3 Turpin Siblings Discuss Healing and Family in First Post-Rescue Interview

Julissa, Jolinda and James Turpin spoke about their lives after surviving abuse by their birth and foster parents in their first television interview, which aired as The Turpins: A New House of Horror — A Diane Sawyer Special Event on ABC. The siblings described therapy as an important part of their healing.

Julissa said they will “always have each other” but still want a mother, while Jolinda spoke about discovering things about her brain and realizing “it’s not my fault.” The sisters share matching tattoos featuring lyrics from a Harry Styles song: “we'll be fine, we'll be alright.” James said he has longed for reliable parents and now leans on other resources, including the internet.

Sawyer told viewers the siblings were offered a settlement from the agency that placed them with their abusive foster family, though the agency did not admit wrongdoing, and an attorney for some siblings said the foster-care abuse was worse than what they had endured before.

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