NH couple accused of holding minor captive in basement for months

By Drew Karedes

NEW BOSTON, N.H. — A New Hampshire couple who reported their 15-year-old daughter missing in September is now charged with kidnapping and child endangerment.

According to investigators, the couple held a minor captive in the basement of their New Boston, NH home for more than two months.

Police say Denise and Thomas Atkocaitis are the child's legal guardians and had been homeschooling her.

Investigators say the girl was kept inside an eight by eight-foot room in the basement of the Atkocaitis' home on Helena Drive in a rural part of the state. They say the only lighting came from one window which, according to police, was covered with wire mesh.

The husband and wife were arrested after a two-month-long investigation on charges of criminal restraint, kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.

Police say the victim is the Atkocaitis' adopted child, but are not saying whether it's the same 15-year-old daughter they reported missing back in September.

The child they had reported missing was found safe the next day.

The couple was released on personal recognizance and is already back home. While they said they did not want to discuss the case on camera with Boston 25 News, Thomas greeted our crews in the driveway, repeatedly insisting that the accusations are not true.

The couple is set to appear in Hillsborough County Superior Court next Thursday, Nov. 1.

The victim who was kept in the basement is now under the state's care.