California couple pleads guilty to multiple abuse charges, accept plea deal
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- A California couple, accused of starving, beating and inflicting other abuse on 12 of their 13 children at their home, pleaded guilty to multiple charges in the case as part of a plea deal.
David and Louise Turpin appeared in court on Friday and plead guilty to at least 39 counts in connection to the abuse case. The two accepted a plea deal, meaning they will not have to go to trial. Their children will not have to testify.
The two face a maximum sentence of life in prison with possible parole in seven years.
David Turpin, 56, and his wife, 49-year-old Louise Turpin, were facing more than three dozen felony charges against them each. They both faced charges of torture, perjury, false imprisonment and abuse.
The couple was arrested at their home in January after one of their daughters escaped.
MORE: Outline of accusations against Turpin parents
Police say they found the children living in squalor and shackled to furniture.
Prosecutors presented evidence that the couple chained their 12 children to bed as punishment and deprived them of food. A judge dismissed an abuse charge pertaining to their youngest daughter, age two.
The alleged years-long abuse was so extreme, most of the children were emaciated and barely educated.
Authorities say the Turpin home reeked of human waste and the evidence of starvation was obvious, with the oldest of 13 siblings weighing just 82 pounds.
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