JERRY WELLS - 2 yo - (2010) Bethel (SW of Columbus) OH

Bethel OH ---- A Clermont County woman has been jailed in lieu
of $100,000 bail on a child-endangering charge related to the death of
her 2-year-old son.



Krystle M. Hoskins, 24, of Bethel faces up to five years in prison if
found guilty.Her son, Jerry Wells, died June 1 in what Hoskins
and her husband at first told police was an accidental fall down a
stairwell in the hall outside their apartment on West Plane Street.An
examination of the boy's body by hospital doctors and the coroner's
office showed injuries that pre-dated the alleged fall, Sheriff A.J.
"Tim" Rodenberg has said.Hoskins could face additional charges,
according to Municipal Court records. She has a prior criminal record of
drug trafficking and a history of abusing illegal drugs and
prescription pills.Her husband, Timothy W. Hoskins, 42, was
indicted June 9 by a grand jury on five felony charges of child
endangering related to the death of his stepson, and more charges are
expected.Tim Hoskins faces at least 13 years in prison if found
guilty of the current charges. He remains jailed in lieu of $750,000
bail.He is unemployed and has a criminal record of trafficking in
cocaine, according to court records.

A Clermont County man who allegedly asphyxiated his 2-year-old stepson
was indicted on a murder charge Wednesday, and the same grand jury
indicted the toddler's mother for manslaughter.



Timothy W. Hoskins, 42, claimed the boy, Jerry Wells, was hurt June 1
in an accidental fall down a stairwell in the hall outside their Bethel
apartment, according to Sheriff A.J. "Tim" Rodenberg.His wife,
Krystle M. Hoskins, 24, initially backed the claim of her husband, the
sheriff said. She allegedly changed her story several times, finally
saying she wasn't home when the boy was hurt.Krystle Hoskins, who
reportedly is pregnant, faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty
of manslaughter, child endangering and tampering with evidence, said
Daniel "Woody" Breyer, the county's chief deputy prosecutor.Her
husband faces up to life in prison with no chance of parole for 28 years
if he is convicted of murder, five counts of child endangering and
tampering with evidence.The coroner's report hasn't been
finalized, but a preliminary one indicated the cause of death, Breyer
said."Asphyxiation could mean any number of things, but it's
primarily depriving the body of the oxygen necessary to survive," Breyer
said. "It could be by strangling. It could be by suffocation."The
boy's body showed older bruises, which indicated injuries that
pre-dated the alleged fall, the sheriff has said."I think the
child's injuries indicate he was subject to abuse over a long period of
time," Breyer said.While the stepfather allegedly killed Jerry,
the indictment charges that the boy's mother "had a duty of care, and
she ignored it," Breyer. "As result of her ignoring the duty, he died."The
boy's 15-month-old sister, the daughter of both Tim and Krystle
Hoskins, has been placed with Children's Protective Services.Breyer
said he was unaware of any allegations that she had been abused in a
manner similar to her brother, who was nearly 3.Tim Hoskins
remains jailed in lieu of $750,000 bail, and Krystle Hoskins remains
jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Bethel man faces life for killing 2-year-old
BATAVIA - A Bethel man accused with torturing and killing his 2-year-old stepson faces 15 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to murder just days before his trial was set to begin in Clermont County.
In exchange for Timothy W. Hoskins' plea, all other charges - five counts of child endangering and a single count of tampering with evidence - are being dropped, according to court documents.

The written plea was filed Wednesday.
Hoskins would have faced a life sentence with parole eligibility after 20 or 25 years if he had gone to trial and found guilty as charged. Now that eligibility will come sooner.

The 42-year-old ex-con will appear before Clermont County Common Pleas Judge Kenneth Zuk for sentencing on Oct. 8.
Hoskins was set to go on trial next Monday in the June death of Jerry Wells Jr. - a toddler that prosecutors said was tortured, hit, punched and kicked on a daily basis.
An autopsy revealed the toddler died from asphyxiation and that he had 60 bruises on his body when he died - some of them incurred well prior to his death.
Prosecutors also said that the boy had injuries to his head, torso, limbs, magic stick, anus and eyes as well as tears to his heart and liver.
[...]
Daniel "Woody" Breyer, Clermont County assistant prosecutor, said he thinks Hoskins deserves to remain in prison "for the rest of his natural life."
He strongly doubts any parole would be forthcoming given the circumstances of Jerry's death and the fact that Hoskins had served prison time previously for cocaine trafficking,
"The odds of that are so slim, I don't even see that as a risk," Breyer said.
The plea deal gave prosecutor's a murder conviction without running the risk that a juror might reject some circumstantial evidence in the case, he said.
Prosecutors had a line up of prospective witnesses for his trial that were expected to talk about earlier incidents of abuse.

Jerry's biological father, Jerry Wells Sr., told authorities he noticed marks around his child's throat on an April visit and that the child identified Hoskins as the man who hurt him, according to prosecutor's statements at an earli hearing.

A baby-sitter also alleged that the toddler was afraid of the bathtub because it was used as punishment, prosecutors revealed. Another witness accused Hoskins of trying to drown the child in a bathtub when the family was living with relatives in Manchester, Ky., authorities said.

