(WHDH) — The mother of a 6-year-old boy is facing murder charges after she allegedly struck and killed the child with her vehicle, and then dumped his body in a river with the help of her boyfriend, authorities said.
Brittany Gosney, 29, of Ohio, was arrested Sunday on charges including murder, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence in the death of her son, James Robert Hutchinson, according to the Middletown Police Department.
Gosney, and her boyfriend, 42-year-old James Hamilton, initially reported that they boy had gone missing but police said that they changed their story while being questioned by investigators.
“They now say that James was killed in Preble County a few days ago. The child’s body was brought back to Middletown, where they live, and later put into the Ohio River,” the department wrote in a news release.
Gosney admitted that she drove her son to a wildlife area to abandon him and then ran him over when he tried to get back in the vehicle, court documents obtained by WXIX-TV indicated. She reportedly found her son dead in the parking lot when she returned to the scene about 30 to 40 minutes later.
Gosney and Hamilton later transported the boy’s body to the Ohio River and threw him into the water, according to police.
Hamilton has been charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
Two other children have since been removed from the couple’s home.
Searchers are currently working to recover the boy’s body.
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