Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher early in his life but, by the early 1730s, he had joined a gang of deer thieves and, later, became a poacher, burglar, horse thief and killer.
Turpin ar fi urmat meseria de măcelar a tatălui său, dar, pe la începutul anilor 1730, s-a alăturat unei bande de hoți a devenit, și, mai târziu, braconier, spărgător, hoț de cai și criminal.