Monroe County, MI., woman, Sherri Marie Richter, has been charged with intent to murder after she tied up her 11-year-old son in the family’s 2014 Ford Focus and lit the car on fire, police said.
Richter, 48, of Frenchtown Township, is accused of binding her son’s wrists, locking him in a car and lighting it on fire.
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Police received a call at 11:28 a.m. Tuesday from Richter’s husband, who said his wife might have harmed their son. Officials learned vehicle was on fire at the Roselawn Memorial Park at 13200 S. Dixie Highway in LaSalle Township.
When deputies arrived, the car was emitting smoke from the passenger compartment, but Richter and her son couldn’t be found.
Police found Richter and her son in a different part of the cemetery, talking to members of the Roselawn staff.
Investigators said they learned Richter had bound her son at the wrists and locked him inside the Focus before lighting a fire in the trunk. She later tried to ignite the fire using gasoline inside the passenger compartment, where the boy was sitting, according to investigators.
Police said the fire didn’t ignite, and the boy struggled to get free. The woman then freed the boy from the car and they walked away until they found an employee in the cemetery, police said.
The employee freed the boy from his bindings, and he is expected to be OK, officials said.
Richter is charged with assault with intent to murder and arson — preparation to burn between $1,000 and $20,000. She was arraigned Thursday and is being held at the Monroe County Jail on $100,000 bail.