Updated: 1:42 p.m.
A 6-year-old boy died last week after his mother tried to abandon him at an Ohio park, and he desperately clung to her car as she drove away.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Britney Gosney of Middletown reported her 6-year-old son James Hutchinson missing on Sunday, but later told police that she had killed the boy and dumped his body into the Ohio River with the help of her boyfriend.
Investigators have not yet recovered the boy’s body and are searching the river on Monday. Gosney has been charged with murder, and her boyfriend James Hamilton has been charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. Both suspects are in police custody.
Court documents obtained by WCPO include new details about the horrific nature of James’ death. The specific timeline remains unclear, but Gosney reportedly told police that she had taken her son to Rush Run Park in Preble County “a few days” before she reported him missing, intending to abandon him there. When she told James she was leaving him at the park, he tried to hold on to the car as she drove away, and the mother told police she “dragged [him] for a distance.” A report in the Journal-News indicates that Gosney may have run the boy over with her car. She reportedly left the scene and returned 30 to 40 minutes later to find James dead in a parking lot.
Gosney reportedly told police she took the boy’s body into her car and drove it to her home on Crawford Street in Middletown, where Hamilton also lives. The couple reportedly kept the body in an upstairs bedroom for about a day, before dumping it into the Ohio River.
Two other children lived at the home and have since been removed. A spokesperson for the Middletown Police Department confirmed to CrimeOnline that both children were in the home during the time that the deceased boy’s body was being kept in an upstairs bedroom. The spokesperson also confirmed that those two children are now in the custody of Child Protective Services.
Gosney and Hamilton are both being held without bond, and are due in court at 1:30 p.m. Middletown police will hold a press conference later Monday.
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