Police: Woman had 10-year-old boy shoot husband

DEFIANCE, Ohio (WANE) - More than nine years after the crime was allegedly committed, an Ohio woman is accused of having a 10-year-old boy shoot and kill her husband to collect life insurance money.

The Defiance County Prosecuting Attorney Morris Murray announced the Grand Jury Indictment against Judith Hawkey, 45, on Friday. Among the charges against her is an aggravated murder count. The charge is a felony in Ohio and is punishable by life imprisonment.

Police said around 4 p.m. on November 3, 2003, Defiance County Sheriff's deputies responded to the 9400-block of Kyle Street in Defiance after a report of an accidental shooting involving a 10-year-old boy.

Officers said they found Hawkey's husband, Robert Breininger, in a bedroom of the home with a single gunshot wound to the head. The coroner pronounced Breininger dead at the scene.

The death was first claimed to be accidental, according to police.

Police say Hawkey will be prosecuted on the basis of evidence that she had an innocent or irresponsible person commit murder.

Hawkey was also charged with four counts of endangering children, one of which is a second degree felony. The other four counts are third degree felonies.

Authorities said Hawkey tortured and abused the child over a period of three to four years. The child was seven years old at the start of the abuse.

Police say the multiple counts against Hawkey represent the variety of different methods she used to torture the child.

Hawkey is also charged with Insurance Fraud in connection with an application for life insurance which she collected after her husband's death.

NewsChannel 15 does not know what led to the charges being filed more than nine years after the crime Hawkey is accused committing. A call to the Prosecuting Attorney and the FBI's Crimes Against Children Task Force has not yet been returned.

The investigation into the 2003 incident is ongoing. Anyone with information related to the death of Breininger should contact the Defiance County Sheriff's Office at (419) 784-1155 or the FBI Crimes Against Children Task Force at (419) 243-6122.