'House of Horrors' Child Victim Says She Only Saw Her Mom’s Face 'When She Was Coming to Abuse Me' During Yearslong Imprisonment in Own Home

Julissa Turpin spoke out about her mother's abuse more than eight years after she and her 13 siblings were rescued from their home.

Turpin, 20, was rescued from her biological parents' home in 2018 after her older sister, Jordan, escaped and told authorities about their captivity.

Police found that the children were regularly beaten and starved and were not allowed to leave the home in Perris, Calif. Many of the kids were chained to their beds or put in cages as punishment. The case became known as the "House of Horrors."

Julissa revealed that her mother, Louise, was almost always kept out of her sight unless she was coming to harm or to punish her.

"I didn’t ever know my mom, and she was always, like, in another room. I never actually saw her or had a conversation," she told NewsNation's Elizabeth Vargas Reports. "The only time I ever saw her face pretty much was when she was coming towards me to abuse me or beat me up or whatever, you know, something bad."

Louise and her husband, David, pleaded guilty on multiple felony counts of torture, child abuse and false imprisonment in February 2019.

Julissa recalled feeling ill during hearings, sharing, "I would go to court sometimes, and I would see just the back of her head, or even just talking about the stuff with my parents, and I would get physically sick, where I would throw up because of the anxiety from it. And it really was hard to heal."

"But then I [would] see her in like a week, you know, or I’m gonna be in court talking about her in a week," she added. "Even that was hard…It was horrible for me. It was definitely not what I needed to heal."

As a defense for her actions, Louise told prosecutors she suffered from severe personality disorder and family trauma.

Julissa admitted that her mom also may have been a "victim" at the hands of her own family, but stated that was "no excuse" for the abuse she and her other siblings endured.

"I think that is really dumb,” she said. “She can be a victim, but that does not give her any slack whatsoever. I believe my mom was a victim, but that does not give her any excuse to do what she did to her kids.”

Louise and David were each sentenced to 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 22 years. Louise is currently serving time at the California Institute for Women, with David at the California State Prison.

After she and her siblings were freed, Julissa, who was 11 at the time, and the rest of the younger children were placed into foster care homes.

She and five other Turpin siblings alleged they were abused by their foster parents shortly after escaping the wrath of their biological ones.

Their foster parents pleaded guilty to the abuse and Julissa went on to experience her newfound freedom in a life independent from her past.

Julissa admitted that, at first, being free was "intimidating," but was ultimately a gift.

"I was so happy," she recalled. "I was always on cloud nine because, honestly, just being able to see a tree, just being able to breathe in fresh air, that literally felt like heaven to me. I felt like it can’t really get more scary or worse than being in that house.”

The 20-year-old recently bought her first home, ran a half-marathon and is focusing on spending time with her siblings, her dog and focusing on her faith.