Police: Couple Chained and Tortured Boy

Dec. 2, 2008 — -- A California couple has been arrested and charged with kidnapping and torturing a 17-year old boy who fled from their home Monday, bloodied with bruises, clad only in flesh-colored boxer shorts and shackled at the ankle.

"The staff noticed blood and bruising on his body, and he looked emaciated and had a chain locked to his ankle," said Matt Robinson, spokesman for the Tracy Police Department.

"The boy was confused and didn't know where he was or how long he had been held against his will," he told ABCNews.com.

The boy, covered in soot, urine and feces, arrived at the In-Shape City Sports Club around 4 p.m. Monday begging an employee to hide him, according to Robinson.

"I thought it was a prank costume," assistant manager Lea Leonardo told the Tri-Valley Herald. "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."

Arrested were Kelly Lau Schumacher, 30, and her husband, Michael Schumacher, 34, who lived only blocks from the fitness center. Police are also looking for a third suspect, Karen Ramirez, 43, who has a felony record and may be the boy's aunt, according to police.

The couple faces five felony charges: conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor, torture, kidnapping, false imprisonment by violence and child beating.

Some witnesses said the boy had jumped over a fence to get to the fitness center, according to local reports.

Employees called 911 as the boy curled into a fetal position on the floor underneath the counter. They wrapped the boy in towels and led him to the manager's office where they gave him food and water.

"He was totally terrified," Chuck Ellis, an employee at In-Shape City Sports Club, told The Associated Press.