Boyfriend accused in death of 6-year-old James Hutchinson planning to plead guilty to charges

BUTLER COUNTY — The boyfriend of a mother who pleaded guilty to killing her 6-year-old son is planning to plead guilty to four of the charges against him.

James Hamilton, 42, had been facing 15 charges including kidnapping, abduction, endangering children, and others. He’s planning to plead guilty to two counts of child endangering and one count each of gross abuse of a corpse and kidnapping.

He would face a maximum of 19 years in prison when he is sentenced at a later date, if the court accepts the plea during a hearing Tuesday afternoon.

Last week, Brittany Gosney, 29, changed her plea to guilty on charges of murder and two counts of endangering children stemming from the events that led to the death of her son in late February.

>> Middletown woman pleads guilty to murder in death of 6-year-old son

Gosney and Hamilton were accused of killing James Hutchinson,6, dumping his body in the Ohio River, then tried to report the boy was missing to Middletown police hours later.

Gosney had taken Hutchinson and her other two children to Rush Run Wildlife Area in Preble County with the intent on abandoning them in the early morning hours of Feb. 27. Hutchinson suffered a deadly injury when he grabbed onto the vehicle Gosney was driving as she sped away.

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According to investigative records, Gosney said she intended to abandon the children after feeling pressure from Hamilton to do so.

After bringing Hutchinson’s body back to Middletown, along with the two other children who were not hurt, Gosney and Hamilton drove to Lawrenceburg, Indiana about 24 hours after the boy died. Investigators said the boy’s body was dumped into the Ohio River from the Carroll Cropper Bridge, the I-275 bridge that crosses the river.

Hutchinson’s body has not been recovered, despite multiple attempts by search crews in the months following his death.

>>RELATED: Timeline: How the investigation into James Hutchinson’s death unfolded

Court records also allege Hutchinson and his two siblings were hog-tied and tortured in the hours before Gosney drove them to Preble County with the intention of abandoning them. They were left in that position for hours and “with purpose to terrorize and/or inflict serious physical harm,” prosecutors allege.

Additionally, investigators allege after Hutchinson’s death, Gosney and Hamilton tied a concrete block to the boy’s body when they dumped it in the Ohio River.

>>RELATED: Mother charged with James Hutchinson’s murder not eligible for death penalty

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