Inside the Turpins’ former Texas home

The Turpin family used to live in Rio Vista, Texas which is about 40 miles south of Fort Worth. A woman who used to be their neighbor recognized the family name instantly after hearing news of the couple’s arrest.

When the Anderson family bought this home 18 years ago, they thought the former owners the Turpins, were just upset they lost it in foreclosure.

They still have pictures of what it looked like: Windows were broken out and boarded up; the carpets and walls were covered in waste; there were scratches on the backs of doors, that the new owners thought might be from animals.

Since news of the arrest of David and Louise Turpin, they have started to look at all the damage, differently.

“It was scary, pretty scary. I called the place the compound,” Shelly Vinyard, a former neighbor said.

“The Compound” was the name she gave for the property the Turpins moved to in Hill County, after leaving Fort Worth.

“I thought it was like a religious compound over there,” she said. “They were weird and home schooled the kids and kept em away from everybody and wouldn’t say names and I just thought maybe they were a little out there.”

Vinyard remembered the family being friendly at first. They sent a thank you gift once, and their kids played together. She also remembered asking one of the girls her name, and the girl answered they weren’t allowed to tell people their names.

“All of a sudden after that conversation it kind of stopped. They quit hanging out together and playing together.

The Hill County Sheriff’s Office says it has a record of being at the house twice. In 2001, when a dog bit one of the children, and in 2003, when the family’s pigs got loose. Child protective service in Texas had no record of any dealing with the family.