‘Fit the bill of outrageousness’: Prosecutor explains plea agreement for Middletown mother who admits to killing 6-year-old

Gosney pleaded guilty to murder and two counts of felony child endangering Monday. Thirteen other charges against her were dismissed.

Gosney faces a mandatory maximum of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years and a maximum of 36 months each for the child endangering charges. Butler County Common Pleas Judge Noah Powers set Sept. 13 for sentencing.

Gosney was facing felony charges related to all three of her children, including murder, involuntary manslaughter, gross abuse of a corpse and endangering children. Hamilton faces charges of kidnapping, gross abuse of a corpse, kidnapping and endangering children.

The charges Gosney admitted to were for the torture and hog-tying of Hutchinson’s two older siblings. The murder charge states Hutchinson died as result of child endangering when Gosney tried to abandon her three children and recklessly caused the death of the boy before bringing his body back to the Crawford Street residence she shared with Hamilton.

Hamilton was also in court Monday after Gosney’s plea and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on Aug. 23.

Middletown police say Gosney confessed to killing Hutchinson, a first-grader at Rosa Parks Elementary School, who died Feb. 26 after he clung to her minivan as she allegedly sped off while attempting to abandon him and his two siblings at Rush Run Wild Life Area.

Gosney and Hamilton put Hutchinson’s body in a spare room under a window at their Crawford Street home, they told police. At about 3 a.m. Feb. 28, they drove down Interstate 275 in the minivan to the Lawrenceburg area and threw the boy’s body into the Ohio River, according to police.

Hutchinson’s body was left in the house for almost 48 hours, and a concrete block was tied to his body before it was tossed in the river, according to court documents. Hutchinson’s body has not been found despite several searches in the water and along the banks of the river.

Gosney was scheduled to in court for a hearing on a motion to suppress her statements to police. Her trial had been scheduled to start Sept. 20. Hamilton has a trial date of Oct. 4.

The motion to suppress was withdrawn late Friday by attorney David Washington, according to prosecutors.

Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser said the plea is justice for Hutchinson, adding that in his opinion Gosney gave up the right to be referred to “as a parent or a mother.”

“Her conduct in this case fit the bill of outrageousness,” Gmoser said.

Gosney pleaded guilty as charged to the principle crime of murder, which eliminates at question of accident or other defense in the case. And she gave up her right to appeal. Gmoser said the fact that Hutchison’s body has not been found created some challenges in the case.

The surviving siblings, who are witnesses, may have been called to testify at trial. The were 7 and 9 at the time of the crimes.

“We have two living children who have already been through the trauma that no child should ever experience and this guilty plea prevents them from going through further trauma at least as it relates to a case against their mother,” said Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Heile. “I can say from what I know of the evidence, little James loved his siblings and he would want to protect them.”

According to Middletown police, Gosney and Hamilton came to the police station to report James missing on Feb. 28, but the story didn’t add up and the situation changed quickly to a death investigation.

Hamilton’s attorney, Jeremy Evans, indicated in May there were negotiations with prosecutors for a possible plea in the case. There have been no additional filings in Hamilton’s case.

Evans had told the Journal-News there will likely not be any movement in his client’s case until after the Gosney hearing.

Court documents say Gosney and Hamilton, between Feb. 25 and Feb. 26, made efforts to “hog-tie” the hands and legs of Hutchinson and his siblings, ages 7 and 9, behind their backs and place cloths in their mouths, leaving them in that position for hours.

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Gosney said she was under pressure from Hamilton to get rid of Hutchinson and his two siblings, according to authorities.

Bond had been set at $2 million for Gosney and $750,000 for Hamilton.