The children of David and Louise Anne Turpin were discovered in their home in (according to the sheriff) “dark and foul-smelling conditions,” with some of the kids shackled to the bed. The 13 siblings, aged 2 to 29, were found after one of the 17-year-old girls escaped out the window and called the police. All of them were extremely pale and malnourished. The conditions of the house were described as “horrific,” though Louise seemed baffled as to what the problem was. None of the seven adults looked older than children, as their growth had been stunted from lack of nutrition; the seventeen-year-old girl who called looked to be around ten.

On social media, the family appeared to be perfectly normal, even posting pictures of all of the kids together at Disneyland. However, the children were almost never let outside, and their parents home-schooled them at a private school within their house with no other students. According to the surrounding neighbors, the kids froze like a deer in headlights whenever spoken to and they were not allowed to share their names. The parents are currently imprisoned for torture and child endangerment, with the bail being set at $9 million.

Source: The Guardian, CNN