Family of Carnel Chamberlain Wants More Answers

Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Currents. Discussion »

ISABELLA INDIAN RESERVATION – The ex-boyfriend of Carnel Chamberlain's mother, Anthony M. Bennett, was in the United States Federal Court on Friday charged with assault. He is being held until without bond until a hearing next week.

Morongo Band of Mission Indians Bennett Charged with Assault

Four year old Saginaw Chippewa Carnel Chamberlain's body was found buried in a shallow grave beneath the porch of the home Carnel shared with his mother, Jaimee Chamberlain, 21.

Bennett, who had Carnel in his care while Jaimee Chamberlain worked at the Isabella's Restaurant at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort on Thursday, June 21, was arrested shortly after the body was discovered on the Isabella Indian Reservation.

While many expected the charge to be murder, it is not unusual for law enforcement to charge someone arrested with a lesser crime in order ensure continued incarceration, as evidence is gathered and the criminal investigation continues.

Once the body was discovered, the street young Carnel lived on was closed down to only those who lived there. Crime scene investigators worked into the night to secure more evidence.

The FBI is now serving as the lead law enforcement agency in the criminal investigation.

Unlike the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan's public relations department, which provided daily press briefings this past week, the FBI has chosen to only release information to the Associated Press.

With this transition, information pertaining to the case is sketchy at best. Even as late as Friday night, there has been no formal acknowledgement by the law enforcement that a body was even discovered. Members of the media have relied on family members to confirm a recovery Carnel's body.

After the court proceedings on Friday, Kevin Chamberlain, the family's spokesperson and former tribal chief of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe, complained that the family is left with few details as well.