The New Jersey parents of a 4-month-old baby boy who died after they placed him under a comforter at a motel last year are now facing murder charges.
NBC New York reports that a Burlington County grand jury indicted William Herring and Brianna Brochhausen last week on first-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child charges. According to prosecutors, the defendants were aggravated at their infant son, Hunter, because he kept crying. In turn, they placed him in “time out.”
The “time out” ended up killing the infant after they put him under a heavy comforter while at the Hilltop Motel in Springfield Township on Valentine’s Day, 2018. Authorities said the couple had been living at the motel at the time.
“He was positioned on his stomach on the bed, and the comforter was pulled over him, covering his head and entire body,” Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said in the news release last year.
Parents Charged with Murder of 4-Month-Old SonPlaced infant in “time out” under comforter, went outside to…
Posted by Burlington County Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Paramedics rushed Hunter to the Virtua Hospital in Mount Holly. Doctors then transferred him to pediatric intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The baby remained on life support for a few weeks but ultimately passed away on March 3, 2018, CBS Philly reports.
According to autopsy results, Hunter died from “complications of suffocation.” His death was listed as a homicide.
“The thoughtless actions of these individuals ended up costing a defenseless 4-month-old infant his life,” Col. Callahan, the New Jersey State Police Superintendent, said last year.
According to Brianna Brochhausen’s Facebook page, Hunter had a twin sister named Harley.
An arraignment for the defendants will take place at the Superior Court in Mount Holly. The date has not yet been set.
[Feature Photo: Hunter/Facebook]
