Custodial dad, step charged with burning 7-year-old boy with hot water, retraining him with zip ties; what happened to boy's mom? (Clarksburg, Maryland)

Not one word on what happened to the mother of this little boy or how dad CRAIG ANTHONEY WILLIAMS got custody. This should be one of the first questions reporters ask, but they seldom do. Do we know that Mom is alive? If not, do we know for a fact that she died from natural causes? Has she "disappeared" due to extreme domestic violence (if Daddy was capable of doing this to a child, you can bet Mom got similar treatment). Was she out-maneuvered in family court? What?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3431857/Couple-charged-child-abuse-dipping-hands-seven-year-old-hot-water-restraining-plastic-wrap-zip-ties.html

Couple charged with child abuse after 'dipping the hands of their seven-year-old in hot water and restraining him with plastic wrap and zip ties'

Craig and Nicole Williams, of Clarksburg, Maryland, have been charged with first-degree child abuse after their son was hospitalized

The boy suffered a possible seizure, abrasions, blisters and bruisers

He told doctors his parents restrained him with plastic wrap and ties The couple, who have five other children, allegedly admitted bounding him

By Dailymail.com Reporter
Published: 09:44 EST, 4 February 2016 | Updated: 19:32 EST, 4 February 2016

A father and stepfather in Maryland have been arrested and charged with child abuse after allegedly restraining their seven-year-old son with plastic wrap and zip ties and burning him with hot water.

Craig Anthoney Williams, 42, and Nicole Williams, 39, came under investigation after their son was taken to Shady Grove Hospital on December 2 with a possible seizure, multiple abrasions, blisters and bruises over his body and head.

He had to be airlifted Children's National Medical Center for further treatment.

The little boy told doctors that his parents often bound him to his bed all day with zip ties.

Both his father and stepmother admitted to the staff that they restrain him, ABC 7 reported.

His father said he had been using plastic wrap to contain the boy to his bed for about seven months, usually at bedtime.

The father also said he would notice urine and fecal matter on the boy when he checked on him in the morning.

When the hospital called police, the boy told investigators that on Thanksgiving he was restrained in plastic wrap and only released to come to the dinner table, ABC 7 reported.

The boy said his father is the one who wraps and binds him most days, from his neck to his knees, securing him with zip ties or belts.

However he said his step-mother often assists.

When a nurse asked him what caused the blisters on his hands, the boy said his hands had been put in hot water.

According to the charging documents, the boy also has suicidal thoughts.

Both the father and step-mother were arrested and charged with first-degree child abuse.

While the bonds were originally set at $300,000 and $400,000, a judge lowered bonds to just $10,000 each.

The couple have since been released. Five other children - aged one, four, six, 12, and 17 - live in the home in Clarksburg with the two.

Officials are not saying whether the parents are allowed to be around the kids, citing privacy laws, but neighbors said they have not seen the couple at their home in weeks.