‘Murdering’ Mom: Boyfriend Wanted Me to Ditch the Kids
The boyfriend of an Ohio woman charged with killing her 6-year-old son while trying to abandon him and his siblings had been pressuring her to “get rid of” the children, she told police.
That’s according to a newly released police report that lays out in detail the alleged chain of events that led to James Robert Hutchinson’s body being thrown in a freezing river last week.
In a press conference on Monday, Middletown Police Chief David Birk said Brittany Gosney, 29, confessed to killing young James, but he said the motive was still unclear.
However, an incident report filed by investigators points to James Russell Hamilton, Gosney’s 42-year-old boyfriend, as the primary instigator behind her chilling crime.
‘Heartbreaking’: Ohio 6-Year-Old Died After Clinging to Car as Mom Abandoned Him, Cops Say
According to the report, which was provided to The Daily Beast by the Preble County Sheriff’s Office, Gosney told cops she drove Hamilton’s 2005 Dodge Caravan to a local park on Feb. 27, where she tried to ditch James and her other kids, ages 7 and 9.
“Brittany stated she had planned to get the kids out of the vehicle and to leave them behind as Hamilton had been pressuring her to get rid of the kids,” it says.
“When doing this, the 6-year-old, Hutchinson, grabbed onto the door handle. Brittany slammed the gas trying to leave the kids and drug [sic] Hutchinson possibly running him over. Brittany turned the vehicle around to check on Hutchinson and he was dead. Brittany then loaded the 2 live children and Hutchinson back into the vehicle and returned to her and Hamilton’s residence.”
There, Gosney said, she stashed the corpse under a window in a spare room. Around 3 a.m. Sunday, the sheriff’s report says, Gosney and Hamilton “drove the Dodge Caravan to the bridge that goes over the Ohio River and threw Hutchinson’s body into the water below.”
Later that morning, Gosney and Hamilton showed up at a local police station to report James missing. But something seemed odd about their stories, which didn’t quite match each other’s. This set off alarm bells for the detectives, who said they got a confession from Gosney a short time later. James’ body has not yet been recovered, due to rough waters that have hampered the search.
Authorities say Gosney’s two surviving children, who were not physically harmed, have since been placed in foster care. Gosney reportedly lost custody of a fourth child prior to James’ death.
Gosney is now facing charges of murder, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence. Hamilton has been charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. A judge set bail for Gosney at $1 million, and Hamilton’s at $105,000. Both remain jailed. They are due back in court on March 8.
In a Facebook post, a man identified as Gosney’s stepfather said Hamilton should be facing a stiffer rap.
“I’m so heartbroken I don’t care if I had a million dollars I would not get her out but he is involved more than what’s being said he should get the same,” he wrote.
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