Photo:pyatt funeral home
pyatt funeral home
A father in Illinois has been acquitted on charges of murder followingthe death of his sonlast year.
“This is a massive relief for Mr. Hutchings and his family,” Hutchings' attorney Matthew Benson told the outlet. “Logan maintained his innocence from the first time he came into my office. I’m glad we were able to assist him in obtaining the result he deserved.”
In June 2023, Hutchings and Sophia Kelly’s three-month-old sonOcean Wayne Hutchingswaspronounced deadfrom blunt force trauma to the head, according to police.
Illinois State Police Troop 10
He had suffered fractures to the skull and ribs when theIllinois Department of Children and Family Servicesand the Pinckneyville Police Department alerted theIllinois State Policeof the injuries two days prior to the boy’s death.
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A police statement at the time said Ocean was in the care of Hutchings and Kelly at the time. Both parents were booked into the Washington County Jail and charged with three counts of murder.
On May 1, Kelly’s jury trial is scheduled to begin, butLaw&Crimereports the prosecutors are in the process of dismissing those charges. Prosecutor Jennifer Mudge wrote in an email to the outlet that she believes Hutchings is guilty, but referencing Kelly, she wrote, “I cannot nor will I ever pursue a case against someone who I know did not commit the offense.”
Thefuneral home obituaryfor Ocean described him as a child who “enjoyed Hey Bear Sensory Videos and the outdoors and loved his big brother, Ozark and his Mom and Dad.”
source: people.com