Family members of the 13 children and young adults found living in horrid conditions, some shackled to furniture, in Perris said they learned of their captivity from news reports.

One aunt expressed anger. Another aunt said the family had been forbidden from seeing the children. And a grandfather said the last time he saw the family, “the kids were fine.”

“I’m so heartbroken for my nieces and nephews,” Teresa Robinette told NBC News on Tuesday.

“I’m so angry inside,” said Robinette, the sister of Louise Ann Turpin, 49, who was arrested Sunday along with her husband, David Turpin, 57, on suspicion of torture and child endangerment.

Little emerged Tuesday to shed light on why the couple allegedly kept their 13 children, ages 2 to 29, captive in a foul-smelling house at 160 Muir Woods Road in Perris. Three of the kids were chained and padlocked to furniture when authorities arrived at the home on Sunday after one escaped and called 911.

Another of Louise Turpin’s sisters, Elizabeth Jane Flores, told a British tabloid that she had not seen Louise Turpin for 19 years, and neither she nor her parents were allowed to see or speak to the children.

“My parents booked several flights to go see them, but when they got there, they wouldn’t tell them where to go and my parents left crying every time,” Flores, of Tennessee, told the Daily Mirror. “They died before they got to see them again. …

“It’s just heartbreaking, and I’m so embarrassed about all of this,” she told the Daily Mirror. “Something didn’t seem right about her parenting, but never would I have expected it to be like this.

“We have been so worried about them, because it’s been so strange but there was nothing we could do.”

David Turpin’s parents, James and Betty Turpin of Princeton, West Virginia, issued a statement through an attorney Tuesday saying they only know what has been reported by media and have not been able to reach their son, daughter-in-law or grandchildren.

In a brief interview with their local newspaper, the elder Turpin said his son grew up in West Virginia and attended Virginia Tech before moving away.

According to a 2011 bankruptcy filing, while the couple was living in Murrieta, David Turpin worked as an engineer at Northrop Grumman while his wife stayed home with the children.

“He was a fine person,” James Turpin told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. “He did an outstanding job and worked in school, and the last time we were out there was about six years ago. The kids were fine. They were healthy and nothing was wrong.”

He said that his son and daughter-in-law sent them photographs of the family, including some from Las Vegas, where the couple renewed their vows repeatedly. The elder Turpin told The Associated Press that all 13 children are his son’s biological children and that none were adopted.

Kent Ripley, an Elvis impersonator who officiated at least three marriage renewal ceremonies for the Turpins, said he never saw any sort of negative interactions between the parents and children.

“They never appeared to be anything other than a big family that stayed together, traveled together, and did everything together,” Ripley told NBC News. “They were quiet, yet nice and well-behaved,” he said of the kids. “They weren’t bossed around. They weren’t yelled at. They smiled a lot.”

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San Jose man sentenced in child pornography case The Turpins took their children to the chapel on at least three occasions, including one trip in 2015 for their 30th wedding anniversary.

Portraits of a family with smiling children wearing matching outfits while in Las Vegas and Disneyland were posted on a Facebook page. But by Tuesday night that Facebook page with its idyllic family photos had disappeared, having been deactivated.

Staff writers Alma Fausto and Ian Wheeler contributed to this report.