Turpin family: US parents plead guilty to torturing their 12 children

The children are happy that they will not have to testify against their parents, according to the district attorney

David and Louise Turpin have pleaded guilty to several counts of torture, dependent adult abuse, child endangerment, and false imprisonment.

The plea deal, announced on Friday by prosecutors, means the two will avoid trial for the torture, imprisonment, and starvation of 12 of their 13 children in their California home.

The court set a sentencing hearing for April 14, when the couple could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison for the 14 crimes they both have now admitted to.

The pleas mark the latest in a case that shocked the United States, when authorities discovered 12 of the couple's 13 children in January of last year. Some were shackled to beds when discovered, and police said they were rarely allowed to leave the home. Several were malnourished and severely abused.

Of the 13 children, only the youngest — a 2-year-old — did not appear to be starved or mistreated. The oldest of the 13 children was 29-years-old.

“One of the children, at age 12, is the weight of an average 7-year-old,” District Attorney Mike Hestrin, who said the couple would spend the rest of their lives in prison after their court appearance this week, said soon after the abuse was discovered. "The 29-year-old female victim weighs 82 pounds.”

Prosecutors said that, although the children were found in severely neglected states, the family dogs were well groomed and in healthy condition.

The Turpin family was discovered after one of the children, a 17-year-old, escaped from the home and called police

“I’ve never been out. I don’t go out much," the teen told emergency dispatch, according to a recording of the phone call.

“I can’t breathe because of how dirty the house is,” the teen is heard saying in the recording. “We don’t take baths. I don’t know if we need to go to the doctor.”

The children were all said to be receiving therapy and care in the months following their rescue. The adult children were receiving musical care, and one was learning guitar.

They said through a representative about a month before their plea deal that they are not bitter for their treatment, and that they are focused on healing.