Court docs: Boy, 6, siblings ‘hog-tied’ before his death
A Middletown mother accused of running over and killing her 6-year-old son also hog-tied the boy and his siblings in the days before an attempt to abandon them at a park, according to court documents.
Brittany Gosney, 29, and James Hamilton, 43, were indicted March 5 on a combined 31-count indictment for the slaying of 6-year-old James Hutchinson on Feb. 26 in rural Preble County and the disposal of his body days later in the river near Lawrenceburg,
Indiana.
Gosney and Hamilton are facing felony crimes against all three children, including murder, involuntary manslaughter, gross abuse of a corpse and endangering children for Gosney and kidnapping, gross abuse of a corpse, kidnapping and endangering children for Hamilton.
Court documents say Gosney and Hamilton, between Feb. 25 and Feb. 26, made efforts to “hog-tie” the hands and legs of Hutchinson and his siblings, ages 7 an 9, behind their backs and place cloths in their mouths, leaving them in that position for hours.
Middletown police say Gosney confessed to killing Hutchinson, a first-grader at Rosa Parks Elementary, as he clung to her minivan when she attempted to abandon him and his two siblings at
Rush Run Wild Life Area. That is alleged to have happened on Feb 26.
Gosney and Hamilton put Hutchinson’s body in a spare room under a window at their Crawford Street home, they told police. At about 3 a.m. on Feb. 28, they drove down Interstate 275 in the van to the Lawrenceburg, Indiana, area and threw the body into the Ohio River, according to police.
Hutchinson’s body was left in the house for almost 48 hours, and a concrete block was tied to his body before it was tossed in the river, according to court documents. Gosney and Hutchinson then removed the hard drive from video cameras at the residence along with tape and rope and concealed them at another location, according to court documents.
According to the Preble County Sheriff’s Office report, Gosney said she was under pressure from Hamilton to get rid of Hutchinson and his two siblings.
Gosney has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and her attorney, David Washington, has raised questions about her competency to stand trial. On Monday during a hearing in Butler County Common Pleas Court, Judge Noah Powers II ordered a psychological evaluation for Gosney. A competency evaluation hearing is set for April 26.
Hamilton will have his next hearing on April 12. His attorney, Jeremy Evans, said multiple motions will be filed soon.
Earlier this month, Powers set bond at $2 million for Gosney and $750,000 for Hamilton.