California 'House of Horrors' child was bullied at school for being 'covered in mud' and 'smelling', says former classmate

The eldest of 13 siblings found in filthy conditions in a California house was often bullied for smelling and wearing dirty clothes, a former classmate has revealed.

The family home of Louise and David Turpin was dubbed as a 'House of Horrors' after their children were discovered chained to furniture and left to sit in their own feces. 

A number of the Turpin children were home schooled but it has emerged the eldest child, now 29, attended Meadowcreek Elementary School in Fort Worth, Texas.

Her classmate, Taha Muntajibuddin, revealed that she was cruelly tormented by her classmates, who were all unaware of the filthy conditions in which the Turpin children were forced to live. 

In a Facebook post, Mr Muntajibuddin, said he felt an "overwhelming sense of guilt and shame" at the bullying she experienced at the hands of her peers.

He described the girl as "frail" with "pin-straight" hair who was mocked for often wearing the same purple outfit.

The Turpin's eldest child, now a 29-year-old woman, was found living in squalid conditions and weighing just 5.8 stone after her 17-year-old sister escaped and called police.

Mr Muntajibuddin said reading coverage of the Turpin home provided a "rude awakening". 

"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," he wrote. 

"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."

Mr Turpin, 56, and Mrs 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.

All thirteen children and adults, who are believed to have suffered mental impairments from extended malnutrition, have been taken into the care of state authorities.

But it has emerged that the Turpin offspring - who range in age from 2 to 29 - will not live together again, despite pleading with the authorities to stay as a family.

The six children have been told that they will be split up into two foster homes while the seven adults will be sent to an assisted living facility, according to CBS News.