GUILTY MI - Charlie Bothuell, 12, Detroit, 16 June 2014



This case keeps getting stranger and stranger.........

"Action News has also learned of a new twist in the case. The uncle of Monique Dillard-Bothuell, Charlie's stepmother, has a listed address three doors away from where the search had been going on.

That home is the end unit of the same condominium building. The units are connected by an underground hallway."
 
This case keeps getting stranger and stranger.........

"Action News has also learned of a new twist in the case. The uncle of Monique Dillard-Bothuell, Charlie's stepmother, has a listed address three doors away from where the search had been going on.

That home is the end unit of the same condominium building. The units are connected by an underground hallway."

I wonder if he was hanging out with uncle during search times? Maybe stepmom helped him hide there as well? I just don't know anymore. Something was very wrong in that home considering recent details. Were all the close adults in on it? I'll be impatiently waiting to hear how this went down.
 
I haven't been able to keep up. Does Charlie have any siblings? I thought he had a brother. If so, that young man also needs to be out of that home.
 
I haven't been able to keep up. Does Charlie have any siblings? I thought he had a brother. If so, that young man also needs to be out of that home.

If I did read about a sibling I have forgotten. There is a pic on one of the news links which shows Dad and I assume Stepmom. She is bottle feeding a young child. Dressed in pink so I assume a girl.
 
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/...-basement-being-questioned-by-police/26665452

DETROIT -
A 12-year-old boy who had been missing for a week and a half and was the subject of an extensive search is out of the hospital and being held by police after he was found alive and well in the basement of his home.

Bothuell was initially taken to a hospital for an evaluation, but has since been released. Sgt. Michael Woody said Thursday morning that the boy still had not been in contact with his family because investigators would like to speak with him first.

Woody said Child Protective Services and the Department of Human Services are also involved in the investigation. No one is in custody.
 
My friend has a condo there. The tunnel is used for refuse pick up. Much like an alley. But it's inside. Very clean.


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I mean he was gone for a week and a half, he must have been fed and kept hydrated somehow. Sadly I think the stepmother may have been complicit with dad in the abuse, or at the very least turned a blind eye, JMO though.
 
Yesterday it looked to me to be a hoax/publicity stunt. With the new info that changes things. Was Charlie hit with that pipe, and step-mom with help from another relative helped hide Charlie from dad? Sounds like the plan, whatever it was went wrong when Charlie was reported missing. I hope this family, especially dad is investigated thoroughly, and Charlie gets the support he needs to get through this and live a good life. I may have missed some details, but why wasn't Charlie living with his mom? Hopefully Charlie can live with his mom from now on.
 
Just my 2 cents on the required workout....

We just started cyber schooling, and my children are required to have a certain amount of physical education time each semester to match what they would have gotten at the public school.

Charlie was homeschooled, so the requirements for that might be similar.

We have a very unstructured routine; we don't maintain a strict every day phys ed time, but some people might do that.

Though it is summer time now, I don't know when school would be out for Michigan, so the above point may be moot.
 
Another option is that the step mother's uncle spoke to the police, Charlie was at the uncle's house when the police came and they 'stung' the dad on NG.

Charlie V was last seen June 14. His stepmother told police the boy didn't complete his daily exercise routine and she informed his father. Worried how his father would react, Charlie took off and never came back.

There was several searches for the boy, but there may be a reason Charlie did not want to be found. Police are investigating a serious case of child abuse we're told the father considered discipline.

The boy, who was home schooled and on a strict exercise routine, was often beat with a PVC pipe that has now been taken in as evidence.

In fact, sources say blood was found in the boy's room and on some of his clothes. That's why police widened the scope of the investigation and, at first, wouldn't rule homicide out.

Wow; I didn't see that until now – thank you to whomever above shared the link to that article. This definitely changes things for me. Perhaps the stepmother has also been abused; after Charlie ran away or hid from an expected punishment, he returned and she assisted him and/or tried to keep him safe until she thought of some way to help him. Maybe she staged the scene in the basement to keep Charlie safe from his father or to make it so LE got to Charlie before his father did. Perhaps she refused to take a polygraph because she knew she would fail; not because she had hurt Charlie, but because she was trying to help him stay hidden from his father or keep him "safe" the best way she knew how.

