The jury is expected to continue deliberations in the trial of Recardo and Tehran Wimbush. The two are charged with child abuse and false imprisnmcnt, accused of keeping their now 16-year-old in a dark basement for 18 straight months and of preventing a younger son of obtaining proper medical care.
Recardo was reportedly a former star football player at Georgia Tech and what makes the trial particularly unusual is the defendants decided to act as their own attorneys. They were arrested in 2014.
The 16-year-old son apparently told deputies he was kept in the basement for “disciplinary reasons.” The children, 16 and 10 are now in foster care.
The Wimbush family did not deny that the children did not go to the doctor regularly and during closing arguments, Therian told the jury she never thought her younger son seemed ill. On Thursday, local outlets reported the defense has now rested and closing arguments are completed.
Gwinnett County Assistant District Attorney Dan Mayfield told the jury both the Wimbushes and their crimes were “evil” and he said the children, especially the older son, was in constant fear of his parents and shut off from the outside world.
The jury is now expected to continue deliberations into Friday after informing the judge they had yet to reach a verdict, despite four hours of deliberations on Thursday afternoon.
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