A mother who reported her 6-year-old son missing has now been charged with running him over and dumping his body into the Ohio River.
Brittany Gosney of Middletown, Ohio, and her boyfriend, James Hamilton, reported Gosney’s son, James Hutchinson, missing on Sunday morning. However, after being questioned by police, Gosney confessed to killing the child. While she did not provide a motive, she did inform authorities that she attempted to abandon the boy in the Rush Run Wildlife Area in Preble County on Friday. The 29-year-old woman admitted to dragging the child with her vehicle before leaving the scene. About 40 minutes later, she returned to the area, where she found Hutchinson with a head injury. She then took him to a home on Crawford Street.
At some point, Gosney and 42-year-old Hamilton believed that the boy was dead. That is when they decided to dump him into the Ohio River. As of late Monday, Hutchinson’s body had not been recovered.
Chief David Birk of the Middletown Police Department says that Gosney is “not showing much remorse” in the wake of her confession. She was arraigned in Middletown Municipal Court Monday on several charges in connection to the murder. Hamilton has been charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
Gosney’s other two children were in the vehicle when Hutchinson was dragged with the car. However, they were unharmed and are now in foster care.
The school district has organized a vigil for Tuesday evening at Barnitz Stadium, which is located next to Rosa Parks Elementary School, where the “joyful” first-grader was a student.
