Teresa said her close relationship with Louise had disintegrated in the past eight years, to a point where she was no longe allowed to speak with her sister’s children on Skype.
She said that although Louise and David are now “dead to me,” she has hopes to reunite with her nieces and nephews.
“My main hope is that I can put my arm around them and just tell them that they have family that loves them that's not deranged.''
David and Louise Turpin appeared in court on January 18 and plead not guilty to all charges. According to CBS News, the parents are facing 12 counts of torture, seven counts of abuse of a dependent adult, six counts of child abuse or neglect and 12 counts of false imprisonment. The father is also charged with one count of lewd act on a child.
Police discovered the Turpin children— aged 2 to 29—starving in their Californian after a 17-year-old girl managed to escape and call police.
Riverside County district attorney Mike Hestrin said the children had been tied up with ropes by their parents, and restrained by chains and padlocks when one sibling managed to break free. He told press the children had not been allowed to shower more than once a year.
"Punishment would last weeks or even months at a time," Hestrin alleged, CNN reports.
"This is severe, emotional, physical abuse. ... This is depraved conduct."
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