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Traditional Catholic Faith => Catholic Living in the Modern World => Topic started by: Neil Obstat on January 17, 2018, 08:25:07 PM

Title: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: Neil Obstat on January 17, 2018, 08:25:07 PM
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A local radio station has been all over this story like a crow on a June bug. They're convinced it's going to go national any day now, as soon as the depositions start rolling in. Broadcasts I have heard keep saying there were "at least 3" shackled to furniture "in dank, dark corners of the house." But the law enforcement official whose interview was aired today said there were three persons chained, not "at least 3." 
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The station (KFI) has several shows each day, with different broadcasters or show hosts, one of whom is a lawyer (Bill Handel) who has recently been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame because of his performance on KFI. What these announcers have had to say about this story and its implications seems relevant to CI on a broad level of social consciousness, that is, Catholic Living in the Modern World.
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2018-01-15-officials-say-13-kids-and-adults-found-chained-to-beds-in-perris-ca-home/

Officials Say 13 People Found Chained To Beds in a Perris, CA Home
By RJ Johnson - @rickerthewriter
January 15, 2018


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Thirteen people, ranging in ages from 2 to 29-years-old have been found shackled to their beds by their parents in what authorities are calling "foul surroundings." (Actually only 3 were found chained.)
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According to the Riverside County Sheriff's office, a 17-year-old girl escaped from her restraints Sunday morning and was able to get to a safe location. She then contacted 911 with a cell phone she had taken from the home.
(The phone had been deactivated but with a charged battery such cell phones can still be used to call 911.)
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The teen told the 911 operator that she and her 12 siblings were being held hostage in padlocked chains at their Perris, California home by their parents. 
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Perris Police Department dispatched officers to meet with the girl and get a better handle on the story. When they found her, officers were surprised to find out that the "slightly emaciated" 10-year-old (appeared to be 10) was actually 17-years-old.
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After an interview with the teen, officials contacted her parents, 57-year-old David Allen Turpin, and 49-year-old Louise Anna Turpin at the home where the teen escaped. 
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There, investigators say they found several
(3) children shackled to their beds ("furniture" - perhaps not to beds) with chains and padlocks in a dark and "foul-smelling" room. Deputies say the parents were unable to explain to officers why they had restrained the children in such a manner. (A neighbor questions what room is "dark" in the house that everyone knew as the model home of the tract. Speculation says perhaps they were chained in a closet.)
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Deputies found 13 victims in all, 12 in the house, and the one who escaped to call 911. Some of the children actually turned out to be adults, ranging in age from 18-29 which stunned officers. 
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Victims were transferred to the Perris police station where they were interviewed and provided with care, food, and beverages. Six children were transferred to the Riverside University Hospital System, with the seven adults sent to Corona Regional Medical Center for an evaluation and medical treatment.
(The emaciated patients have to be hospitalized for several days while they are very gradually given nutrition since feeding them too fast could be dangerous.)
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Both parents were interviewed and arrested on suspicion of torture child endangerment. Bail was set at $9,000,000 each. (Not a typo -- $9 million each, total of $18 million.)
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Anyone with any information about this case is encouraged to contact Perris police by calling (951) 210-1000, or by email at PerrisStation@RiversideSheriff.org (PerrisStation@RiversideSheriff.org).
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Photo: Riverside County Sheriff's Office

Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: Neil Obstat on January 17, 2018, 08:33:46 PM
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The part that ought to grab our attention is that pursuing questions has revealed that these parents home-schooled their children, and have taught them to memorize Bible quotations, and some of them have attempted to memorize the entire Bible.
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Neighbors have not reported anything unusual going on there to Child Protective Services for various reasons, even though some say they had seen children moving about in the house around 2 to 4 am some nights, and they had only seen the apparently older children doing yard work outside on rare occasions. Neighbors say they had not seen any small children outdoors. 
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There is a full-sized passenger van in the driveway that is usually there, and two or three other cars that come and go, but as for who the drivers of these cars have been, no one is saying much.
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One new report has that the house where this family had moved from (some years ago) was in deplorable condition, with scratch marks inside the closets and on the doors, as if children's fingernails had made the scratches. They were not the kind of marks that animals make, it says. 
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Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: Viva Cristo Rey on January 17, 2018, 08:58:13 PM
Yes.  All over the news on east coast.    Horrible.   
Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: Fanny on January 17, 2018, 09:09:55 PM
This is one reason why we don't watch t.v.

