David Turpin biography: 13 things about Perris, California engineer

David Allen Turpin is a white man from Perris, California, United States. As Pentecostal Christians, he and his wife Louise Anna Robinette Turpin adhered to the teachings of the Quiverfull movement, which encourages procreation.

Originally from Princeton, West Virginia, USA, David went to Glenwood Junior High School and Princeton High School where he met Louise. He and Louise went on to have 13 children.

Initially, the family lived in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. David worked as an electrical engineer while Louise stayed at home and homeschooled their children.

David is James Turpin and Betty Turpin‘s son and Randy Turpin‘s brother. Here are 13 more things about David:

1. In 1976, he won first place in his ninth-grade science fair. In a 1979 yearbook, his motto was, “Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.”
2. In 1984, he graduated from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, USA with a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering. In 1985, he and Louise got married in Pearisburg, Virginia. He was 23 while she was 16 years old at the time.
3. In 1988, Louise gave birth to their eldest daughter Jennifer Turpin. In 1992, Louise gave birth to their gave birth to their son Joshua Turpin.
4. In 1999, he, Louise and their children moved from Fort Worth to an isolated home in Rio Vista, Texas.
5. In 2001, Louise gave birth to their daughter Jordan Turpin. In June 2001, Hill County sheriff’s deputies went to their Rio Vista home where a border collie bit a girl, then 4. In February 2003, Hill County sheriff’s deputies went to their home again after their pigs got loose and ate their neighbor’s dog food.
6. In 2007, he and Louise kept their two youngest children and left the eight others in an isolated trailer on their property in Rio Vista. He and his wife would stop by once a week to drop off groceries but it was never enough food to feed everyone, according to Jennifer.
7. He worked as an engineer at Lockheed Martin but left in 2010. In June 2010, he, Louise and their children left their Rio Vista property and moved to a  two-story home on Saint Honore Drive in Murrieta, California. He worked as an engineer for the aeronautics and defense technology company Northrop Grumman in California.
8. By 2011, he was making approximately $140,000 a year working as a Northrop Grumman engineer. On October 29, 2011, he and Louise renewed their wedding vows with Elvis Presley impersonator Kent Ripley at a chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. They were accompanied by their 13 children.
9. In 2012, he and Louise went to Disneyland in California with all their children except the youngest one.
10. In 2014, he, Louise and their children moved to a single-story home in Perris. In 2015, Louise gave birth to their 13th child.
11. In December 2016, he and Louise participated in a community holiday decorating contest and built a Nativity scene in their front yard. They and five of their 13 children were present when the contest winners were announced.
12. On January 14, 2018, his daughter Jordan escaped from their Perris home. Police raided the house and found evidence of prolonged child abuse and horrendous living conditions. He and Louise were arrested and charged with torture and child endangerment. Their bail was set at $9 million. He, Louise and their children were supposed to move from Perris to Oklahoma, USA on January 15, 2018. Their seven adult children were taken to Corona Regional Medical Center in Corona, California while their six youngest children were transported to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley, California. On January 18, 2018, he and Louise pleaded not guilty to several charges.
13. On February 22, 2019, he and Louise pleaded guilty on 14 felony counts, namely one count of torture, three counts of willful child cruelty, four counts of false imprisonment and six counts of cruelty to a dependent adult. On April 19, 2019, he and his wife were sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years.