New unsealed court documents reveal for the first time how some adult Turpin children were injured in such poor living conditions that Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin called them “mess” and “crime-crime” in a national television interview. described as “infested neighbourhoods”.
Those adults, the documents show, reluctantly accepted housing in an apartment complex they believed to be in bad shape and a dangerous neighborhood. The name of the place was not in the documents.
In January 2018, David and Louise Turpin’s 13 children were rescued from their Paris home, where the youngest of all suffered physical abuse and neglect, seven adults at the time moved to live together in an undisclosed location Went. Six minors were placed in foster care, and now three members of a foster family are accused of abusing several of those boys and girls.
Jack Osborne, the court-appointed attorney to protect the interests of seven adults under the tutelage of the Riverside County Public Guardian, wrote in a January 30, 2019, court filing that two weeks earlier, he learned from Jessica, Jennifer, Julian, Joy, Jonathan, Joshua and Genetta that their lease was not being renewed. Deputy Public Guardian Vanessa Espinoza told him they would be gone by February 1.
Osborne wrote, five Turpins were tasked with finding a new location. They found six apartments they thought fit, but Espinoza rejected them all, saying that five were outside Riverside County and that the sixth cost too much.
“Espinoza reportedly transported three siblings to an apartment complex she found and found suitable,” Osborne wrote. “Three siblings reported that the neighborhood appeared to be high-risk, and the apartment that was shown (two bedrooms) was in dilapidated condition.”
Espinoza could not be reached for comment on Friday, May 19. A spokesman for the Public Guardian, Robert Joseph, declined to answer questions, citing an investigation into Turpin’s care.
Espinoza promised Turpins that the apartment would be repaired, Osborne wrote. Turpins told Osborne that he accepted the apartment with the hope that other apartments would be considered.
But those visits never happened.
On the same day that the rundown apartment was seen, Espinoza completed the rental application and paid the security deposit, Osborne wrote. She rented a two bedroom apartment for Joshua, Jennifer and Janetta and a one bedroom apartment for Joy and Jessica. It was a “done deal”, Espinoza told him.
Joy and Jessica visited the apartment the next day and said the apartment they had rented was “in poor condition and in need of significant cleaning.”
Julian and Jonathan will not be with their siblings. Julian had “special needs,” Osborne wrote, and would be placed in a board-and-care facility, as would Jonathan.
“While (Turpin) is unhappy with the planned move and process taken at the apartment complex, he is resigned to the choice made by the Public Guardian,” Osborne wrote. “In their view, cooperating with the Public Guardian would eliminate the temporary guardianship first. However, each (Turpin) expressed serious concern and disappointment about the planned separation of their family.
Julian objected to the plan because she wanted to be with at least two of her siblings, Osborne wrote. Julian can undertake many of the tasks of an independent life, he wrote, and Joy and Jessica offer to help him.
“The siblings insist that immediate separation from their brothers and sisters will continue the trauma she has suffered. Julian’s siblings further state that throughout his life, no matter how much hardship or abuse, Julian never complained and always followed the ‘rules’ of the house. Family members believe that willingness to acknowledge hardship has resulted in some significant developmental issues,” Osborne wrote.
Some Turpins were physically and cognitively underdeveloped, county officials said, due to a diet that consisted largely of one-time meals, “freezer food” and a lack of education.
Osborne, in a separate filing, initially objected to the new housing plan, but dropped that opposition when the Public Guardian promised Julian would have the opportunity to visit his siblings regularly.
No other document addressed the move. It was unclear why on Friday, May 20, the county objected to housing the Turpins in a different county, what authority Espinoza had to control the location and the budget for the housing. Osborne could not be reached for comment on Friday.
The housing issue initially became public when on November 19, 2021, ABC News aired an interview with Jennifer and Jordan in which they told Diane Sawyer on “20/20” that they had enough food, shelter, and other needs. There is a shortage of funds. On the same show, Hestrin said, “He’s been hunted by the system again.”
The public donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to a trust overseen by the Public Guardian. Separately, some $210,000 was raised by the Corona Chamber of Commerce donated to SAFE Family Justice Centers, and the Jayc Foundation raised $1 million for Turpins, a court filing says. SAFE has said that most of the money came with the donor’s restriction that the money does not replace state or county money for food, clothing and housing. The Jesse Foundation said it is releasing the money gradually as the Turpins gain financial independence.
On the day of the “20/20” interview, Riverside County announced that it had hired retired federal judge Stephen Larson to investigate the county’s care of Turpins and others under his charge. A report on the investigation is expected to be released in June.
David and Louise Turpin are serving 25 years in state prison after pleading guilty to 14 felony counts: six counts of dependent adult abuse, four counts of false imprisonment, three counts of child endangerment and one count of torture. a count of. worldwide attention.