We also make friends with the local police and sheriff, they see us and our children playing out front and taking walks.  They and our neighbors can see the children are healthy and happy. 
Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: MaterDominici on January 18, 2018, 08:21:33 PM
I wanted to give these parents the benefit of the doubt and presume that the officers and media were overreacting to what they found, but the details coming out today support the "House of Horrors" label they were given as this story broke.

The patterns of behavior make no sense at all and I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of the parents was eventually declared insane.
Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: Neil Obstat on January 18, 2018, 09:56:31 PM
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They had their first encounter with a judge today, in court.  (It was either a hearing or arraignment but I don't remember.) The reporter I heard said he had a clear view of the mother's face and he described her reaction to what the judge said. He reported that the mother showed no signs of emotion, but that she appeared to be aware of her surroundings, that he did not get the impression that "nobody's home."
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The reporter (named Chris) said he asked another reporter about the father because the other reporter had a clear view of the father's face during the court session. Chris says the other reporter told him he had the same impression about the father's reaction, that he showed no emotion but did not give the impression that "nobody's home."
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Each of them are being assigned a Public Defender. They can't have the same defense counsel because the plaintiff might try to drive a wedge between them, the news said. The $9 million bail amount was increased to $12 million each (total $24 mil), one million for each victim, and there are 12 victims. They are not pressing charges in regards to maltreatment of the 2 year-old infant because the baby did not show any signs of abuse. Apparently they knew how to feed a baby but that was the limit of their parenting skills. This has led the reporters and commentators to speculate that these parents might have been treating each child somewhat normally in infancy but as they grew older the parents behaved in ways as if to attempt to keep their children from growing up, but when they rebelled they were punished. This punishment seems to have increased as the oldest children grew into adulthood, and sometime perhaps as recently as the past year but then again maybe earlier, the parents resorted to chains, keeping certain ones locked to their bed for extended periods, sometimes for weeks or even months at a time(!) They were not unchained even to use the restroom during those periods. Draw the logical conclusions.
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They were allowed to shower once or twice a year. They were forbidden from washing above the wrist, and one story says that when they were found to wet their arms past the wrist they were then punished by being chained to their bed.
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Sometimes the parents used CHOKING as punishment. 
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This business of restraint seems to have begun years ago when the parents began tying up a child with rope as a form of punishment. One boy was HOG-TIED with ropes at one point. Some time ago, one of the older children (maybe as an adult) having been so tied up with rope, managed to get free of the ropes, and then it seems that was when the parents began to use chains and padlocks in preference to rope.
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About 2 years ago, the 17-year old girl (who would later end up making the 911 phone call) as a 15-year old, began to conspire with her younger sister on a plan to escape. After 2 years of planning, finally the opportunity came to carry it out, and they did. So two girls climbed out the window and started to run away, but the younger sister became scared and returned to the house out of fear, while the older sister continued on with the plan. It was because of her courage and fortitude in the face of this horrible situation that this girl has given all 13 children of these two malefactors the freedom they are now beginning to enjoy.
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It has come out now that when the law enforcement arrived at the house to answer the 911 call, there had been 3 (adult?) children chained to furniture, but upon the official call at the front door, somehow two of the chained individuals became released such that the officers only found one individual chained. How the other two were unlocked is not yet perfectly clear, as one reporter thinks the children themselves managed to unlock those two, but others say they believe the parents hastily tried to unchain all 3 but only managed to free two before the officers found the third still chained. This would imply that the parents had known that children being restrained with chains was something they should be ashamed of. It isn't clear how the officers knew that two others had just been unchained but the officers are confident this is correct information, so we'll find out later, on what their confidence is based.
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Several reporters have asked police representatives what part religion or religious practices or beliefs play in this tragic story but every time they're asked the police say they are not able to answer any such questions about the role of religion.
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Neighbors are being interviewed by Chris and other reporters. Some have said that they recall seeing the children "marching around in circles" around 2 am at night inside the house, apparently seen through the windows (but they haven't said yet). Putting this together with the explanation that the whole family went to bed every morning at 4 or 5 am and remained therefore indoors all day long, only to emerge in the evenings, leads to the conclusion that the parents gave the children some manner of organized exercise after midnight in preparation for going to bed before the sun came up. This also explains why the neighbors almost never saw them outside during the daytime, when children are usually active outdoors. Apparently there were a few exceptions, such as when some of the taller children (later it would be discovered they were adults but undersized due to malnourishment) were seen doing "yardwork" outside. Also, some neighbor said he noticed the whole family marching in line from the house to the van in the driveway, the shortest first and increasing in height to the tallest. They would parade that way out to the van and get inside, then the parents got in and the van drove away. No one yet claims to know where the van went on those occasions. When they returned, the children again marched in order of height back into the house.
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Some neighbors say they had no idea there were 13 children for they never had seen the very young ones. 
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There are already changing details in the story and it's going to be some time before any "official" version emerges. Child Protective Services (CPS) says they plan to do everything they can to keep the children together since to them, each other is all they have in this life, but finding someone willing to adopt all 13 is going to be a big challenge. They have all been through an enormous ordeal, with the exception perhaps of the baby.
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Family photos show them in years past visiting famous tourist places as a group, but there is no record of any of the children being allowed to keep friends outside the family. Neighbors say the girls were always dressed alike and so were the boys. One son was taken to a public school for one class, but his mother went with him and when the class was over, his mother took him right home.
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Apparently the children were forbidden to learn about the outside world and at least some did not know what a policeman is, or what medication or pills are. 
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They were not allowed to play with toys. They were never seen outside playing any outdoor games.
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Police say they found several toys in the house but they were still sealed in their packages, never having been opened. The parents are said to have brought food into the house but they ate it themselves, not sharing some with the children. They are being accused of leaving apple pie or pumpkin pie out for the children to see, to smell and to wonder about, but not for them to eat. The oldest girl, 29 years old, weighs less than 90 pounds and has the physical appearance of being about 12. All the children are severely underweight (except apparently the baby). Preliminary findings have revealed severe neuropathy (nerve damage) in the older children, and particular muscular deformation, both due directly from malnutrition. In the hospital they have been closely monitored for ability to take nutrition, for they cannot be given too much too soon because that could be FATAL. Their bodies are so unaccustomed to normal meals that they cannot sustain eating too much more than what they have been eating for many years.
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They were allowed to write in journals all these years, and these journals, numbering in the hundreds, are being collected for inspection as the authorities look for evidence against the parents for wrongdoing. 
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I have yet to hear how the 17-year old girl knew enough about cell phone use to 1) charge the battery, 2) know how to dial, 3) how to speak into the phone, 4) how to hear and converse with the person on the other end of the line, and 5) to know that 911 was the number to call (since a deactivated phone would not otherwise function at all). From the looks of things, this girl might be a genius.
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Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: Neil Obstat on January 18, 2018, 10:09:45 PM
I wanted to give these parents the benefit of the doubt and presume that the officers and media were overreacting to what they found, but the details coming out today support the "House of Horrors" label they were given as this story broke.

