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How The Turpin Siblings Inspired Halloween-Themed Episode Of '9-1-1'
In the episode "Monster," a girl leads authorities to the home where she and her siblings had been tortured by her parents - a case eerily reminiscent of how David and Louise Turpin subjected their 13 children to horrific abuse.
The harrowing story of the Turpin siblings and their escape the deplorable conditions their parents kept them in for years is the inspiration for an episode of “9-1-1” recently re-aired on USA Network.
The world was introduced to the Turpin family in 2018 after the couple’s then-17-year-old daughter Jordan Turpin jumped out of a window to find a phone and call 911.The Perris, California home she'd been confined in was dubbed a “House of Horrors," in which she and her 12 siblings endured torture and malnourishment. Responding authorities found some of her brothers and sisters chained to their beds, having not bathed in months. The children, who at the time ranged in age from 2 to 29, were rescued as a result of Jordan's brave escape.
“It was literally a now or never,” she told ABC News' Diane Sawyer last year. “If something happened to me, at least I died trying.”
Her efforts were not in vain. Her parents, David and Louise Turpin, were convicted in 2019 on 14 felony counts, including cruelty to a dependent adult, child cruelty, torture and false imprisonment. They were both sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
The Turpin's story captured the nation's imagination and the Halloween-themed Season 3 episode of “9-1-1,” entitled “Monsters,” drew from their experiences.
Emergency responders Evan Buckley (Oliver Stark) and Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) respond to a disturbing call: a man giving out candy to trick or treaters gets a knock on his door from a bloodied and bruised girl with a pair of handcuffs around her wrist.
But it was no costume.
Soon, investigators are led to a home where the girl’s siblings had been chained up and tortured by a monstrous pair of parents – a clear nod at the Turpin story.
But the episode also referenced some other real-life cases. To find out more, check out USA Insider.
