Last Updated Jan 18, 2018 3:18 PM EST
The 17-year-old girl who officials said escaped captivity from her parents’ house in Southern California over the weekend spent more than two years working on the plan with her siblings, a prosecutor said Thursday. When the teen fled the house on Sunday, one of her 12 siblings accompanied her but became frightened and went back into the house in Perris, California, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said at a press conference
Parents David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, have been charged with committing years of torture and abuse against the 13 malnourished children and could face up to life in prison.
The two are scheduled to make their first court appearance later in the day.
Authorities say the situation came to light early Sunday when the 17-year-old girl climbed out a window of their home, called 911 and showed deputies photos that substantiated her story. Deputies found some of the children chained to furniture when they entered.
Hestrin said that over the years the siblings were first tied up with ropes. Chains and padlocks were then used when one of the siblings learned how to get out of the ropes.
“One victim at one point was tied up and hogtied,” Hestrin said. “These punishments would last for weeks or even months at a time.”
When officers arrived at the house on Sunday, evidence suggests that three of the siblings were in chains, Hestrin said. The couple was able to get two of the siblings out of their chains before officers went inside.
“An 11- and 14-year-old were unchained as the police stood at the door while a 22-year-old remained chained to a bed when the police entered the home,” Hestrin said.
The couple would also frequently beat and strangle the siblings as punishment, he said.
“One of the reasons for the punishments were if the children were found to wash their hands above the wrist area, they were accused of playing in the water, and they would be chained up,” Hestrin said.
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