MONROE COUNTY, Mich. – An 11-year-old boy is expected to be OK after his mother tied him up inside a car and lit the car on fire in Monroe County.
Police received a call at 11:28 a.m. Tuesday from a Frenchtown Township man who said his wife might have harmed their 11-year-old son.
Officials learned the family's 2014 Ford Focus was on fire at the Roselawn Memorial Park at 13200 S. Dixie Highway in LaSalle Township.
When deputies arrived, the car was emitting smoke from the passenger compartment, but the 48-year-old woman and her son couldn't be found.
Police found the woman and her son in a different part of the cemetery talking to members of the Roselawn staff.
Investigators learned the woman had bound her son at the wrists and locked him inside the Focus before lighting a fire in the trunk. She later tried to ignite the fire using gasoline inside the passenger compartment where the boy was sitting.
Police said the fire didn't ignite while the boy struggled to get free. The woman then freed the boy from the car and they walked away until finding an employee in the cemetery.
The employee freed the boy from his bindings.
The woman was arrested and taken to ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital for evaluation before being lodged at the Monroe County Jail on attempted murder and arson charges.
The 11-year-old boy was taken to ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital for precautionary reasons and released.
Police are continuing to investigate the incident.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 734-240-7719 or 734-240-7530.
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