A happy family? Photos add to mystery after siblings found chained to beds
Online posts show the family members during happier times wearing identical outfits and sporting matching haircuts.
Tuesday 16 January 2018 13:43, UK
Mystery continues to surround an American family after 12 siblings were found shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks - but do family photos posted online tell a different story?
A Facebook account, which appears to belong to both the mother and father of the family, features a series of photographs of the 13 siblings - aged between two and 29 - showing them during happier times.
In one photo, David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, who have been taken to a detention centre, are pictured with their children in front of mountains.
The family members, who are all wearing matching "Thing" T-shirts from the Dr Seuss book The Cat In The Hat, are seen smiling and having a good time.
The girls all appear to have the same haircuts as each other, as do the boys.
Another photo shows the family during a visit to Disney World in Florida.
The seemingly happy family pose in front of a fairy tale castle with some of the children wearing identical outfits.
Photos also include those of the mother and father's wedding ceremony.
In one image, one of the sons appears to be the ring bearer as the couple are wedded by an Elvis Presley impersonator.
In another picture, the siblings are again seen wearing matching outfits for an outdoor family portrait.
They appear in good spirits and a stark contrast to what police officers were confronted with.
Officers were alerted by a 17-year-old girl who managed to escape the family home. She told them her siblings were being held captive by their parents.
The remaining 12 siblings were reportedly found in a dark, foul-smelling room. Police said they appeared to be "malnourished and very dirty".
The parents were unable to provide an explanation as to why the children were restrained at the house in Muir Woods Road, Perris, California.
They were interviewed and taken to a detention centre and could face charges of torture and child endangerment.