No fire inspection records where 13 children held captive

PERRIS, Calif. (AP) — City officials could find no records that the fire department conducted required annual inspections at a California home that doubled as a private school where authorities say 13 malnourished siblings were allegedly kept captive in filthy conditions by their parents.

In response to a public records request by The Associated Press, Perris Assistant City Clerk Judy Haughney said today there were no records of any fire inspections conducted at the home. The city's fire marshal, Dave Martinez, did not return repeated phone messages seeking comment.

David Allen Turpin and his wife, Louise Anna Turpin, were arrested Sunday after authorities found the malnourished children in their home in the Los Angeles suburb. The couple was jailed on $9 million bail each. Charges that may include torture and child endangerment could come later today and a court appearance is scheduled for Thursday, authorities said.

Deputies said some siblings were shackled to furniture in the foul-smelling home in suburban Riverside County. They were so malnourished the older ones still looked like children.

The arrests came after a 17-year-old daughter who looked closer to 10 jumped out a window and called 911. Her parents had made the home a private school, a prison, and a veritable torture chamber for the siblings who ranged in age from 2 to 29, authorities said Tuesday.