‘She killed my son’: Father attends Middletown vigil for 6-year-old

BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio (FOX19) - Dozens gathered in Middletown Monday night to mourn the loss of 6-year-old James Hutchinson.

The event at Gardner Park featured a candlelight vigil and balloon release.

Many who did not know the boy came to show their support. Several family members attended as well, including James’s father, Lewis Hutchinson.

Around 80 people showed up on a cold windy winter night to honor James Hutchinson. Many people cried and held each other as they remembered the 6-year-old boy @FOX19 pic.twitter.com/XBdXoSyOMT
— Courtney King (@Fox19CourtKing) March 2, 2021

“She killed my son,” Lewis said. “I don’t even know how to process this... I want them both to rot, that’s what I want.”

Lewis refers to James’s mother, 29-year-old Brittany Gosney, and her boyfriend, 42-year-old James Hamilton, who reported the boy missing on Saturday and now are charged in his death.

The Middletown mother drove to a Preble County wildlife area to abandon Hutchinson, according to court records, then ran over him when he tried to get back in the car.

Gosney told police she drove off, dragging her son for a distance before her coming back 30-40 minutes later. She said she found Hutchinson dead in the middle of the parking lot with a head injury.

“No kid ever deserves to be treated like that,” Lewis said Monday night. “I don’t know how somebody could be a monster and do that to a 6-year-old.”

Melody Vassas organized the vigil on Facebook. She never knew James but sympathizes with Lewis’s grief.

“A child looks for comfort in his mom,” she said. “Your mom is supposed to be your super hero, and his mom caused his death and was his monster.”

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James has been fondly memorialized.

His aunt recalled him as a “very, very sweet little boy” who lit up every room. Middletown Superintendent Marlon Styles said he will always remember the boy’s “bright joy.”

Middletown Schools has made grief counselors available to students and staff.

The district will hold a community celebration for the boy Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. at Barnitz Stadium.

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