House of Horrors woman bullied at school classmate reveals

House of Horrors woman bullied at school classmate reveals

A former classmate of the oldest House of Horrors siblings has revealed she was relentlessly bullied at elementary school for being smelly and was the designated 'cootie kid'.

Taha Muntajibuddin went to Meadowcreek Elementary School in Fort Worth, Texas, with the eldest Turpin sibling, who is now 29.

He revealed that she was tormented by her classmates, but none of them knew the suffering she was going through at home. 

The woman, who weighed just 82 pounds, was found living in squalid conditions with her 12 siblings in Perris, California earlier this month after her 17-year-old sister escaped through a window and called 911.

In a Facebook post, Muntajibuddin, who is a pediatrics resident doctor in Houston, spoke of his 'overwhelming sense of guilt and shame' at bullying of the woman was subjected to.   

Muntajibuddin added that during her time at the school she was 'frail', had pin-straight hair with bangs, and was known as the 'cootie kid' because she often wore the same purple outfit. 

David Turpin, 56, and Louise Turpin, 49, who moved to California in 2010, have pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of torture, child abuse, dependent adult abuse and false imprisonment dating. 

When the couple were charged, prosecutors said the abuse had begun when the family lived in Texas. 

Muntajibuddin said he has hoped she used the bullying 'as ammunition to forge a successful path in life' but got a 'rude awakening' when he read about the case and realized what had happened to her.

'I've been reading these articles and seeing these statements and looking at these pictures, and I can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame.

'Of course, none of us are responsible for the events that ensued, but you can't help but feel rotten when the classmate your peers made fun of for "smelling like poop" quite literally had to sit in her own waste because she was chained to her bed.

'It is nothing but sobering to know that the person who sat across from you at the lunch table went home to squalor and filth while you went home to a warm meal and a bedtime story.' 

'She was often made fun of by the other third graders because her clothes would sometimes look as though they had been dragged through mud, which she would also smell like on most days.'

One time he remembered 'my entire third grade class scoffing at her one day' when a teacher asked her to take a hair scrunchy made form foil wrapper from an old Hershey's bar out of her hair.

Dr Muntajibuddin said despite her treatment the 'she had this whimsical optimism to her that couldn't be dampened, couldn't be doused no matter what anybody threw at her.

He added that this 'cheerful disposition' is what makes him 'certain' she will 'prevail' despite her ordeal.

After the 17-year-old escaped the police responded quickly, and ended up arresting the parents and taking the 13 children into state custody.

It has emerged the 13 siblings rescued will not live together again, despite pleading with the authorities to stay as a family.

The six Turpin children among the 13 found shackled at their home in Perris have been told that they will be split up into two foster homes.

Meanwhile the seven adults, who have developmental issues, will be sent to an assisted living facility, CBS News reported.

'I feel guilt and shame': House of Horror sibling's ex-classmate on her bullying in elementary school

 ******* Turpin was the one girl at Meadowcreek Elementary that nobody wanted to be caught talking to. Every grade level had a designated "cootie kid" and she held the title for our year. She was a frail girl, had pin-straight hair with bangs, and often wore the same purple outfit. She was often made fun of by the other third graders because her clothes would sometimes look as though they had been dragged through mud, which she would also smell like on most days. I distinctly remember my entire third grade class scoffing at her one day because our teacher had asked her to discard a scrunchy she had used to tie her hair out of a discarded tin foil wrapper from an old Hershey's bar. After that year, ******* moved away, and she was forgotten about after we moved on to the the next "cootie kid."