...]http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20100923/NEWS010702/9240334/

A Clermont County man tried to withdraw his guilty plea Friday to murder in the death of his 2-year-old stepson, but a judge sentenced Timothy W. Hoskins to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years.

Hoskins, 42, who has admitted he had a role in the June 1 asphyxiation but has not explained what happened to Jerry Wells Jr. in a Bethel apartment, said three public defenders who spent hundreds of hours on his case had failed to provide adequate representation.
[...]

"Throughout your life you've been nothing but a bully and coward," Judge Ken Zuk said. "I know you're afraid of going to prison again because you've been there four times before. ... But I will tell the parole board to not ever, ever, ever let you out."

Hoskins - who has 19 previous convictions, including one for drug trafficking - showed no reaction.

Before the judge fined him $15,000 and imposed the prison sentence, which was mandated by Ohio law, Zuk asked Hoskins why he wanted to withdraw the guilty plea.

"I didn't do it," Hoskins said. "I'm trying to fight for my life here. I'm trying to get a fair trial. ... I did not hurt that baby. I did not kill him. ... I feel I'm getting stiffed."

The boy's biological father, Jerry Wells Sr., spoke before sentence was imposed.

"The last time I saw my baby was April 14," Wells said of Jerry, who was nearly 3. "He had bruises all over his body and throat. I asked how he got them, and he said: 'Daddy, Timmy did this to me. He keeps beating on me.' ...

"I don't want him to see daylight the rest of his life," Wells said of Hoskins. "The only daylight I want him to see is through the windows" of a prison.
[...]

Jerry may have been strangled, Assistant Prosecutor Scott O'Reilly said. But the boy's body was covered by too many bruises to count, many of which looked like fist marks. He also suffered tears to his heart and liver.

"We can only surmise Mr. Hoskins became so upset and enraged that he picked little Jerry up by the throat - maybe after kicking him, maybe after punching him," O'Reilly said. "He had no chance - none."
[...]

"I have seen what evil truly is," O'Reilly said. Hoskins "manipulates people at every turn and is a liar. To stand here and say you never hurt this kid is appalling. ... This is a disgusting human being."

The boy was the victim of torturing, hitting, punching and kicking on a near daily basis, O'Reilly said. He had injuries to his eyes, head, torso, limbs, magic stick and anus.

Jerry's mother, Krystle Hoskins, who is pregnant, faces up to 15 years in prison when sentenced Oct. 29 after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. She remains jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail. A charge of child endangering was dropped in exchange for her plea.

The boy's 18-month-old sister, the daughter of Timothy and Krystle Hoskins, has been placed in the care of Children's Protective Services.
[...]
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101008/NEWS010702/10090323/Man-gets-life-for-killing-stepson

BATAVIA - A
pregnant Clermont County woman was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison in the death of her 2-year-old son, whom prosecutors said had been "tortured" on a daily basis.
Krystle M. Hoskins, 24, had pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence in the death of Jerry Wells Jr.
In imposing the maximum sentence allowed under Ohio law, Judge William Walker said it was the worst case of child abuse he had had presided over in his nearly 24 years in Common Pleas Court.
"These injuries that occurred to this child over an extended period of time are unforgivable," Walker said. "You didn't care."

Her husband, Timothy W. Hoskins, 42, who pleaded guilty to the June 1 murder of his stepson, was sentenced in October to life in prison.
The boy died of asphyxiation, perhaps from being strangled.
"This wasn't the first time she had seen her husband choke this little boy," Assistant Prosecutor Jason Nagel said. "As she watched this man murder her child, she didn't do anything about it."
She tried to cover up the crime because she loved her husband, joining him in claiming Jerry was hurt in an accidental fall down a stairwell in the hall outside their apartment in Bethel, Nagel said.
Defense attorney Louis Rubenstein asked the judge to consider that Krystle Hoskins had been raped when she was 4 and the victim of sexual predators afterward.

"The reason she sits here with a blank effect at times is she's psychologically ruined," Rubenstein said, adding that she had become helplessly dependent on her drug-addicted husband.
"Because I was too scared to stop what was happening, I lost my son," she told the judge. "There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of him."
The judge said he didn't believe her.

"There's no remorse here," Walker said. "I'm not sure if you are even capable of emotion."
The boy's biological father, Jerry Wells Sr., had reported to officials in April that Jerry Jr. appeared to be the victim of abuse, but prosecutors said they couldn't explain why neither police nor Children's Protective Services succeeded in intervening.
On April 14, the last time he saw Jerry Jr., the boy had bruises all over his body and throat, Wells has said. The boy, who was nearly 3, told his biological dad that Timothy Hoskins repeatedly beat him.
[...]
Jerry was the victim of "torturing, hitting, punching (and) kicking on a daily basis," Assistant Prosecutor Scott O'Reilly previously said.

Photos taken the day of Jerry's death and during an autopsy showed more than 60 bruises to the boy's body. He suffered injuries to his head, torso, limbs, magic stick, anus and eyes, as well as tears to his heart and liver from being punched or kicked.
The boy's younger sister, the daughter of both Timothy and Krystle Hoskins, has been placed in the care of Children's Protective Services.
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20101117/NEWS010702/11180311/
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