A survivor of the Turpin family’s notorious “house of horrors” in California has issued a warning to the 16 children recently found in deplorable conditions in Ohio, likening their transition into society to a difficult, yet possible, journey.
Twenty-year-old Julissa Turpin shared with NewsNation on Thursday that although the Siders children can expect challenges, they have the potential to heal over time. This insight comes eight years after Julissa escaped from the abusive environment created by her parents, David and Louise Turpin.
The Siders children, aged between 1 and 18, were found on June 30 in a cramped 12-by-12 room in Hamden, Ohio, and have since been placed in protective custody.
Reflecting on the path ahead, Julissa remarked, “It’s gonna be really hard to adjust, but it’s definitely possible.” She expressed confidence in the children’s ability to find healing and support.
Julissa, who was around 10 or 11 when she fled her four-bedroom home in Perris, California, struggled initially with common social interactions, finding phrases like “How are you?” strange and unfamiliar.
“Even with literally saying, ‘How are you?’ That was odd to me that people would say, ‘Hi, how are you?” she said, noting the rarity of such exchanges in her previous environment.
“I don’t remember a single time in that house, by an adult or a parent, ‘How are you?’ or ‘Are you ok?’”
Julissa also admitted that the concept of friendship seemed unreal to her, something she associated only with movies.
“I didn’t know that I could actually, um, have a friend. … I didn’t know where I would get a friend,” she said.
She recounted her liberation from David and Louise Turpin’s abusive control, noting that her sister Jordan, then 17, was the one who managed to escape and alert the authorities. The Turpin parents were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in April 2019.
Describing her newfound freedom, Julissa said, “I was always on cloud nine because it was like, honestly, just being able to see a tree, just being able to breathe in fresh air, that literally felt like heaven to me.” She added, “I felt like it kind of, it can’t really get more scary or worse than being in that house.”
The Turpin and Siders cases share striking similarities.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson described the conditions inside the Hamden property as “third world.”
“They looked like almost feral animals,” he said of the children’s condition. “It was terrible.”
He further stated, “If they had waited 24 hours, there is a very high probability that we’d be dealing with a death, or multiple deaths, of these children.”
Most of the Turpin children were severely malnourished when they were rescued.
Jennifer Turpin, Julissa’s sister, revealed that their diet mainly consisted of peanut butter sandwiches, bologna, and frozen burritos, while their parents indulged in fast food and full meals.
The Turpin children were not enrolled in schools in California, and authorities in Ohio disclosed that the Siders’ children were not attending school when discovered.
“One of the investigative challenges is that [the children] are limited,” said Ryan Cain, the Vinton County Sheriff.
“They can communicate but it’s extremely limited and some not at all.”
Elizabeth Siders and Gary Siders Jr have been charged with child endangerment. They previously faced truancy charges in October 2021 after six of their children failed to attend school, but these charges were later dismissed.
The case was deemed “unable to be served” because the location of the Siders’ parents and their children was “unknown to the court,” as noted in a judge’s filing reported by the Daily Mail.
Gary and Christina Siders have also been charged with child endangerment following the discovery.
All four have pleaded not guilty during their arraignment.
