We all read in horror about the California parents who were arrested after shackling their 13 children in their house of horrors. David and Louise Turpin were only caught after a 17-year-old’s daring escape.
Many wonder what will happen to the 13 victims, aged 2 through 29. It’s very likely that they’ll be separated, and they’ll need a lot of physical and psychological care after what they’ve been through.
One of the people staring at their screen and wishing that they could adopt and care for all 13 Turpin children is none other than Amy Duggar King.
On the surface, David and Louise Turpin seemed like a nice, loving couple. Admittedly, Dan seems to have not picked a new hairstyle since the 1970s, but other than that, they were almost normal.
But they had 13 children, most of whom were starved and many of whom were literally shackled to their beds — rope, you see, allowed too much possibility of escape.
The tortured children have revealed that they were only permitted to shower once per year. They were deprived in every way imaginable, for purposes that we cannot fathom.
And, though we refer to them as “children,” several of the 13 young Turpins in the house were adults. A lifetime of malnourishment, however, made them appear years younger.
Physically, they may never fully recover from the way in which their starved bodies were warped by a lifetime of deprivation.
Mentally and emotionally … it is also difficult to imagine anyone coming back from that, even if they go on to the best possible homes and healthcare from here on out.
Like so many of us, Amy Duggar King saw the story.
Taking to Twitter, Amy wrote: “I just texted Dillon and told him I wanted to adopt all 13 Turpin children.”
“I would love to show them true love and have a beautiful life and provide a secure and stable home for them.”
She does clarify, however, that she has a realistic understanding of how daunting of an undertaking that would be.
“#ifonly #houseofhorrors God can restore what the devil has stolen.”
She follows that with an emoji depicting uncontrolled crying.
Amy wrote again on the subject in a follow-up tweet.
“Anyone who can hurt animals and starve /torture children in any way need to be hung by their toenails.”
That’s quite an image. And she’ll get no argument from me.
“Watching the news just breaks my heart.”
She follows that with a broken heart emoji.
Amy knows that, realistically, she doesn’t have the resources to care for all 13 Turpin children.
The 2-year-old didn’t appear to have been neglected in this way, yet. Perhaps the Turpins wait a few years before they begin breaking their children.
(Again, we don’t know what their motives could possibly be, beyond some sort of sadistic delight)
Like so many abuse survivors, Amy Duggar has seen firsthand what a monster looks like.
Even if we reluctantly set aside abuse allegations about the main Duggar family, Amy is a Duggar cousin, who famously opened up about her childhood abuse before being adopted by Jim Bob and Michelle.
Among other things, she says that her father once tried to run her over with a car. She said that the scariest thing was that one never knew what might set him off. That part, at least, is a familiar childhood story for way too many people.
So Amy must feel a special connection to the Turpin children.
We don’t know what fate lies for the Turpin children. We don’t even know what fate is in store for the Turpin adults.
(Unless you believe in hell, we suppose)
Will they quietly accept a plea that lands them with, like, 600 years in prison?
The only reason for which prosecutors would even offer a plea in the first place might be to avoid making any of the Turpin children testify.
At the same time, some of the Turpins — particularly the adults — might find it therapeutic to safely confront the monsters who ruined their lives with torture and chains.
If there is a trial, one can be sure that there will be a lot of coverage, whether cameras are allowed within the courtroom or not.
Like Amy Duggar, so many of us are captivated by this gruesome story.