Or, worst of all outcomes in my mind, she worked in tandem with the father in abusing Charlie, and LE spoiled their "plans" for Charlie. I really, really hope that is not the case. I REALLY hope this is all a misunderstanding but knowing what I know now, I am finding it harder and harder to believe there wasn't some element of foul play here. I hope Charlie is safe now; and I really hope the truth is uncovered so these people can be punished for what they allegedly did to him. There is no lower scum IMO than someone who hurts a child, especially if that someone is family.

There are still a lot of questions I have, though: if his dad is abusive, then why does he have custody? Was his biological mother abusive as well, or was she a victim? Or did she not know at all? Was the stepmother abusing Charlie along with the father, or was she a victim too? Was all this an attempt for them to escape from the father and his home? Or was this part of some larger, darker plot that the abusers were planning? This whole case just gets stranger and more awful with each new thing we learn.

Also, I will accept my slice of humble pie and admit I was wrong in my initial reaction. To be fair, abusers are masters of manipulation, and frequently know exactly how to exploit those around them, pulling the puppet strings of everyone in order to maintain their absolute control. If all the allegations of abuse are true: throw the abusers into prison and toss away the key. No child deserves to be hurt emotionally, physically, or any other way by adults, ESPECIALLY ones they are supposed to trust and be cared for by! :mad:

Really, really hoping that Charlie is kept safe now and will be taken care of by people who know how to love and nurture they way he deserves to be.


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Well, I've read enough about this case to try and concoct a logical scenario.

It's possible that Charlie's workout regime may have been too tough for a kid his age. Was the routine done outdoors? If so, was he properly supervised and hydrated? I also read about the blood on the PVC pipe and allegations he would hit the boy if he didn't finish his routine. Was the father abusive to him in other ways?

Also up for question here is if the step-mom has been abused as well. I can't tell if she has bruises, but she is not looking at her husband as she feeds the baby.

I have a feeling she may not have wanted Charlie to be beaten that day and arranged with her uncle, three doors down to keep him hidden away. Obviously, she didn't think this plan through as she didn't have much time.

They are probably the ones who built the barricade in the basement and removed Charlie through the back passageway during the searches and stashed him there when the uncle had people in the house.

From the sounds of it, LE will probably charge her for the fake kidnapping and possibly the uncle as well. Dad will be arrested for child abuse. IMHO, MHO, MOO, etc.

I also believe that NG was used by LE to bait the trap for dad to see his reaction. At this point, I do believe that dad didn't know he was in the basement. It took him a bit of over-acting to give himself time to put 2 and 2 together and figure out that step-mom was in on the whole thing.

But who am I to say? This case is so twisted! I am happy Charlie is safe with his mother and that he keeps telling LE and CPS the truth and nothing but.

ETA: HLN is covering the story now. I'm going to miss Vinnie Politan when he moves on.
 
I think step mom is trying to save her behind and that she and his dad hid Charlie because he had injuries

Crazy. Why would stepmom report him missing? Unless she was really trying to protect him from the father. The exercise may be a PE requirement for homeschooling.
 
Well, I've read enough about this case to try and concoct a logical scenario.

It's possible that Charlie's workout regime may have been too tough for a kid his age. Was the routine done outdoors? If so, was he properly supervised and hydrated? I also read about the blood on the PVC pipe and allegations he would hit the boy if he didn't finish his routine. Was the father abusive to him in other ways?

Also up for question here is if the step-mom has been abused as well. I can't tell if she has bruises, but she is not looking at her husband as she feeds the baby.

I have a feeling she may not have wanted Charlie to be beaten that day and arranged with her uncle, three doors down to keep him hidden away. Obviously, she didn't think this plan through as she didn't have much time.

They are probably the ones who built the barricade in the basement and removed Charlie through the back passageway during the searches and stashed him there when the uncle had people in the house.

From the sounds of it, LE will probably charge her for the fake kidnapping and possibly the uncle as well. Dad will be arrested for child abuse. IMHO, MHO, MOO, etc.

I also believe that NG was used by LE to bait the trap for dad to see his reaction. At this point, I do believe that dad didn't know he was in the basement. It took him a bit of over-acting to give himself time to put 2 and 2 together and figure out that step-mom was in on the whole thing.

