Shackled siblings found in US home

A California couple has been arrested on charges of torture after authorities on Monday said their 13 malnourished children were held captive in their home, with some shackled to beds in the dark.

Authorities said they were alerted after a 17-year-old girl managed to escape the house on Sunday and call police using a cellphone she found.

She was so emaciated that officers said they originally thought she was just 10 years old.

The 13 victims at the house in Perris, California ranged in age from two to 29, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

"Further investigation revealed several children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings, but the parents were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner," the statement said.

"Deputies located what they believed to be 12 children inside the house, but were shocked to discover that seven of them were actually adults, ranging in age from 18 to 29. The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty."

The sheriff's office said "the victims were provided with food and beverages after they claimed to be starving".

The parents, 57-year-old David Allen Turpin and 49-year-old Louise Anna Turpin, were booked on torture and child endangerment charges with bail set at $9 million. They are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.