Brittany Gosney, 29, has been charged with murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in the death of her son James Hutchinson.
Her boyfriend, 42-year-old James Hamilton, was charged with abusing a corpse and tampering with evidence. Both were indicted in Middletown Court Monday afternoon, have bonds and will remain in Middletown Jail until their next court date, Police Chief David Birk’s Middletown Division said.
Meanwhile, police in Middletown are working with officials in Preble and Butler counties and training searchers to recover the child’s body, Birk said.
“The water is extremely high, making our search and rescue operations very difficult,” said the chief. “With the water and currents and rain we had on Saturday night, it’s extremely difficult to really find anything. So we’re doing our best when it comes to searching and recovering.”
According to police, Gosney reported James missing to Middletown Police on Sunday morning and said the boy had been missing since Saturday night. A search for the child was launched, Birk said.
“It was a bit unusual because when you have a missing child, the first thing you, as parents, should do is contact the police,” Birk said.
But under questioning, Gosney and Hamilton reportedly told the detectives that James was murdered “a few days ago” in Preble County, according to a Birk press release.
“The mother isn’t showing much regret right now,” said Birk. “She doesn’t really say, you know, what the motive was.”
Gosney had taken James and two other children in the household to the Rush Run Wildlife Area in Preble County and would leave them there, Birk said. It is unclear what happened between her attempt to leave them and when James died; However, Birk said the mother later took the boy’s body back to their Middletown residence.
Sometime Saturday night, while the two other children were asleep, the couple reportedly took the body and threw it away in the Ohio River in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
Birk said child welfare officers have been involved with the family in the past, but did not provide additional details. The two other children have been removed from the residence and are now in foster care, the chief added.