The patterns of behavior make no sense at all and I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of the parents was eventually declared insane.
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It's not unreasonable to expect there must be some mistake here. Lots of observers cannot manage to accept what this story brings to bear. But alas, it's looking worse all the time. It seems to me we're just scratching the surface.
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The closest thing I can think of similar to this is the Charles Manson, Spahn Ranch situation. It appears the father (who was 8 years the senior of his 16-year old bride) was totally bent on complete control of his wife and children. The Manson "family" was not found insane, if you recall, nor was Manson.
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The sanity of the parents is going to be a very difficult matter, and will likely take many months of observation and testing. The father held several jobs as a software engineer so his employment records and co-workers' testimonies are going to be essential. The fact that the mother accompanied her son to school by driving him there and back doesn't look too crazy to anyone yet. She must have had a driver's license, with all that entails. They went shopping for food, maintained cars, acquired at least two residences, and raised 13 children (sort of). Arguing for insanity is going to be a very tall obstacle, even for public defenders! 
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Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: MaterDominici on January 18, 2018, 11:10:42 PM
The sanity of the parents is going to be a very difficult matter, and will likely take many months of observation and testing. The father held several jobs as a software engineer so his employment records and co-workers' testimonies are going to be essential. The fact that the mother accompanied her son to school by driving him there and back doesn't look too crazy to anyone yet. She must have had a driver's license, with all that entails. They went shopping for food, maintained cars, acquired at least two residences, and raised 13 children (sort of). Arguing for insanity is going to be a very tall obstacle, even for public defenders!
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I was thinking that perhaps one of them (likely the wife) would be portrayed as being a victim and/or not mentally stable. I think the idea of one person controlling the lives of 14 people is easier to swallow than the idea that two sane individuals could agree that this sort of behavior is a reasonable idea.
Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: MaterDominici on January 18, 2018, 11:13:19 PM
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I have yet to hear how the 17-year old girl knew enough about cell phone use to 1) charge the battery, 2) know how to dial, 3) how to speak into the phone, 4) how to hear and converse with the person on the other end of the line, and 5) to know that 911 was the number to call (since a deactivated phone would not otherwise function at all). From the looks of things, this girl might be a genius.
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The grandparents indicated that they did have contact with them via phone calls. Someone in the household was occasionally tossing a picture up on Facebook too.
Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: Neil Obstat on January 18, 2018, 11:51:04 PM
I was thinking that perhaps one of them (likely the wife) would be portrayed as being a victim and/or not mentally stable. I think the idea of one person controlling the lives of 14 people is easier to swallow than the idea that two sane individuals could agree that this sort of behavior is a reasonable idea.
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Well, you could be right, I suppose. We'll have to wait and see. There are a lot of mysteries here. I suppose it's not a stretch to think any mother who lets her children be chained up for weeks at a time without being able to visit the restroom or clean themselves must be nuts.
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Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: Neil Obstat on January 18, 2018, 11:53:03 PM
The grandparents indicated that they did have contact with them via phone calls. Someone in the household was occasionally tossing a picture up on Facebook too.
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Speaking of the grandparents, I heard one report that said when this mother (married at 16) was a child she was not allowed to have any friends, and her activity outside the house was extremely limited. So this is kind of the way she was raised.
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Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: Cantarella on January 19, 2018, 12:28:21 AM
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The part that ought to grab our attention is that pursuing questions has revealed that these parents home-schooled their children, and have taught them to memorize Bible quotations, and some of them have attempted to memorize the entire Bible.

