House of Horrors mum SMILES as judge bars parents from contacting 13 chi...

House of Horrors mum SMILES as judge bars parents from contacting 13 children they abused

This is the smirking face of House of Horrors mum Louise Turpin as she was barred from contacting her 13 children found starved and chained to their beds.

The 49-year-old and husband David, 57, were back in court on Wednesday where a judge handed out a protective order.

It means the pair cannot have any contact, written or oral, with their children until 2021 as they face a string of criminal charges including neglect and torture.

There were fears the Turpins may try and convince the vulnerable victims to change their story.

Louise Turpin, wearing a black suit and white shirt, sat stone-faced for most of the proceedings in Riverside, California.

But in bizarre scenes, at one point she broke out into a wide grin that appeared to be aimed at her husband.

The couple are being represented separately in court and David Turpin remained downcast, barely looking up from his long, grey bowl cut.

It comes amid reports the thirteen siblings found held captive in horrific conditions in Perris, California, will be separated into different foster homes.

According to CBS, the six children will be split between two foster homes, while the adults will move to an assisted living facility.

This is despite the siblings requesting to stay together, a source told the network.

They are all understood to have diminished mental capacity.

It comes as CCTV footage emerged showing some of the Turpin children being rescued by police after their parents were arrested for allegedly shackling and starving them.

The siblings are seen piling into the family's large silver van before it pulls out of the driveway and leaves the scene, bringing an end to years of torment and abuse.

One child runs to the vehicle and a person is seen carrying what appears to be a younger child in their arms.

Another clip from a neighbour's CCTV system shows the moment parents David Turpin, 57, and his wife Louise, 49, were arrested by police and led away from their large bungalow in handcuffs.

The couple are facing life in prison over charges including torture after their children were found severely malnourished in the filthy house.

Police went to the home in Perris, California, after the couple's emaciated 17-year-old daughter escaped through a window in the early hours and called 911 from a deactivated mobile phone.

She was so thin that officers initially thought she was 10.

Neighbour Salynn Simon, who lived across the street, said she looked out her window and saw David and Louise sitting in police cars.

She told the Times that David was "staring" at her and Louise kept "laughing and smiling and spitting".

She added: "Then the kids came out, single file in pyjamas and pants. [The police] didn't wait for the CPS [social services], which to me means they were trying to get them the hell out of there.

"They used the family's own van to take them away."

Footage of the children emerging from the home was obtained by ABC News.

The children - all with names starting with the letter J - were chained to beds, beaten and starved as punishment for doing something as simple as washing their hands above their wrists, it was claimed.

They were given rationed meals once a day and were only allowed to shower once a year, according to prosecutors.

The siblings suffered muscle wasting and stunted growth, were severely malnourished and beaten, and were even taunted with apple pies they were forbidden from eating.

The children, including seven adults, are being cared for at local hospitals after being rescued by police.

Prosecutors have said the mistreatment went on for years, leaving several of the children with cognitive impairment and nerve damage from extreme and prolonged physical abuse.