Perris couple charged with torture of 13 children face additional felony charges

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP/ FOX 11) - A Perris couple charged with torturing their children by starving, beating and shackling them made another court appearance on Friday. David and Louse Turpin appeared in a Riverside courtroom for a conference about their case.

The couple faces 3 additional counts of child abuse each and 1 count of felony assault for Louise Turpin. Neither Louise or David exhibited any emotion despite the additional charges. This makes 41 felony charges for each.

They have pleaded not guilty to torture and other charges and each is held on $12 million bail.

The couple was arrested last month after their 17-year-old daughter escaped from the family's home in Perris, California, and called 911. Authorities said the home reeked of human waste and evidence of starvation was obvious, with the oldest sibling weighing only 82 pounds.

The case drew international media attention and shocked neighbors who said they rarely saw the couple's 13 children outside the home. Those who saw the children recalled them as skinny, pale and reserved.

Authorities said the abuse was so long-running the children's growth was stunted. They said the couple shackled the children to furniture as punishment and had them live a nocturnal lifestyle.

The courtroom conference is expected to focus on date-setting and other procedural issues. The district attorney's office has drafted an amended complaint but it has yet to be filed in court, officials said.

It is not immediately clear where the children, who range in age from 2 to 29, are now. They were hospitalized immediately after their rescue and since then county authorities have declined to discuss their whereabouts or condition.

Riverside County has obtained a temporary conservatorship for the seven adult siblings, who declined to speak with reporters through their attorneys.

"Our clients need time, space, and privacy while they receive services and begin the difficult process of rebuilding their lives," Caleb Mason, an attorney for the siblings, said in a recent statement.