A former Georgia Tech star and his wife are asking two Gwinnett County judges to set bonds in their child cruelty case.
In the most recent twist in the bizarre case, the couple which has July 10 preliminary hearing to discuss the evidence and possible bond in magistrate court, on Monday filed motions for another bond hearing in Superior Court, possibly as a backup in case Thursday's hearing doesn't go their way.
Superior Court Judge Melodie Snell Conner has scheduled July 14 for a hearing to decide whether to grant Recardo Wimbush bail. Superior Court Judge Ronnie Batchelor, who drew the case of Therian Wimbush, his wife, as of Wednesday, had not set a date.
Attempts to reach attorneys Otanya Clarke and Teri Thompson, who represent Recardo and Therian respectively, on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Police contend the Buford couple kept their 13-year-old son locked up in the basement for two years, away from his nine siblings. They have been married since their Georgia Tech days where Recardo was a football star and team captain in 2002. He tried out for the Atlanta Falcons but did not make the team.
Therian was a tutor and earned dual degrees from Spelman College and Tech. Neighbors said she also tutored privately in her Buford home for several years and home schooled her children.
They surrendered to authorities Friday in an agreement reached with their lawyers.
Recardo, 33, and Therian, 37, told investigators they had locked their 13-year-old son in a room in the basement for “disciplinary reasons,” said Cpl. Jake Smith, spokesman for Gwinnett Police.
“The victim had been confined to the room for most of the past two years and a lock had been added to the victim’s room in January 2013,” Smith said. “The victim had no access to books, toys, entertainment devices, or his siblings.”
The Buford couple was charged with malicious and intentional cruelty to children and false imprisonment. Police said all the children appeared healthy.
The Wimbushes told a judge at a June 19 family court hearing that the 13-year-old was a threat to their other children. The arrest warrant said the child was “sent to the basement of the family house for the past two years in deplorable conditions due to being disobedient.”
An undated family website shows a large family of seemingly happy smiling kids and explained the importance of religion to the family and its devotion to "Yah," a derivative of Yahweh.
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