Denied Bail For Felony Charge After Claiming To Be Missing Kid

Brian Michael Rini, the convicted felon who told police he was Timmothy Pitzen, an Illinois boy who went missing in 2011, was denied bail on Tuesday.

On April 3, Rini told police in Newport, Kentucky, that he had been kidnapped by two men and held in the Cincinnati suburb of Sharonville for the last eight years. DNA testing proved he was not Timmothy Pitzen, who was last seen in 2011, at the age of six, when his mother checked him out of school for the day. Timmothy Pitzen’s mother committed suicide in a motel room during the search for her son.

If alive, Pitzen would be 14 this year. Rini is 23.

Karen Litkovitz, a Magistrate with the U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, denied Rini bail on the grounds he is a flight risk. Rini has a lengthy criminal record and a history of mental illness.

Rini is now facing charges for lying to investigators and leading them on the fruitless search for Pitzen. Police say Rini has lied about his identity several times before.

Timmothy Pitzen’s relatives said Rini’s stunt was “devastating,” especially for Pitzen’s father, who has spent the last eight years hoping his son would be found alive.