But who am I to say? This case is so twisted! I am happy Charlie is safe with his mother and that he keeps telling LE and CPS the truth and nothing but.

ETA: HLN is covering the story now. I'm going to miss Vinnie Politan when he moves on.

Might dad have thought that Charlie ' succumbed' to his injuries and had passed away ? This dad .......... CENSOR MYSELF.. Shame on you .
Be well , Charlie !
 
I just read about this after seeing the dad on CNN with Nancy Grace. He did seem odd. I think, knowing now about the bloody pipe, that he knew exactly why his son would run away.

That screws up polygraphs, imho, when the parent believes the kid would have reason to flee! Their knowledge of something wrong in the house means they don't always pass them, even when they didn't kill them.

I think the dad just acted so strangely on TV because he knew the abuse would come out and he'd be in huge trouble. He was thinking about himself. It was so odd that he didn't seem happy after hearing that his son was alive. I mean, that's awesome news, even if you'd be dumbfounded about the 'how' of it.

I don't know that others did anything nefarious. They'll be in trouble for not telling police earlier (and they should have), but if they were trying to protect a child, I say good on them for that part. That's the most important thing. I don't see any kind of hoax. I do think the father was hoping that the abuse part never came to light, but even he did 'the right thing' to call the police in case his son wasn't a runaway. Once he knew his son was safe, though, he knew the trouble would start for himself!

In the end, it's just so great that the son is safe and also won't be abused anymore by dad. That's a really good ending, considering.
 
Towards the end of the video, he was mouthing something to someone off camera. I'm assuming that person gave him the cell phone to use.

I don't think his reaction was bad acting. Some of you are saying you'd jump out of your chair and immediately go home or something similar, but how many of you can truly imagine how it feels to be a parent who's heard from news outlets and LE that the investigation into your son's disappearance is being treated as a homicide/homicide hasn't been ruled out, only to discover that he was actually alive and found hiding in the basement? He was probably in total shock and wasn't thinking properly. If you've ever been given huge and completely unexpected news (or even if you've gone through a breakup or something relatively "minor"), think of how you reacted at first. Were you at a loss for words? It's a fairly common reaction. As for the cell phone, this is probably the most stressful time in his life. I'm constantly forgetting to do things when I'm of sound mind. I'm sure the cell phone was just an oversight as he had more important things to worry about.

IMO, the son ran off, heard that the cops were called, and didn't want to get in trouble. He hid in various places and eventually made his way back to the basement. He built the barricade himself thinking if anyone came down there they wouldn't see him so he could continue hiding out until the investigation slowed down. He's a 12 year old! They're always more concerned about getting into trouble/being punished rather than doing the right thing.

I can see how the phone could easily die, as it was probably in constant use. And it's true, people have all different reactions. But most parents' reactions are pretty similar when a missing child has been found alive, from what we've seen on news' casts.

But the issue here was not the reaction. It was the obviously bad acting. I mean, just obviously lying. This is not a matter of, "Well, some people are stoic, some people don't cry, some people get over emotional", it was just horribly contrived, bad, bad acting.

I get what you are saying, Bear. That's why I posted that for me, personally, how I would react. People do express feeling differently. I just imagine that there would be a lot of pinned up emotions, and that at some point after hearing the news, although some may have the stoicism to wait until off the air (which was awful, in my opinion) at some point fairly quickly after hearing the news, I would expect a catharsis of sorts. A breaking open of the floodgates. Humans can only handle so much. When we don't see that, it could be because they are holding it together until alone, or it could be that there are less stacked up emotions.... All my opinion of course :)
So glad he is ok and will have lots of people looking out for his best interests! Yay Charlie!

With respect, there was simply nothing real about his "emotions" at all. It wasn't how he reacted, precisely, that bothered me (except saying, "oh, expletive" when his kid was found, the number one word in black boxes, BTW, from pilots when a plane is about to crash), it was the lack of sincerity in his expression. He was very clearly acting. It was one of the worst acting jobs I've ever seen. Kind of like this guy (the dude with the long hair): The Room - Roof Scene : "Oh Hi Mark" - YouTube
 

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