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Prosecutor's office releases Brittany Gosney video interview

Mother sentenced to life in prison for death of son
WCPO brittany gosney.jpeg
Posted at 5:12 PM, Sep 17, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-17 21:09:03-04

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Middletown police released a video from the interview where detectives questioned the Middletown woman who admitted to killing her 6-year-old son back in February.

The video amounted to more than three hours of footage from the interview in which Brittany Gosney initially said she did not recall picking her son up and taking him downstairs during the day of his death.

RELATED: Middletown mother pleads guilty to murder in death of 6-year-old son

Gosney pleaded guilty to murder in a Butler County courtroom on Aug. 16. A judge recently sentenced the mother to life in prison for the death of her son, James Hutchinson.

Police said Gosney confessed she dragged her son to death as he clung to the minivan she drove. Gosney was trying to abandon James and two siblings in a park when the incident happened.

RELATED: Prosecutor: More than confession is needed against Middletown mother accused of killing 6-year-old son

The police video showed Gosney denied involvement in the incident for more than an hour during her initial interrogation with police.

"I need to know what happened with your boy, with your 6-year-old," said Det. John Hoover in the video released by police. "I'm gonna be real up front with you about this at this point. You need to be very smart. Honesty goes a long long way with me. If there's any criminal charges in the future, honesty goes a long way."

Hutchinson was missing during the time of the investigation. It was later learned Gosney had dumped his body in the Ohio River after his death. Authorities have not yet found the 6-year-old boy's body.

It was not until Det. Hoover told Gosney that her boyfriend, James Hamilton, was blaming her for the death of her son that her story changed.

"James told me to get rid of the kids," Gosney said in the police video. "I took them to a park to make him think I was gonna get rid of 'em."

Police said it was the park where James Hutchinson died as Gosney drove off as he clutched her van door.

"He got up and fell back down. I kind of may have probably hurt his knee on the ground and he lost his balance," Gosney said. "He tried to catch his balance. He didn't get to and he fell."

Police said Gosney then later confessed that she and Hamilton drove down Interstate 275 and put her son's body in the Ohio River.

A judge will sentence Hamilton for his part in disposing of James Hutchinson's body on Oct. 4. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Hamilton pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping, endangering children and gross abuse of a corpse.