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For the second time, bond is denied a former Georgia Tech football standout and his wife accused of locking their 13-year-old son in their basement for more than a year.
Gwinnett Superior Court Judge Karen Beyers agreed with an earlier ruling by a Magistrate Court judge that Recardo and Therian Wimbush could influence the testimony of their ten children, including the now 14-year-old victim, if released on bond.
“What is really, really chilling about this is that there appears to be a very functioning family with very educated parents, and yet the facts and circumstances under which (the victim) was found just flies in the face of all education and all reason,” she says.
The couple is accused of locking their son in a room measuring 8 feet by 10 feet that contained only a mattress, broken box-spring, and a jar for a toilet. His nine siblings had not seen him in two years. All ten children are now in foster care but could be placed with relatives.
Jeff Sliz, attorny for Therian Wimbush, says the Wimbushes simply have a different way of parenting based on their religious beliefs and calls the judge’s decision disappointing.
"I think our clients would gladly say keep them in the foster home or do something else with them if we could get out and save our livelihood," he says. "Win, lose, or draw, these people are going to be decimated by the time it ever gets to court."
Sliz believes the only option now is to file a motion for a speedy trial.
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