Couple who shackled 13 kids to appear in court

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The California couple who locked up and chained 12 of their 13 children for years, are expected to make their first appearance in court since January on Friday, when a judge will set a date for a preliminary hearing, according to local news reports.

David Allen Turpin, 56, and Louise Ann Turpin, 49, have been charged with torture, false imprisonment and child abuse for shackling their children – aged two to 29 - depriving them of food, and forcing them to live in unsanitary conditions in their California home for years.

They each face up to 94 years in prison if convicted, but have both pleaded not guilty.

The case came to light after one of the children managed to escape on Jan. 14 and alerted the police.

On Friday, a judge in Riverside County near Los Angeles will set a date for a preliminary hearing, which must take place within three months and will decide whether there is enough evidence to go to trial, local news channel KESQ reported.

It could be several months before a trial begins however.

In the meantime, new details have emerged about the case, which made headlines around the world:

- David Allen and Louise Ann Turpin are not allowed within 100 meters of their children and may not have any contact with them except through an attorney, local newspaper the Desert Sun reported, citing a judge’s ruling in January.

- the children are still undergoing medical care. The adult ones are being treated at a different medical center than their younger siblings.

- there still isn’t any clear motive as to why the Turpins acted the way they did.

- media reports said 12 of the 13 children were abused. Unlike other siblings, the two-year-old appeared to be unharmed and well fed.

- the children were allowed to keep journals even though they were chained to furniture, given little food, and not allowed to wash. Investigators have recovered hundreds of diaries from the Turpins’ home in Perris, California, according to the district attorney. This could provide “powerful evidence” in the case, he told ABC News.

- the eldest son, now 25, apparently attended a local community college for years and had good marks in school. His mother would take him to class and pick him up afterwards. Classmates described him as “really pale” and somebody who kept to himself, ABC News reported. The other children were reportedly homeschooled.

- donors from around the world, even as far as Germany and Australia, have contributed over half a million US dollars to a fund aimed at helping the children get back on their feet. Local business groups and restaurants have also helped raise funds for the Turpin siblings, the Desert Sun said.