David and Louise Turpin, the Perris couple accused of years of torturing and imprisoning of 12 of their 13 children, pleaded guilty Friday, Feb. 22, to a reduced number of charges, bringing a sudden end to a case that received worldwide attention since the moment their arrests in a quiet Southern California suburb were announced 13 months ago.

David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Ann Turpin, 50, each pleaded guilty to 14 felonies: six counts of dependent adult abuse, four counts of false imprisonment, three counts of child endangerment and one count of torture. They had faced a collective 88 felonies before Friday’s plea before Superior Court Judge Bernard J. Schwartz in Riverside.

Child abuse charges were dropped, as were allegations that David Turpin committed perjury by certifying to the state in writing that the children were being homeschooled.

The Turpins agreed to maximum sentences of 25 years to life and will be eligible for parole hearings in 25 years after they are sentenced April 19. They remained jailed Friday in lieu of $12 million bail each.

David Turpin, left, in the courtroom during Friday’s hearing, Feb. 22. (Photo by Brian Rokos)

The prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham, standing, during during Friday’s hearing, Feb. 22. (Photo by Brian Rokos)

Sound The gallery will resume in seconds

Louise Turpin, left, and David Turpin, second from right, in the courtroom during Friday’s hearing, Feb. 22. (Photo by Brian Rokos)

David and Louise Turpin appeared in a Riverside Superior Court on Friday, Feb. 22. (Photo by Brian Rokos)

Riverside County DA Mike Hestrin, center, speaks about the Turpin’s case with his defense team from left DA Sr. Investigator Wade Walsvick, Victim Advocate Yadira Sanchez, Victim Advocate Sherri Marcus, Hestin, Deputy DA Kevin Beecham and Deputy DA Kim DeGonia during a new conference at the District Attorney’s Office in Riverside on Friday, February 22, 2019. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)



Riverside County DA Mike Hestrin speaks about the Turpin’s case during a new conference at the District Attorney’s Office in Riverside on Friday, February 22, 2019. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County DA Mike Hestrin takes questions from the media about the Turpin’s case during a new conference at the District Attorney’s Office in Riverside on Friday, February 22, 2019. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County DA Mike Hestrin shows his emotion as he speaks about the Turpin’s and how the children were treated during a new conference at the District Attorney’s Office in Riverside on Friday, February 22, 2019. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County DA Mike Hestrin, right, speaks about the Turpin’s case with from left DA Sr. Investigator Wade Walsvick, Victim Advocate Yadira Sanchez and Victim Advocate Sherri Marcus during a new conference at the District Attorney’s Office in Riverside on Friday, February 22, 2019. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County DA Mike Hestrin, center, speaks about the Turpin’s case with his defense team from left DA Sr. Investigator Wade Walsvick, Victim Advocate Yadira Sanchez, Victim Advocate Sherri Marcus, Hestin, Deputy DA Kevin Beecham and Deputy DA Kim DeGonia during a new conference at the District Attorney’s Office in Riverside on Friday, February 22, 2019. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)



Riverside County DA Mike Hestrin, center, speaks about the Turpin’s case with his defense team from left DA Sr. Investigator Wade Walsvick, Victim Advocate Yadira Sanchez, Victim Advocate Sherri Marcus, Hestin, Deputy DA Kevin Beecham and Deputy DA Kim DeGonia during a new conference at the District Attorney’s Office in Riverside on Friday, February 22, 2019. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Louise wiped away tears and David sat stoically as they answered “guilty” a total of 28 times as the charges were read.

Only a daughter who was 2 at the time of the Jan. 14, 2018, arrests was not neglected or abused in some fashion, District Attorney Mike Hestrin said, and the charges intentionally reflected at least one count for every victim, now five minors and eight adults.

“This is one of the worst and most aggravated child abuse cases I have ever seen,” Hestrin said at a news conference after the morning court hearing,

The plea vacates a Sept. 3 trial at which some of the children — now ages 3 to 30 — were expected to provide testimony.

“We were going to seek justice in a way that did not bring further harm to the victims,” Hestrin said, adding he was glad that the children won’t need to testify. “I believe we have accomplished that.”

The children, with whom Hestrin met with as a group before striking the plea bargain, were “uniformly pleased that they would not have to testify.”

