DETROIT – Court records show 12-year-old Charlie Bothuell has told investigators he was abused and a medical examination has turned up signs of physical abuse.
Those court records also show that the allegation has been made that the child's stepmother Monique Dillard-Bothuell knew he was hiding in the basement the entire time and told him to stay there.
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Court document: Stepmother hid Charlie Bothuell in basement
Detroit police sources told Local 4 the investigation into both the child's stepmother and father, Charles Bothuell IV, is ongoing and more needs to be done.
Forensic experts are going over the family computer, as well as an iPad. Blood evidence found in the house is also being tested and an expert from the FBI will be interviewing the 12-year-old next week.
Police are in the process of pursuing charges against both the stepmother and father, but the results of the investigation have not been turned over to the Wayne County Prosecutor yet.
Charlie had been missing for 11 days when Detroit police discovered him barricaded in a closet underneath the co-op complex. A tunnel runs underneath the building, which functions as a basement. There is a bathroom in the tunnel as well.
View: Timeline of Charlie Bothuell disappearance
Police sources told Local 4 the child was home-schooled and had a strict and regimented schedule. He was required to do 4,000 strides on an elliptical machine without taking a break. He desperately needed to go to the bathroom and got off the exercise machine. His stepmother told his father of his transgression and the boy was terrified and hid.
Since his wife's arrest and his son's allegations Charles Bothuell IV has declined to comment on advice of his attorney.