Mother: Anthony Bennett had troubled childhood - WNEM TV 5

The mother of a 20-year-old man charged in the assault of a boy whose badly burned remains were found buried beneath a house says he had a troubled childhood.

Michelle Gutierrez tells MLive.com (http://bit.ly/NTbM7h) for a story Tuesday that Anthony Bennett suffered from mood swings that were diagnosed at age 8 as symptoms of bi-polarism and manic depression.

A federal grand jury last week indicted Bennett on charges of assaulting 4-year-old Carnel Chamberlain. Bennett hasn't been charged in the death of Carnel, whose body was found June 28 under his house on the Saginaw Chippewa Indian reservation near Mount Pleasant. The body was buried and extensively burned.

Bennett lived at the home with Carnel and the boy's mother, Jaimee Chamberlain. Jaimee Chamberlain has said Bennett was watching Carnel while she was at work on June 21, the day Carnel disappeared.

Defense lawyer Anthony Chambers says the assault case is not strong.

Bennett has a long criminal history, which dates back nearly a decade. He was on probation when Carnel went missing.

Nearly 1,000 people attended a memorial service about 10 days ago to honor the little boy's life. The gathering lasted about two hours at the Soaring Eagle Casino Concert Hall and Jaimee Chamberlain was not in attendance.

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