'Missing' Basement Boy's Stepmother Threatened to Make Him 'Disappear,' Court Told
The Detroit boy who was allegedly kept hidden in the family's basement has told authorities that stepmother would punch him and threaten to make him disappear, according to a petition filed in Wayne County Court.
Charlie Bothuell V, 12, told the court that he had been disciplined with a PVC pipe, sometime to the point that he was too sore to sit or walk, and has been abused by his father for the entire two years he has resided with him, the document states. It also said Charlie was found shivering and hungry.
In addition, the said he was forced to perform a punishing exercise program more suitable for a grown athlete.
The petition filed in juvenile court last week detailed abuse accusations made by the boy against his father, Charlie Bothuell IV, and his stepmother, Monique Dillard-Bothuell.
The boy's alleged plight became public after a massive 11 day search for the boy that ended when he was discovered hiding in his own basement.
Bothuell accused his stepmother of punching him and threatening to kill him, telling the boy that I can make you disappear, according to the petition.
Dillard-Bothuell had put him in the basement on June 14 after accusing him of lying to her about completing his evening workout. The boy told authorities that he heard his stepmother go upstairs, call his father and told him Charlie went missing and that she looked everywhere.
The boy said when his stepmother came back to the basement, she would tell him to shut up, stay quiet, and dont say anything, no matter what you hear.
The workout the 12-year-old was subjected to was grueling. He was forced to do 100 push-ups, 200 sit-ups and 100 jumping jacks twice a day, he claimed. He would have to curl a 25-pound weight on each arm and do 5,000 revolutions on an exercise machine. If he didnt finish the routine in 30 minutes, he would have to start over again the document states.
The boy was discovered while his father was talking to Nancy Grace live on air. When Grace informed the father his son has found alive in his basement, Bothuell IV appeared stunned and speechless for 10 seconds.
I checked my basement. The FBI checked my basement. The police checked my basement. My wife checked my basement, Bothuell IV said.
The boy is now living with his birth mother, and no charges have been brought against his father and stepmother, according to Detroit police spokesperson Michael Woody.
Currently, we are waiting for parental analysis to come back to the police station, Woody told ABC News today. We have submitted all the evidence to the crime lab, and we will turn the completed package to the prosecutors office for recommendations on charges.
Mark Magidson, Dillard-Bothuells lawyer, told ABC affiliate WXYZ , "There is a history of diabetes in the family. So they are very concerned of their child being overweight. He put him on a diet, and he had him exercise."
Magidson could not be reached for comment by ABC News. A lawyer for the father could not be located, but immediately after his boy was discovered the father said, "I take care of my son which is what I've done his whole life."
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I am so glad that poor boy is finally away from that environment...