FAMILY OUTRAGED AT LIGHT SENTENCE

Family says 7-1/2 years is too lenient for child abuse, manslaughter convictions

The grandmother and aunt of a 6-year-old special-needs boy who drowned in a Clinton Township bathtub were outraged Wednesday at the light sentence given to a man convicted of first-degree child abuse and manslaughter related to the death.

A 7-½-year term was handed down to Hunter Locke-Hughes, 22, by Macomb Circuit Judge Kathryn Viviano in connection with the death of the December 2021 death of Terrance “Terry” Adams in a water-filled bathtub in an apartment where LockeHughes was living with the boy’s mother, Ashlynn Bethell. He was convicted in early February following a seven-day jury trial.

Dawn Joseph, Terry’s paternal grandmother, and Shannon Grabowsky, his paternal aunt, were visibly upset after the sentencing.

“What do you want me to say? It’s not enough,” said a sobbing Joseph minutes after the verdict in the courthouse hallway.

“We’re not happy,” Grabowsky said. “We knew the minimum guideline could be set, but she went below minimum guidelines. It’s such a smack in the face after all we went through, to go below guidelines and basically be able to walk away for murdering my nephew in basically five years when he is up for parole. It’s a smack in the face. It’s what happens when people pay for their lawyers, and the judges and lawyers work together. So now my family continues to suffer because of the judge’s bad decision, and (bad decisions) by Ashlynn Bethel and Hunter-Locke Hughes.”

Terry’s father, Gary Adams, who did not attend the sentencing because he is in jail and is being released Thursday, will be extremely upset when he learns of it, she said.

“Was justice done here?” Grabowsky said. “I don’t know. I guess because it’s not the judge’s kids or grandkids, they don’t care. I guess we should’ve ex

PHOTOS BY JAMESON COOK — THE MACOMB DAILY Ashlynn Bethell, the mother of Terry Adams, who drowned at age 6, appears Wednesday in Macomb County Circuit Court for the sentencing of her ex-boyfriend, Hunter Locke-Hughes, who was convicted of first-degree child abuse and manslaughter related to Terry’s 2021 death.

Hunter Locke-Hughes, left, appears with his attorney, Dan Garon, in Macomb County Circuit Court on Wednesday for his sentencing related to the death of 6-year-old Terry Adams.

Shannon Grabowsky, Terry’s paternal aunt, discusses the case outside of the courtroom Wednesday while his grandmother, Dawn Joseph, reacts to the verdict.