6-Year-Old Boy Dies After Clinging To His Mom's Car as She Drives Away to Abandon Him

A six-year-old boy died after he clung to his mother's moving car as she drove away to abandon him. His mother, Britney Gosney, tried to abandon her six-year-old son James Hutchinson at an Ohio park.

Britney Gosney reported that her six-year-old son was missing on Sunday. However, Gosney later told the police that she had killed the boy and dumped his body in the Ohio River with her boyfriend's help, according to a Crime Online report.

Investigators have yet to recover the boy's body and still searching the river as of Monday. Britney Gosney was charged with murder, while her boyfriend James Hamilton was charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. Both Gosney and Hamilton are in police custody.

Read more: Oklahoma Murder: Suspect Kills Neighbor, Cooks Heart With Potatoes and Fed to Family

James Hutchinson's Death

Middletown police chief Maj. David Birk said on Monday that this was unusual as most parents report their missing children within a few hours. Birk noted that this case was different and the whole situation was just red flags all over.

Court documents showed that Britney Gosney drove from Middletown to Preble County, Ohio, with her three children on Friday and tried to leave Hutchinson in Rush Run Park, according to an ABC WCPO report.

James Hutchinson was a first-grader who his principal described as a happy and joyful soul. Based on the court documents, the six-year-old boy tried to hold on to his mom's car as she drove away, and Gosney dragged him until he let go of her car.

Britney Gosney then told the police that she returned to the park 30 minutes later and discovered that her six-year-old son was dead in the parking lot. Birk said police hoped to find Hutchinson's body to learn more about the exact nature of his death.

Meanwhile, a 30-minute gap exists between the moment James Hutchinson let go of the car and the time his mother claimed to have come back. Birk said they do not understand the motives of Gosney for doing such a crime.

"That's something that she can only answer, and again - conflicting stories back and forth," Birk said in the report.

Birk noted that there was an indication that Britney Gosney had planned to leave all her three children in the lot. However, she only left James Hutchinson. Gosney picked up her son's body after he died and drove to her address where she lives with Hamilton.

Britney Gosney kept the boy's body inside a bedroom until the next day. She then dumped the body in the Ohio River after driving an hour away to Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

"My kids are much older, but this has really touched my soul and my heart... Poor 6-year-old has no idea what's going on and what's happening, and for the other kids to go through this, too, it's just heartbreaking," Birk said, adding that most of their officers have kids as well.

According to Birk, Britney Gosney had periodic interactions with children's and family services in the past, citing situations where Gosney's children were in and out of Middletown City Schools, and their family occasionally resided in hotels.

Meanwhile, James Hutchinson's two siblings were placed with a foster family, while a fourth child has been in the state's care for some time after Gosney lost her custody of the said child before Hutchinson's death.

Read also: Mother Accused of Shooting, Killing Two Daughters at Home