EXPERT WHO HELPED FREE THE TURPIN ‘HOUSE OF HORRORS’ CHILDREN REVEALS WHAT INVESTIGATORS WILL NOW ASK THE 16 OHIO SURVIVORS

(NewsNation) — A forensic interviewer involved in the Turpin family case, in which 13 malnourished children were confined to a Perris, California, “house of horrors,” is offering insight into how specialists will try to gather information from the 16 minors recently rescued from squalid conditions in Hamden, Ohio.

Denise Rodriguez Bowman interviewed the Turpin siblings after authorities arrested David and Louise Turpin in 2018 on felony charges of torturing and imprisoning their children.

She said forensic interviewers work to make children feel safe and supported while encouraging them to open up about their experiences. Professionals allow the child to guide the conversation but follow up, unobtrusively, with questions that may elicit additional details.

“It is a lot of patience on an interviewer’s part,” Bowman tells Ashleigh Banfield on the “Drop Dead Serious” podcast. “They generally can be long interviews, and we’re kind of moving it along based on the kid’s ability to be in that room and how long they can be in that room.”

At the time of their rescue, the Turpin siblings ranged in age from 2 to 29. The 16 children removed from the Ohio “house of horrors” ranged in age from 18 years to 18 months and, according to authorities, had been confined to a single room in deplorable conditions.

Ohio ‘House of Horrors’: 1 bathroom for 20 people

Los Angeles Magazine reports the rental property, built in 1900, has 1,300 square feet of living space. According to Vinton County records, the residence had just one bathroom for its occupants, including the 16 children, their parents, Gary and Elizabeth Siders, and grandparents Gary Sr. and Christina Siders.

The children have likely been placed in foster care, Bowman said, though she added it is unlikely child welfare officials would be able to house all of them together. Visits would likely be arranged among siblings living separately if professionals overseeing the case determine it is in the family’s best interest, she said.

As for whether the Ohio children have been asking about their parents, Bowman told Banfield it is difficult to know. During her career, she has seen a wide range of reactions from children removed from abusive or neglectful situations.

“Love is a tricky thing. … These kids may be asking for their parents and maybe when they’re going to go home. Or, they may be relieved,” she said.

That was the case with the Turpin siblings, Bowman said. They were “over the moon” to be away from their parents and told her, “Please tell me I’m never going to see them again.”