California parents accused of starving, abusing children plead guilty to torture

David and Louisa Turpin pleaded guilty in a horrifying case of abuse against 12 of their 13 children.

The California parents were arrested last year, with police alleging they underfed and shackled their children, ranging from ages 2 to 29, in decrepit conditions for nearly a decade. The Turpins pleaded guilty to 14 felony counts, including one count of torture, on Friday and will be sentenced in April, per CBS News Los Angeles.

One of the Turpin children escaped from their home outside of Los Angeles in January 2018 and was able to call for help. Police say they found some of the siblings chained to their beds in dark, disgusting conditions. The Turpin siblings detailed their parents' abuse in hundreds of journals, and more disturbing stories have been revealed in the year since. They've since been found to have suffered mental and physical injuries contracted via malnourishment and physical beatings.

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The couple originally faced dozens of criminal charges, but they were reduced to 14 counts on Friday. They include torture, abuse of a dependent adult, child endangerment, and false imprisonment charges, per the Palm Springs Desert Sun. None of the charges pertained to the 2-year-old. The parents could end up in prison for life when they're sentenced in two months.