Update on How 'House of Horrors' Children Are Adjusting to Their New Lives
It’s the story that few people saw coming and it has broken hearts across the world. The people who were supposed to care for their children and prepare them for the cruelty of the world were absolute monsters themselves.
Ever since the Turpin children were discovered and rescued, the questions have been flying fast: who can take them in? Will they ever be able to adjust? What punishment is harsh enough for such a heinous crime?
While David and Louise Turpin still deny all charges and potentially face life in prison, their children are finally being offered freedom.
It’s poetic justice. The prisoners have been set free, and the two prison guards are now facing a much longer lockup (and yet that sentence is still more humane than the horrors they dished out).
The oldest seven children have been kept at a hospital to monitor their progress. Some of their progress was halted when they caught the flu last week.
Authorities continue to monitor them. There was some concern that the young adults might need mental as well as physical assistance, but they have shown a desire to assimilate and do things other normal adults do.
Jack Osborn, whose firm is representing the seven oldest siblings, said that there have been promising advancements in their health and they have begun to adjust.
“Most of all, they’re looking forward to being independent and coming up with a game plan for their life,” he said.
“They want to finish school, they want to have careers. They look forward to going out to movies and shopping and everything else people their age are doing.”
It’s difficult to imagine a world where you are shackled to your own bed, haven’t seen movies, don’t know about the current culture, and are not allowed to eat common foods like lasagna.
But that was the reality for these individuals. Fortunately, they’re learning, and have been given access to so many delights that they were barred from before.
While burritos don’t rank high on the list of favored foods, the siblings have taken a shine to dishes like fish, lasagna and lentil soup. A whole new culinary world has opened up before them.
And the technology and popular culture — there’s so much to investigate! Many kids have grown up with Star Wars and Harry Potter, but these seven souls are experiencing them for the first time, and they’re loving it.
“They immediately identify with characters and our female clients love female characters in movies,” said Osborn. “They’ve really embraced those kinds of things. My impression is a lot of the stuff is new to them.”
They’re also enjoying listening to music, playing various sports, and reading. Their favorite subjects are reportedly nature-based, and that would make perfect sense because that they weren’t allowed to go outside during much of their captivity.
The six younger children are being fostered by two different families. Updates are not currently available on them because they are still minors.
Hopefully, all of them will continue to find joy in exploring the world and its possibilities, and the goodness they find will begin to overwrite their bitter pasts.
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