Video: Shackled California Teen Boy Runs From Alleged Kidnappers Caren Ramirez, Kelly Lau-Schumacher And Michael Schumacher
A Tracy, California couple have been arrested on allegations of “torture, kidnapping, false imprisonment, child endangerment and corporal injury to a child” after keeping a teen boy shackled in their home. The couple, Kelly Lau-Schumacher, 30, and Michael Schumacher, 34, [pictured at right] apparently picked up the boy, now 17-years-old, back in 2007, when he was reported missing from his Sacramento foster home. Police have also arrested the boy’s aunt, Caren Ramirez, believing she may have had something to do with his kidnapping.
Said Tracy police spokesman Matt Robinson of Ramirez [pictured below]:
“At one point [Ramirez] was his guardian after the juvenile was taken away from his parents,” Robinson said. “She eventually was arrested for assaulting the juvenile herself. She had an outstanding warrant because of that arrest and so for the past year and a half she has essentially been on the run trying to flee that arrest warrant.”
The 17-year-old somehow broke out of the Shumachers’ home, a heavy padlock and chain still around his ankle, and made his way to the In-Shape City Sports Club, where he asked staff to help hide him. Assistant Manager Lea Leonardo gave the boy water and called 911:
“I thought it was a prank costume,” Leonardo said. “He was so dirty and had the chain around his foot. His feet were swollen, he was terrified and cold. He kept saying, ‘They’re going to come find me.’ He kept saying that over and over.”
The Schumachers have (at least) four young children, all of whom have been put into the custody of San Joaquin County’s Child Protective Services:
“Our first priority was the well-being of the boy,” Tracy police Capt. John Espinoza said. “The circumstances described to us by the juvenile are unbelievable. We’re looking over the entire crime scene, looking for evidence that supports the boy’s story and gets us a successful prosecution. We’re also concerned about the welfare of the other children in the home. We’ve never seen a case like this before in Tracy.”
A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said he thought the boy was a member of the family and would see him playing with the other children who live in the house. He said they had limited contact with the couple — which he said kept to themselves and would only say “hello” and “goodbye.”
Kelly Lau-Shumacher’s MySpace portrays her as a proud mom who is very involved in her family life. In her “About Me,” Kelly writes:
30 yr. old mom of 4 beautiful kids Shayna-9, Savannah-4, Damon-2 and Michael Jr. who just turned one…….Happily married to a man who I love to death. He is my best friend and a wonderful father to our 4 kids and I wouldn’t trade him for anything in this world. We live in Northern California where I am a stay at home mom and my husband is a Contractor. We have a typical life I guess-our oldest daughter is involved with Girl Scouts and Savannah is our Ballerina in training. My boys just kick back and wait there turn to do something fun. We have a dog named BUBBA and no white picket fence but our neighbor has one. LOL!!!!!!
Kelly and her husband are each being held on $1.185 million bail.
Aunt Arrested in Case of Shackled Teen [ABC News]
Tracy teen found with chain padlocked to foot says he escaped torture [Mercury News]
“Please Hide Me” [FOX News]
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that kid is 17?!?!?!! he looks like he’s 47.
Posted by spanexican | December 03, 2008
i think that 47 year old boy is actually the kid’s aunt, spanexican.
Posted by LaLa | December 03, 2008
Why do we even mess with these people offenders like this and sexual predators of children should be lined up outside the courthouse on Saturday stoned, beat, whatever to death and let the crows or other rodents pick at their body.
Posted by Heinz | December 03, 2008
This story upset me so much when I first read about it. I have such a deep hate right now for that woman and man. I am very, very grateful that their children have been removed from their influence. I pray for all those children.
Posted by escobar | December 03, 2008
hes not 17.. hes 12 i know this lil kid..
and that 47 lady that got arrested is his aunt..
those are his parents
Posted by popeye | December 04, 2008
When do parents learn?
They shouldn’t do something like that themselves. They should send their teens to either Florida or Missouri where religious schools are allowed to shackle their students according to several rulings in courts.
Victory Forge Millitary Academy was investigated and cleared because the parents did know and did pay for having their kids shackled. Look at Fornits wiki section and you will find several programs with links to articles which show that as long as you call your school faith-based, you can run it like you want including shackling and extensive use of corporal punishment.
Please, parents: Learn!
Send your kids to boarding school instead of doing it yourself. Otherwise you will end up in prison.
Posted by Pauli | December 04, 2008
I think that it is so sad that we can do children this way I also think that all the adults in this should go to prison and we as a community need to be aware of everything that is going on around us …and I want the 17 year old to know that he is in our prayers and My family wishes him the best ….
Posted by North Carolina | December 05, 2008
Just FYI….the other four children are going to be taken care of very well…trust me
Posted by Joyce | December 05, 2008
I don’t get it. is the 17 year old boy the son of Kelly Lau Schumacher? Why is the news not clarifying the relationship? I don’t understand what the boy has to do with the family.
Posted by sharif | December 06, 2008
I think that they should get the max in jail time, because we all know if this would have been a white child getting beat and held against there will by black parents… it would be a completely different story.
Posted by napoleon | December 06, 2008
There must be many such cases that never seeing the light of day.Thousands of people to go missing, such being so common it simply accepted, where those missing be soon forgotten, very very little if any resources used tracing finding missing people. There may well be many such poor souls victims of such fate whom being held captive for long periods, before their eventual murder. All people should have a homing device an implanted placed in the body, a chip that can pinpoint the whereabouts of a person via sattelite, humanity has the tecknology as ability to do such..Such also would solve most crimes as the individual’s whereabouts being traced recorded at a given place, as too a given period of time… .. .
Posted by william wallace | December 08, 2008
What a shame!!! I hope they get to the bottom of this and I also hope that Nancy Grace will cover this like she has covered the Natalie Holliway and Calee Anthony case for months and months every night. Justice is due for this kid and I agree with the other comment that they should be stoned in front of a cheering crowd. People like them would soon get the message.
Posted by Bee | December 09, 2008
I don’t believe the posting dated december 4, 2008 about “why don’t parents learn” the person that wrote that is sick themselves
Posted by kathleen | December 13, 2008