Louise Turpin, left, and her husband, David Turpin, center, both with their respective attorneys, appear for a preliminary hearing in Superior Court, Wednesday, June 20, 2018, in Riverside, Calif. (Watchara Phomicinda/The Press-Enterprise via AP)
California authorities on Thursday revealed that the “house of horrors” parents would stand trial for 49 of the 50 charges levied against them.
David and Louise Turpin, who were arrested in January and have pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges including torture and child abuse, will face a trial for “all but one of the 50 counts,” the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office tweeted.
The decision followed a preliminary hearing. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz discovered probable cause that the couple mistreated 12 of their 13 children for a number of years. A domestic violence charge was tossed out, however.
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Evidence that young victims endured extreme and prolonged physical abuse.
A recording of a January 911 call was played during Wednesday’s hearing and the Turpin’s 17-year-old daughter could be heard telling operators that two of her sisters were “chained up.”
“They will wake up at night and they will start crying and they wanted me to call somebody,” the girl said in the phone call. “I wanted to call y'all so y'all can help my sisters.”
The teen's call for help led officers to the Turpin home and the parents were subsequently arrested. Investigators described a home smelling of human waste, while the children showed obvious evidence of starvation -- the oldest sibling weighed just 82 pounds.
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The couple have pleaded not guilty to child abuse, torture and other charges. (Watchara Phomicinda/The Press-Enterprise via AP)
Prosecutors argued in court that the children, whose ages ranged from 2 to 29, were exposed to poor living conditions and showed evidence that the couple chained their children to beds and deprived them of food.
An arraignment hearing is set for Aug. 3, the DA’s office said. The parents are each being held on $12 million bail and could face up to life in prison if convicted.
Fox News’ Samuel Chamberlain and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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