Woman who dragged 6-year-old son to death sentenced

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — An Ohio woman who admitted to dragging her son to death has been sentenced.

Brittany Gosney was sentenced to 21 years to life in prison. She must also enroll with Ohio’s violent offender registry for 10 years if she is released on parole, WHIO reported.

She will be able to request parole in 21 years.

Earlier this year, Gosney and her boyfriend James Hamilton said they had intended to leave Gosney’s son James Hutchinson, 6, and his two siblings in a wildlife area, intending to abandon them there in February. But the 6-year-old grabbed onto the car as Gosney drove away, receiving injuries that proved to be fatal, WHIO reported earlier this year.

Gosney said Hamilton had pressured her into abandoning her children.

The couple put Hutchinson’s body in the car, and retrieved the other children who were not hurt. They eventually drove to Indiana to dump the 6-year-old’s body in the Ohio River.

James Hutchinson’s body has not been recovered.

Court records show Gosney’s other children were also tortured before their mother and her boyfriend tried to abandon them, prosecutors said.

Hamilton also admitted to helping Gosney and covering up James Hutchinson’s murder, WHIO reported.

He will be sentenced for his guilty plea on Oct. 4.