Gosney pleaded guilty last month to murder and two counts of felony child endangering. Thirteen other charges against her were dismissed.
Gosney faced 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 II gave Gosney that maximum sentence of life in prison with parole eligibility after 21 years. She will also be required to enroll as a violent offender.
Gosney was asked twice by Powers before sentencing if she had anything to say. Both times she answered, “No.”
Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser underlined what he said was Gosney’s lack of remorse.
“Did any of you hear the words, ‘I am sorry’?” Gmoser said after the hearing. “Did any of you hear, ‘I apologize for this’ to the people of Butler County and to the nation who have followed this case?”
There were no family members, including the boy’s father, in attendance. Middletown police detectives who investigated the case and Middletown school officials, including Superintendent Marlon Styles Jr. and Rosa Parks Elementary Principal Tracy Neeley, were in the front row.
Neeley read a statement recalling the little boy with red hair and bright eyes who touched everyone while he was a first-grader for a short time.
“He loved learning. He loved to help others,” she said.
Neeley said “no sentence will bring James back,” but hopes he did not die in vein and case will shine a light on child abuse.
“James was a beautiful child who was taken away too soon and our life has changed forever,” the principal said.
Gosney’s attorney, David Washington, said he would not defend his client’s actions but said, “Gosney is an example of when people reach out to try to find help. She on multiple occasions with multiple people told them that she was overwhelmed. She told them she couldn’t handle the situation. I think that factor combined with the mental health issues she has made her to things that are unexplainable.”
“It is a tragedy for so many reasons,” Washington said.
Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Heile told the judge that, by Gosney’s own admission, she never reached out to agencies for help because she was afraid.
She said there is no indication from any agency who could have helped Gosney and her children that she contacted them for help.
The case received national media attention and touched the community where the boy was a first grader at Rosa Parks Elementary School. On Thursday, a dedication introduced a memorial bench at Rosa Parks paid for by community donations and services from Dodds Memorials in Middletown.
James’ smiling face is pictured on the back of the bench with the words, “The greatest thing that we can do is to help somebody know that they are loved and capable of loving.” It sits outside the school’s recently completed new addition in the outdoor learning space.
A peaceful silhouette of a boy at play is on the other side of the bench with the sentiment, “In memory of James Hutchinson. A little boy who loved his school, his teachers & his friends.”
The case took its toll on the officers involved, including one who left the detectives section to return to patrol.
“Going through what happened here, it was the straw the broke the camel’s back. And he was in detectives for awhile assigned to juvenile cases, but he said I am going back to the street. So it really takes a toll on the officers,” Birk said.
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 faced charges of kidnapping, gross abuse of a corpse, kidnapping and endangering children.
Hamilton also pleaded guilty last month to kidnapping, two counts of child endangering and gross abuse of a corpse in connection with the abuse and death Hutchinson and abuse of his siblings. He faces a maximum of 19 years in prison. Powers set his sentencing for Oct. 4.
Gosney admitted to charges related to 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.
Gosney confessed to police that she killed Hutchinson, 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.
Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser said after the hearing 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.
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.
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