Trial dates set in case of man and woman accused in abuse, death of Middletown boy

Separate trial dates have been set for a Middletown woman and her boyfriend accused in the death of her 6-year-old son and the disposal of the boy’s body in the Ohio River.

Brittany Gosney, 29, and James Hamilton, 43, were indicted in March on a combined 31-count indictment for the slaying of James Hutchinson on Feb. 26 in rural Preble County and the disposal of his body days later in the river near Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

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Gosney and Hamilton are facing felony charges related to all three of Gosney’s children, including murder, involuntary manslaughter, gross abuse of a corpse and endangering children for Gosney and kidnapping, gross abuse of a corpse, kidnapping and endangering children for Hamilton.

They were back Butler County Common Pleas Court on Monday, and Judge Noah Powers II set two trial dates. They will not be tried together, likely because of incriminating statements they made against each other.

Gosney’s trial is set for Sept. 20, and Hamilton will stand trial on Oct. 4. A pretrial hearing for both Gosney and Hamilton was set for Aug. 16. David Washington, Gosney’s attorney, has filed a motion to suppress statements.

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Hamilton’s attorney, Jeremy Evans, indicated there were negotiations with prosecutors for a possible plea in the case. When questioned by the judge about how he was being treated in jail, Hamilton said he had been assaulted by another inmate.

Butler County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer said Hamilton has been in protective custody during his time in the jail and there is a limited amount of time he is around other inmates. In a recent incident, Hamilton was using a phone and an inmate walked by and punched him. He was assessed by medics and there were not significant injuries. The inmate who assaulted him was disciplined

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

Middletown police say Gosney confessed to killing Hutchinson, a first-grader at Rosa Parks Elementary School, who was killed 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.