MIDDLETOWN, OH – A harrowing case involving the death of a 6-year-old boy took a grim turn as new details emerged about the events leading to his tragic end. Brittany Gosney, a 33-year-old mother, broke down under questioning as investigators pressed her for the truth about how her son died when she attempted to abandon him and his siblings at her boyfriend’s urging.
Investigators confronted Gosney, who eventually confessed to the unthinkable act she and her boyfriend, 46-year-old James Hamilton, committed. It was revealed the couple had disposed of young James Robert Hutchinson’s body by throwing it off a bridge into the Ohio River near Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Authorities had been searching for his body, and the Middletown Division of Police has not confirmed if they ever recovered him.
During a tense interrogation, Gosney was urged to tell the truth. “I’m trying not to get pissed off at you, but you’re bulls—-ing me,” an investigator told her, pressing on the discrepancies in her account. “You know what the f— happened to your boy.”
As the questioning deepened, a visibly shaken Gosney admitted her wrongdoing. “It feels like you guys are not believing me,” she pleaded, to which the investigator had a stark response: “I don’t believe you. You’re lying.”
Confronted with the evidence, Gosney finally revealed the location where they disposed of the body, verifying, “Yes, that is the spot.” This admission led to her conviction, securing a prison sentence of 21 years to life for murder. James Hamilton, complicit in the crime, received a 15 to 19-year sentence for his role.
The chain of events began on February 27, 2021, when Gosney, responding to Hamilton’s claim of being “sick of kids,” attempted to abandon her children at the Rush Run Wildlife Preserve in Preble County. In a desperate bid to keep his family together, young James managed to free himself from his restraints and clung to the family’s van as Gosney attempted to drive away.
In the ensuing chaos and recklessness, court documents state that she accelerated quickly, dragging James as he struggled to hang on. Realizing the severity of the situation, Gosney turned back only to find her son had succumbed to his injuries.
The crime not only highlights the fatal consequences of domestic pressure and poor judgment but also leaves the Middletown community grappling with the loss of a young life under such heartbreaking circumstances. As the family seeks justice and closure, the haunting details of that fateful February day linger in Middletown.