Judge grants Charlie Bothuell's parents holiday weekend visitation for younger siblings

Custody of 4-year-old, 10-month-old in question

DETROIT – The parents of a Detroit boy who was found barricaded in the basement of his home after being reported missing for days have been granted visitation to his two younger siblings.

During a custody hearing on Friday, a judge said Charlie Bothuell Sr. and his wife, Monique Dillard Bothuell, could see their 4-year-old and 10-month-old children over the Labor Day weekend.

The visitation will take place at the maternal grandmother's home.

"I'm not able to make any comment," Charlie Bothuell told Local 4 after the hearing.

Family attorney Mark Magison said the couple is overjoyed to see their children.
"She was crying. She was on her phone talking to to her mother, who is keeping the children, and she was trembling and she was so excited," Magison said.

The children have been under the supervision of Child Protective Services since their older brother, 12-year-old Charlie Bothuell Jr., was found in the basement of his father's home after an 11-day disappearance in June.

The state has said in a court filing that the boy was abused and forced to complete intense physical workouts, but no criminal charges have been filed in regards to that.

The couple is still not able to see the 12-year-old.

The jury trial for the family to get the children back had been slated to start in September, but during Friday's hearing it was pushed back to January.

"It's good for the children. That's all that I'm concerned about at this point. I want my client and their children to try to be reunited and reunified," Magison said.

Click here to view a timeline of the Charlie Bothuell case.