SUGARCREEK TWP. — New information has been uncovered by WHIO-TV and the Dayton Daily News in the case of a local teen missing for more than a year after his father’s murder.
Court documents revealed an exchange between Jacob Caldwell and a juvenile court judge about his history of running away and the woman who now has custody of him.
Caldwell was at the center of two Greene County Juvenile Court hearings last week for charges of being a runaway.
During those hearings, he was read a list of eight family members, whose names were redacted from the transcript.
Caldwell was ordered to not have any contact with those family members because prosecutors think they helped keep Caldwell hidden over the last year.
Before that order, Caldwell tried contacting at least two of them from detention, according to prosecutors.
They also said that those family members might prevent Caldwell from getting any medical or psychological care moving forward.
Before making his final decision, the judge asked Caldwell if he had anything to say.
According to the transcript, Jacob responded, “I would like to add that I do not feel the need to flee from [two names redacted]. It was just Sally DeThomas’ I feel unsafe at.”
DeThomas is Caldwell’s custodial grandmother.
“I wasn’t surprised by that statement,” said Lori Cicero, attorney for DeThomas. “The children were manipulated and coerced into believing that their father paternal family should be people that they fear.”
“With that statement, it does to show how stunted Jacob’s treatment and progression and therapy has been over this last year,” she added.
The judge has ruled Caldwell stay in juvenile detention, which is where he’s been since being found in the basement of a Miami Twp. home last Monday in Montgomery County.
Police said it did not look like Caldwell was being held against his will.
However, officers will pursue charges against any adults who may have helped him stay hidden.