I am really hoping this horror does not serve as a convenient excuse to increment homeschooling laws and restrictions across the country, especially "Christian" homeschooling.  
Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: JezusDeKoning on January 19, 2018, 05:30:43 AM
I am really hoping this horror does not serve as a convenient excuse to increment homeschooling laws and restrictions across the country, especially "Christian" homeschooling.  
Here's a local source. (http://beta.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-perris-couple-children-endangered-20180118-story.html)

It won't do anything to homeschooling laws because this has nothing to do with homeschooling, it is clear-cut abuse. Anyone with a modicuм of sense would denounce this as horrific.
Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: Neil Obstat on January 19, 2018, 06:19:33 PM
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Quote from: Cantarella on Yesterday at 10:28:21 PM (https://www.cathinfo.com/catholic-living-in-the-modern-world/6-children-7-adults-found-confined-in-perris-house-secluded-from-neighbors/msg589907/#msg589907)
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I am really hoping this horror does not serve as a convenient excuse to increment homeschooling laws and restrictions across the country, especially "Christian" homeschooling.  
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Here's a local source. (http://beta.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-perris-couple-children-endangered-20180118-story.html)

It won't do anything to homeschooling laws because this has nothing to do with homeschooling, it is clear-cut abuse. Anyone with a modicuм of sense would denounce this as horrific.
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The court and law enforcement is treading very cautiously over the religion aspect, but as Cantarella says, situations like this are used by liberals to further their agendas. I have already heard media spokespeople sneering at the "Christian" label, and "Bible passages" and even sneering when they ask, "Are they Catholic?"
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Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: songbird on January 19, 2018, 06:40:00 PM
I am waiting to see pictures of anything of the interior of the home or of the 13.  Some are children and some adult.  My mother-in-law was 5 ft and 90 lbs. when she married.   
Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: Carissima on January 19, 2018, 10:55:17 PM
I’d be very careful with a story like this, especially it being on mainstream media.
Regardless of whether this narrative is real or not, there is a ‘collective thought’ by every person who hears this story and the horrific living conditions of this family..and that is the question, ‘Who am I living next door to?’
And especially so in this story because here the people were living in an average city suburb, in an ordinary house with a normal looking yard.

