After a 4-month-old infant died last June following skull and rib fractures, investigators have identified the baby’s parents as murder suspects.
The 10-month investigation that ended with charges against 21-year-old Sophia Kelly and 21-year-old Logan Hutchings was led by Illinois State Police. The probe also involved the Department of Children and Family Services and local authorities in Pinckneyville and Washington County.
Illinois State Police said that each parent faces multiple murder charges.
“On June 12, 2022, ISP DCI was requested by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Pinckneyville Police Department to investigate serious injuries sustained to a 3-month-old male infant. The infant had been admitted to a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri and was discovered to have a skull fracture, along with multiple rib fractures,” police said. “Prior to the arrival at the hospital, the infant had been in the care of Hutchings and Kelly, the infant’s parents, in Pinckneyville. On June 14, 2022, the infant was pronounced deceased at the hospital as a result of these injuries.”
Investigators now say that the evidence supported charging each defendant with three counts of first-degree murder.
On June 15, 2022, Sophia Kelly posted “My sweet boy❣️ We will get justice for you. 🤍🕊” on Facebook.
Sophia Kelly Facebook post
Logan Hutchings also posted on Facebook two days after his son’s death.
“My world has been turned around 5 times this week and I’ll never have trust in anyone again,” he wrote on June 16, 2022.
Logan Hutchings Facebook post
Later that month, Hutchings shared a fundraiser on Facebook. That fundraiser was started by a relative following the death of baby Ocean Wayne Hutchings.
An obituary for the infant said that in his brief life he “enjoyed Hey Bear Sensory Videos and the outdoors and loved his big brother, Ozark and his Mom and Dad.” Though authorities said the victim was 3 months old, his obituary noted that Ocean was 4 months old.
The accused parents were jailed in Washington County on $1,000,000 bond, state police said.
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