There were no toys and no bicycles on the front lawn — only weeds that sometimes reached six feet tall.

Neighbors rarely saw the 13 siblings who lived inside the home in a quiet neighborhood in Southern California, because they never went outside to play. Instead, authorities said, they were held captive in a dirty and foul-smelling house, some shackled to the furniture with chains and padlocks.

Minutes before sunrise Sunday, a 17-year-old girl escaped from the home in Perris, not far from Los Angeles, slipping through a window and dialing 911 on a deactivated cellphone, Capt. Greg Fellows of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday at a news conference. Under federal law, cellphones — even those that are no longer operational — must be able to call emergency services.

Deputies met the teenager, who reported that she and her siblings were being held against their will.

Fellows said she showed them photos that convinced them to believe her and conducted a welfare check at the home. There, he said, deputies found a dozen other siblings, age 2 to 29, malnourished and living in what authorities called “horrific” conditions.

“We do need to acknowledge the courage of the young girl who escaped from that residence to bring attention so they could get the help that they so needed,” he said during the news conference.

Fellows said he could not provide details about the scene, but told reporters, “If you can imagine being 17 years old and appearing to be a 10-year-old, being chained to a bed, being malnourished and the injuries associated with that — I would call that torture.” He said there was no evidence to indicate sexual abuse but noted that authorities are still investigating the circumstances.

The biological parents, David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, have been arrested on charges of torture and child endangerment, authorities said.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in an earlier news release that the 13 siblings all appeared to be children, so deputies were “shocked” to discover that seven of them are adults.

They appeared malnourished and dirty and told authorities that they were starving.

Authorities gave them food and beverages, then the six minors were taken to Riverside University Hospital System Medical Center for treatment, according to the sheriff’s department. The seven older siblings were taken to a different hospital.

Kimberly Trone, a spokeswoman for the Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley, said Tuesday that the minors were admitted into the pediatrics unit for treatment Sunday but that she could not comment on their conditions. However, she noted that the patients, who range in age from 2 to 17, were taken to the sheriff’s department before being transported to the hospital.

Corona Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Linda Pearson confirmed Tuesday that the seven adult siblings were being treated at the hospital, but did not elaborate.

Susan von Zabern, with the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, said during the news conference that social services officials are seeking court authorization to provide care for the siblings, including the adults, if necessary.

Authorities said that David and Louise Turpin were “unable to immediately provide a logical reason” why their children were shackled and chained and that Louise Turpin seemed “perplexed” by the investigators’ questions. After an interview with police, the two were arrested. Bail is set at $9 million each.

A public information officer for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said no criminal case has yet been filed, so no court documents are available. The couple is expected to be arraigned Thursday, so prosecutors have until then make a decision, he said.

Perris Mayor Michael Vargas said he was “devastated by this act of cruelty.”

“I can’t begin to imagine the pain and suffering they have endured,” he said.

David Turpin’s parents, James and Betty Turpin of West Virginia, told ABC News that they were “surprised and shocked” by the allegations. They said their son and daughter-in-law, whom they have not seen for several years, are religious and kept having children because “God called on them.”

The grandparents said that the children are home-schooled, made to memorize long scriptures in the Bible. Some of the children, the grandparents told ABC News, have tried to memorize the entire book.

David Turpin is listed in a state Department of Education directory as the principal of Sandcastle Day School, a private K-12 school that he ran from the couple’s home. The school opened in 2011, according to the directory. In the 2016-2017 year, the school enrolled six students — one in each the fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th and 12th grades.

Fellows, with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, said Tuesday that there is no indication that other students were involved in the school. He also said that authorities have no information about any involvement with any religious organization.

Fellows said the Turpins have lived in the city since 2014 and that authorities had never been called to the residence in that time.

But according to public records, the couple own the home and have lived there since 2010. They previously lived in Texas for many years and have twice declared bankruptcy.

Read the full story at The Washington Post.

The exterior of the home in Perris, Calif. where police arrested a couple accused of holding their 13 children captive. (Alex Gallardo/AP)

This combination image shows the booking photos of Louise Anna Turpin, 49, and David Allen Turpin, 57. The California couple have been arrested after authorities found a dozen malnourished siblings held captive in their home, some shackled in the dark to their beds with chains and padlocks, officials said. Authorities have launched a torture probe. (Jose Romero/Riverside County Sheriff’s Department/AFP/Getty Images)

This combination image shows the booking photos of Louise Anna Turpin, 49, and David Allen Turpin, 57. The California couple have been arrested after authorities found a dozen malnourished siblings held captive in their home, some shackled in the dark to their beds with chains and padlocks, officials said. Authorities have launched a torture probe. (Jose Romero/Riverside County Sheriff’s Department/AFP/Getty Images)

The exterior of the home in Perris, Calif. where police arrested a couple accused of holding their 13 children captive. (Alex Gallardo/AP)