Neighbors interviewed only claimed they saw ‘odd’ behavior from this family.

Who doesn’t have odd neighbors anyways.

Just saying perhaps this is an attempt to get neighbors to rat on each other and nose around in everyone’s business/back yard.

That time you came home from the drugstore at 2am with cough syrup for your flu could look very suspicious to that guy living across the street fearing his own shadow cause he watched the nightly news on CNN.

Not saying these things don’t happen of course, just don’t believe mainstream news networks and government propaganda 






Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: Neil Obstat on January 25, 2018, 01:38:06 AM
I’d be very careful with a story like this, especially it being on mainstream media.
Regardless of whether this narrative is real or not, there is a ‘collective thought’ by every person who hears this story and the horrific living conditions of this family..and that is the question, ‘Who am I living next door to?’
And especially so in this story because here the people were living in an average city suburb, in an ordinary house with a normal looking yard.

Neighbors interviewed only claimed they saw ‘odd’ behavior from this family.

Who doesn’t have odd neighbors anyways.

Just saying perhaps this is an attempt to get neighbors to rat on each other and nose around in everyone’s business/back yard.

That time you came home from the drugstore at 2am with cough syrup for your flu could look very suspicious to that guy living across the street fearing his own shadow cause he watched the nightly news on CNN.

Not saying these things don’t happen of course, just don’t believe mainstream news networks and government propaganda
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It's not just "mainstream news."  A small army of independent reporters have been swarming the neighborhood and hunting down every rabbit hole they can find. The father allegedly has some kind of employment in an aeronautical company but when they were beseiged with reporter inquiries the only response was that his employment status "cannot be confirmed nor denied." 
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Neighbors and lurking reporters observed cadaver dogs being led about the property. What they are doing there is not available information. 
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Child Protective Services is taking interviews with prospective parents who would be willing to adopt all 13 children, so they can be kept together.
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The court has ordered that the parents are forbidden any contact with their children, in person, by letter, by phone, by text message, by e-mail or any other means including a third party, for the next 3 years.
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Bail was originally set at 9 million each but a day later it was increased to 12 million, one for each of 12 children. The baby was not included in the bail figure because charges are not being pressed for maltreatment of the baby.
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And you think this might be a hoax?
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I know people in Perris and the whole town is abuzz with this story. How can you hide it? Prisoners in jail can be seen by lots of people. News gets around. To fake this whole thing an extremely elaborate history would have been built up for over 4 years. Why bother? And to fake starving children -- do you really think they could fake starving children?
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Title: Re: 6 Children, 7 Adults Found Confined in Perris House, Secluded from Neighbors
Post by: Neil Obstat on January 25, 2018, 01:56:28 AM
I am waiting to see pictures of anything of the interior of the home or of the 13.  Some are children and some adult.  My mother-in-law was 5 ft and 90 lbs. when she married.  
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The court is keeping the lid on photos and information pending trial. The Sheriff is keeping cards very close to the chest. A lot of secrecy here. Reporters meeting lots of closed doors and "No comment" answers. All the photos released have the children's faces blurred out.
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They said the oldest girl at 29 weighed 82 pounds but I don't recall if they said what her height is.
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All the children were hospitalized for several days and at least some might still be. Their condition was so fragile the nurses couldn't give them a full meal all at once because doctors were concerned that could be FATAL. They've been conditioned to eat such tiny amounts that not just their appetite but their capacity to take food had to be very gradually improved over many days of monitored care. This is going to be really expensive.
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Speculation includes the possibility that the father may have been planning to kill the whole bunch. It has been discovered he seems to have had a job offer in Oklahoma (or a transfer?) so the house was found with lots of U-Haul boxes partially filled with items, making it look like they were in the process of preparing to move. U-Haul's answer: "We know nothing!" If the 17-year old had waited one more day to escape it might have been too late, due to the moving activities and change of routine. So she broke a window and climbed out with her little sister but the younger girl got scared and turned around to go back to the house, but the older girl stuck to her plan, fortunately for all concerned.
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