Prosecutors: Ohio couple hog-tied kids before boy’s death; concrete block tied to body thrown in river

BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio (TCD) --

New details are alleged in a filing in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas this week in the case of a Middletown woman accused of killing her young son and disposing of his body in the Ohio River.

Prosecutors say three siblings were initially abandoned in a parking lot before the boy was killed, and that the children had been bound and gagged leading up to the incident. Prosecutors also allege a concrete block was tied around the dead boy's body before his remains were dropped in the river.

Brittany Gosney, 29, was arrested in February on charges of murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence after she reported her 6-year-old son James Hutchinson missing.

Investigators said Gosney drove her son and two of his siblings to a wildlife area parking lot in Preble County intending to leave him there, and accused her of running the child over when he tried to get back into the vehicle. She was alleged to have driven away, then to have returned 30-40 minutes later to retrieve the boy’s body; she then disposed of the boy’s body in the Ohio River with the help of her boyfriend, police alleged.

According to Middletown Police, Brittany Gosney confessed to killing her youngest child on Feb. 26.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that in a court filing in Butler County, Ohio this week, prosecutors allege Gosney drove to the Rush Run Wild Life Area in Preble County in a minivan and left all three children on Feb. 26. The other two siblings are reportedly ages 7 and 9 years old.

The Preble County Sheriff’s Office said Gosney allegedly left the children in the parking lot under pressure from her boyfriend, James Hamilton, 43, the Journal-News reports.

After leaving the three children in the parking lot, prosecutors allege Gosney returned 40 minutes later and picked up James Hutchinson and the other two siblings, who were not identified, according to WXIX-TV. Gosney and Hamilton put the dead boy’s body in a room in their house for about 48 hours, according to court records.

The couple drove the boy’s body to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, about 50 miles away, and allegedly tied a concrete block to the body before throwing it into the Ohio River, prosecutors said. This allegedly occurred about 3 a.m. on Feb. 28, according to the Journal-News.

The boy’s body had not been found as of March 24. Authorities continued to search for his remains.

Gosney and Hamilton removed the hard drive from video cameras at their residence and other evidence and hid them, according to prosecutors.

Gosney and Hamilton had “hog-tied” all three children by their hands and feet and put cloths or clothing in their mouths and left them for hours before the boy’s death -- “with purpose to terrorize and/or inflict serious harm” to the children, WXIX quotes prosecutors.

Brittany Gosney was charged with murder, endangering children, involuntary manslaughter, abuse of corpse, tampering with evidence, kidnapping, and abduction. Hamilton was charged with kidnapping, abduction, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence. In total, they have 31 indictments against the two of them.

Gosney has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Gosney has been ordered by the court to undergo a psychological evaluation. A competency evaluation hearing was set for April 26, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

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