to 2010 when they relocated to California. Louise gave birth to at least one child, who is now aged two, after moving to California.
‘She never allowed her children to go outside and play. They homeschooled every one of them and one day they just up and left,’ the woman said.
She described the Turpins as hoarders and said they left everything when the suddenly moved. They had so many belongings in the home it was difficult to walk around.
Prior to that, the couple also lived in a home in Fort Worth from around 1992 to 1999 before they lost it in a foreclosure.
The owners who moved in after them claim there were scratch marks on the back of doors and the carpet was covered in dirt and filth, according to CBS.
The people who bought the home initially thought the scratch marks were caused by animals, but now believe it could be something more sinister following the arrest of the parents.
Neighbors have also revealed the children were not allowed to tell people their names and described the home in Rio Vista as a ‘religious compound’.
The Turpins lived in this home in Fort Worth from around 1992 to 1999 before they lost it in a foreclosure
The new owners took photos of the dirty walls and carpet inside the home prior to them moving in
The owner of the home in Rio Vista said she found two vents in the bedroom closet that were covered up. She believes the couple’s children may have been locked in there
The woman who now lives in the Rio Vista home she found unusual vents in the master bedroom closet when she moved in after the Turpins left in 2010
The Turpins were charged with torturing and keeping their 13 biological children – ranging from 2 to 29 years of age – captive in their Perris, California home
The disturbing details emerged after the Turpins were charged with torturing and keeping their 13 biological children – ranging from 2 to 29 years of age – captive in their Perris, California home.
The children were rescued by police on Sunday after the couple’s 17-year-old daughter escaped through a window and called police saying her siblings were being chained up inside the home.
Police hailed the teenager a hero for her daring escape.
The girl, who was so malnourished officers initially believed she was only 10, managed to escape through a window and call 911 with a deactivated cell phone she had found in the home. When officers interviewed the girl, she provided photos of the conditions and abuse suffered by her and the rest of her siblings.
Authorities found at least three of the Turpin children – aged 2 to 29 – shackled to their beds and furniture with chains and padlocks in a dark, foul-smelling room inside the family home.