13 Siblings, Some Shackled to Beds, Were Held Captive by Parents, Police Say

13 Siblings, Some Shackled to Beds, Were Held Captive by Parents, Police Say<br />A 17-year-old girl who said she was being held captive by her parents in her home about two hours southeast of Los Angeles escaped on Sunday<br />and alerted the authorities, who then rescued her 12 siblings — several of whom were found shackled to their beds and malnourished — the authorities said on Monday.<br />California records show that Mr. Turpin had received state approval to run a private school, the Sandcastle<br />Day School, at the family’s home, a one-story stucco house in a subdivision built in recent years.<br />Officers found the girl’s 12 siblings — who range in age from 2 to 29 — in the foul-smelling house in<br />Perris, Calif., living in the dark without access to adequate food or water, the department said.<br />The 17-year-old used a cellphone she found in the home to call the police with her startling claim<br />about her siblings being held against their will, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.<br />Dennis Cooke, who lives two blocks from their home, said he saw Mr. Turpin once but never the siblings.<br />They had 12 at the time of their bankruptcy, Mr. Trahan said, adding that the children never visited his law office.<br />The school enrolled six students this year, in grades six through 12, and Mr. Turpin was listed as the principal.