Ohio Mother Runs Over 6-Year-Old Son, Dumps His Body In River

An Ohio woman has been charged after she killed her 6-year-old son by running him over and then threw the body in the river.

Brittany Gosney reported her son, James Robert Hutchinson, missing Sunday. But when police questioned her, Gosney admitted that she ran over James with her car at a park in Preble County, USA Today reported.

"Sadly, upon further questioning of Brittany Gosney and her boyfriend, James Hamilton, they now say that James was killed in Preble County a few days ago," police said in a statement. "The child's body was brought back to Middletown, where they live, and later put into the Ohio River."

At a news conference Monday, Middletown Police Chief David Birk said Gosney and her boyfriend, James Hamilton, came to the police station to report their child missing. The detectives felt the situation was unusual as it was out of the ordinary for parents to come to the station to report a missing child. They usually call 911.

Besides, the couple had conflicting stories and details about what the child was wearing. However, both soon admitted that James was dead.

Gosney then confessed to police that she took James and his two siblings to Rush Run Park in Preble County. She left James there, but when he tried to get back into the car, Gosney ran him over. She returned 30 to 40 minutes later and found James dead in the parking lot, with a head injury. All the while, the other children were inside the car.

Gosney then picked the child up, put him back in the vehicle and drove back to their home on Crawford Street. She hid the child's body in a room upstairs, police said. On Saturday night, after the other children were asleep, the duo took the body and dumped it in the river.

Police said Gosney has been charged with murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence, while Hamilton is charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

Birk said Gosney has not shown much little remorse since confessing to the crime. "The mother is not showing much remorse at this time, but she has confessed to doing this. That's why we're able to get these charges," he said. "We'll know more once James is recovered and the coroner is able to do an autopsy."

Police said they were working with trained searchers to recover the boy's body. "The river is very high and treacherous, so we will not be disclosing the exact location in hopes of avoiding another tragic incident," police said.