Parents allegedly beat and starve boy in their basement; boy could testify

Parents allegedly beat and starve boy in their basement; boy could testify

It took 11 days for police to finally find now-13-year-old Charlie Bothuell hidden among boxes in his basement, and the parents are being accused of torturing him in the basement that whole time.

More testimony is expected today in the case of a boy who was found in his father’s basement after police had been searching for 11 days, leading to torture and abuse charges for his Detroit father and stepmother.

Charlie Bothuell and Monique Dillard-Bothuell are on trial for the crime, which they deny, claiming that they had no idea that the boy, also named Charlie Bothuell, was down there, according to an Associated Press report.

The parents are accused of striking the boy, who is now 13, with a plastic pipe and making him do rigorous workouts on a restricted diet. He had been reported missing in June, and could end up testifying in court.

Detroit Police Officer Lori Dillon testified yesterday that she discovered the boy amid boxes and hugged him, who appeared “hesitant.” The pipe that was allegedly used to beat him was also brought into evidence, according to a Detroit News report.

Shawn Patrick Smith, the defense attorney for the couple, tried to introduce doubt into the idea that the child had been abused. He questioned Dr. Dena Nazer, chief of the child abuse team at DMC Children’s Hospital of Michigan, at length about her diagnosis of the boy, who had allegedly told doctors he had spent 10 days in the basement and was forced to urinate in a drain and hold his bowels as he was banned from using a toilet. The boy also claimed he had been beaten and starved.

Smith attempted to question the validity of her diagnosis, but Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Attorney Carin Goldfarb objected, and 36th District Court Judge Shannon Holmes sustained those objections.

The prosecution brought up the fact that Bothuell had brought up his son’s physical fitness during the time he was missing, raising questions about how preoccupied he was with his fitness and whether that may have resulted in mental or physical abuse.

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