However, Hestrin’s office was prepared to put them on the witness stand had the case gone to trial. He declined to say how the children feel about their parents.

David Turpin’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender David J. Macher, declined to comment afterward to the media. Louise Turpin’s attorney, Jeff Moore, also declined to talk about the pleas.

Early in the case, Hestrin said he wanted the Turpins to spend the rest of their lives in custody. However, a new state law in January 2018 provided for a parole hearing for anyone older than 60 who has served 25 years. That means David could be freed at about age 82, and Louise at about age 75.

“Given the age of both defendants, essentially what the Turpins pleaded to today was the maximum they could get under California law,” Hestrin said.

That was not enough for some people.

“No sentence would be adequate punishment for what they did to those children,” Kathy Hall Flores, a distant relative of Louise’s sister, Elizabeth Flores, said in a Facebook message to the Southern California News Group. “Some people said they should be put to death; I felt that would end their suffering too soon.”

But she considered the pleas “justice for the children who can now go on with their lives without worrying about having to testify or even seeing their parents ever again.”

David Turpin’s father, Jim, reached by phone at his home in West Virginia, had little to say about the pleas. “We don’t know the details of this and would prefer not to know them. Goodbye,” he said before hanging up.

Louise’s sister, Elizabeth Flores, who wrote about their relationship in the book “Sisters of Secrets,” said in a phone interview from Tennessee that she has mixed emotions.

“One thing I stick by, she was the sister who protected me (from sexual abuse) growing up. It’s hard for me to separate who she was then from who she is today. I also don’t condone what she has done. There needs to be justice for my nieces and nephews,” Flores said.

The crimes came to light early Jan. 14, 2018, when a 17-year-old daughter put into action a plan two years in the making: She grabbed a deactivated cell phone that was still capable of calling 911, snuck out a bedroom window and called the Sheriff’s Department. She said two sisters and a brother were chained to their beds and that her parents were abusive.

Deputies arrived at 160 Muir Woods Road to find two children shackled. Initially, they believed that all 13 were minors because their physical development had been impaired by years of malnourishment.

Prosecutors later revealed a litany of allegations: The diet of peanut butter sandwiches and frozen burritos left the children cognitively impaired; that school principal David Turpin had given his children little more than a first-grade education; violations such as “stealing” food could get a child struck in the head, hair pulled, thrown down a flight of stairs or paddled — with progressively harsher punishment for subsequent infractions. Those included being placed in a locked 7-foot by 5-foot “cage” or a smaller, locked kennel-style container.

The children — whose names all begin with the letter J — were forced to wear soiled clothes, and some were allowed to shower only once a year. There was testimony that the abuse had begun when they lived in Texas, continued when the family moved to Murrieta in 2010 and to Perris in 2014. The parents were not prosecuted in Texas.

The answer to the biggest question — why did the Turpins do this — remained elusive even after their pleas.

“It’s sort of an existential question,” said Hestrin, who paused before tackling the subject. “Many times we find out what happened, but we don’t always get to know why. These are complex issues when you are talking about motivations to commit crimes. You may be asking me to get in the minds of the defendants. I can’t do that.”

The case spawned fundraising efforts that brought in about $500,000 for the children in the first month alone, including $200,000 through the Corona Chamber of Commerce. There were gifts of guitars and computer tablets and a private concert for the children by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The minors are in foster homes; the adults are in residences, overseen by the Riverside County Public Guardian.

Media from Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey and elsewhere inquired about the case or attended court hearings. Australian TV aired a documentary. Elizabeth Flores appeared on TV shows Good Morning Britain, Good Morning America, Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz.

At least two Facebook groups dedicated to the case, Courageous 13 and The Official Turpin Family Case Discussion, popped up. Members from around the world, some with little knowledge of the U.S. legal system, wondered why the case was taking so long and filled posts with demands for death sentences, Internet photographs of the parents, gossip about David’s hair and Louise’s fingernails and best wishes for the children on their birthdays.

Hestrin said he believes the children can move on with their lives as they recover from their abuse.

“I was very taken by them, by their optimism, by their hope for the future — their future. They have a zest for life and huge smiles, and I’m optimistic for them,” Hestrin said.