Renowned Cellist Yo-Yo Ma Performs Private Concert for House of Horrors Siblings
On Friday, Grammy-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma stopped by the Corona Regional Medical Center to perform a private concert for the 13 California siblings rescued in January from what became known as a “House of Horrors,” where they were allegedly imprisoned, abused and starved for years.
According to the Press-Enterprise, the world-renowned musician delivered a set Friday for the Turpin siblings, whom the local community has been affectionately referring to as “The Magnificent 13.”
According to the paper, Corona Mayor Karen Spiegel said the performance took place before Ma’s appearance at an afternoon arts discussion at the Historic Civic Center Theater.
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Since the arrests of their parents — 56-year-old David Allen Turpin and his wife, Louise, 49 — the 13 siblings have been in the care of physicians, receiving the nutrition they were allegedly deprived of for years. The adult siblings are also being exposed for the first time to entertainment and technology many take for granted, reading Harry Potter books and using iPads, according to the siblings’ lawyers.
David and Louise Turpin face numerous criminal charges in the alleged abuse of their 13 children, who ranged in age from 2 to 29 at the time of the parents’ arrest. The parents maintain their innocence.
The adult children have also been given guitars and are learning Tom Petty and John Denver tunes, a hospital official told PEOPLE.
The six youngest children are receiving care at a separate facility, but all of the Turpin siblings have been able to reconnect via Skype.
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The parents were arrested on Jan. 14 after their malnourished 17-year-old daughter climbed through one of the windows of their Perris, California, home, and called 911 using a disconnected cell phone she had found.
The Turpins have pleaded not guilty to numerous torture, abuse, and false imprisonment charges.
Authorities allege the siblings were forbidden from leaving the home, and were sometimes shackled to their beds so they would not escape.
PEOPLE could not reach Corona Regional Medical Center CEO Mark Uffer for comment Monday.
