Michigan Mom Restrains Son In Car, Sets It On Fire: Police

A 48-year-old mother faces attempted murder and arson charges after she drove to a cemetery in LaSalle Township, Michigan, Tuesday morning, bound her 11-year-old son’s wrists and locked him inside the car, poured gasoline in the seat where he sat and set a fire as the terrified boy struggled to free himself, investigators said.

The woman did free the boy when the fire didn’t ignite, but he had also been locked inside the car when she set fire to the trunk, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Once the boy was free, the two walked away together until they found a cemetery employee. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Detroit Patch, click here to find your local Michigan Patch. Also, like us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Sheriff’s deputies were already on their way to the cemetery after having received a call about 11:30 a.m. from the woman’s husband, a French Township man, who said he was worried his wife would harm their son, the release said. When they arrived, they saw smoke from the 2014 Ford Focus the woman had been driving but no sign of her or her son, the release said.

Authorities located them in another part of the cemetery, talking to the staff who had removed the boy’s wrist restraints, the release said.

The boy’s mother was taken to a hospital for an evaluation before she was booked in the Monroe County Jail. The boy was treated and released from an area hospital.

Investigators are exploring possible motives.

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